Purchase Order Processing
Orders in, works orders out, without the retyping.
Every customer sends purchase orders in a different layout, so the details get found and retyped by hand into a works order and a schedule. It is slow, it happens in batches when someone has time, and a single mistyped quantity can put the wrong part into production.
Customer matched against your records. Quantity times price agrees with every line total.
From order received to works order created, in five steps.
The order is read into a fixed set of fields, whatever layout the customer uses. Anything scanned or unreadable is set aside for a person instead of being guessed at.
The customer is matched against your records and the arithmetic is cross-checked, so quantity times price has to agree with the line value.
The next works-order number is reserved and a works order is created for each line, from your own template.
Every important field is read back from the finished file and compared with the original order. Anything that cannot be proven is held back.
Clear orders carry on and the schedule is updated. Anything uncertain is routed for review with a written explanation.
What changes after we deploy this.
If any of these describe your business, this workflow earns its keep.
When every customer sends a different document, rules alone cannot keep up and staff end up hunting for the same six fields in six different places. Extraction normalises the layouts, and validation catches what extraction gets wrong.
A wrong quantity or a missed drawing issue means a wasted production run. The arithmetic check and the read-back verification exist so a bad figure does not travel downstream unnoticed.
When order entry is the bottleneck, the schedule is always slightly out of date and nobody trusts it. Clearing that step keeps the schedule current without adding a person.
An audit trail, kept for you.
Every order ends somewhere, with a written reason. We keep the record on your behalf, available whenever you need to review or share it.
- 8:04 AMWorks orders createdPO 44821, 3 linesorders@customer-a.examplePO 44821, 3 lines8:04 AMorders@customer-a.exampleWorks orders created
- 9:31 AMUnreadable, sent for reviewPO 44822, scanned copypurchasing@customer-b.examplePO 44822, scanned copy9:31 AMpurchasing@customer-b.exampleUnreadable, sent for review
- 11:12 AMWorks order createdPO 44823, 1 lineorders@customer-c.examplePO 44823, 1 line11:12 AMorders@customer-c.exampleWorks order created
- 1:45 PMFigures disagree, heldPO 44824, line total mismatchorders@customer-a.examplePO 44824, line total mismatch1:45 PMorders@customer-a.exampleFigures disagree, held
- 3:20 PMPossible duplicate, flaggedPO 44825, repeat of part 7710purchasing@customer-d.examplePO 44825, repeat of part 77103:20 PMpurchasing@customer-d.examplePossible duplicate, flagged
We follow strict security practices including OAuth access control, AES-256 encryption, and full audit logs. Credentials are never stored in raw form.
- CASA Tier 2 verified
- OAuth access
- AES-256 encryption
- Audit logs
- GDPR
- CCPA
Want to know how many of your purchase orders this would read cleanly?
We will look at a batch of them and tell you which ones we would turn into works orders, and which ones we would hold for you.
It runs inside the tools you already use.
And 30+ others. If your tool is not listed, ask.
See every integrationThe questions we get before we build.
Still unsure? Ask us directly and we will answer before you commit to anything.
Can purchase orders be automated when every customer uses a different layout?
Yes. Extraction normalises different layouts into one fixed set of fields. What makes it dependable is what happens next: the customer is matched against your records, the arithmetic is cross-checked, and anything unclear goes to a person instead of being guessed at.
What happens to a scanned or unreadable order?
It is not guessed at. If the document cannot be read cleanly it is set aside with a note and someone is told, so nothing is silently dropped or invented.
How do you stop the same order being processed twice?
Each order is claimed before work starts, so a second run cannot pick up the same file. On the schedule, a repeated order-and-part combination goes to a person to decide, and is never quietly accepted or deleted.
Can it create the works orders as well?
Yes. It reserves the next sequential number, creates a works order for each line from your own template, fills it in, and reads the values back to confirm they saved before treating the file as done.
Will it keep our spreadsheet formatting and formulas?
Yes. A row is inserted in the correct position with the existing formatting, and running totals are repaired and validated, so the schedule stays consistent instead of being appended to blindly.
Where does a person still need to be involved?
Unreadable documents, inconsistent figures, likely duplicates, and anything restricted are separated out and sent for review, each with a written explanation. Some fields can also be left deliberately for a person to complete.
Is this the same as invoice processing?
No, though both read documents. This handles purchase orders, meaning work a customer has asked you to do, and turns them into works orders and schedule entries. Invoice processing handles supplier invoices, meaning money you owe, and feeds your accounting instead. Different document, different destination, and a different cost when it goes wrong: a mistake here puts the wrong part into production rather than a payment out late.
Other automations that complement this one.
Order intake is usually the first operational process worth automating, and it opens a chain the other two close: Supplier Delivery Watch covers the materials you buy in to deliver the work, and Despatch Paperwork produces the note that goes out with it. If the documents you want read are supplier invoices rather than customer orders, Invoice Processing is the one you want.
Want your order intake handled this way?
Tell us how orders reach you now. We will tell you what can be read automatically, what should stay with a person, and what a first version would involve.
Every workflow is a managed monthly service. No credit card, and we respond within one business day.