Create PO — Operator Guide
1. What this screen is for
Enter a purchase order by voice or keyboard and write it straight to QuickBooks. Main Menu → Purchasing → Create PO, or the Create PO chip on any PO screen.
2. Who is allowed in
Level 2 and up (permission Create PO (voice or keyboard) on the Permissions screen).
3. Dictating
- Click 🎤 Start dictation. The first time, Chrome or Edge asks to use the microphone. Click Allow.
- Speak naturally and say "next" between lines. For example: "Vendor Elliott. Date today. Job Durham Adeline. 100 feet of 10 THHN red. Next 3 of IQ8MC-72-M-US. Non-inventory 2 rolls caution tape at 12 dollars. Subcontractor trenching 1 at 850. Memo deliver Tuesday."
- Click ⏹ Stop & fill form. You can also type or paste text into the box and click Fill form from text.
- With Add to what's already on the form ticked, each new dictation adds lines and replaces only the header fields you mention. You can also say "change line 2 to 6" or "delete line 3".
Key words: vendor, date (today, tomorrow, October 5th, 10/5), job, class, memo (runs to the end of the sentence). For a price, say "at 12 dollars" or "for 500 total". If you give no price, a SKU line uses the IM2 base cost.
⚠ Quantity first — always
Each line must start with the quantity, then the item: say "8 of 51223", never "51223 quantity 8". The screen takes the first number it hears on a line as the quantity, so a SKU or part number spoken first becomes the quantity (that is how a test PO ended up with quantities and parts swapped).
| Say this | Not this |
|---|---|
| "8 of 51223" | "51223, 8 of them" |
| "100 feet of 10 THHN red" | "10 THHN red, 100 feet" |
| "Next" between every line | running lines together |
Always look over the lines before Review & Create PO — check each quantity and SKU matches what you said.
4. Pink = check it
Nothing is guessed silently. Anything the screen isn't sure of turns pink, and the closest matches show as chips underneath. Click a chip, or fix the field, to clear the pink. You can't create the PO while anything is still pink.
5. Line rules
- SKU line: must be an active Item Master SKU. No class. The job goes on the line only if you tick Put the job on inventory lines too.
- Non-SKU line: choose Material, Subcontractor Services, Equipment Rental, Permits or Shipping, and describe what is being bought. Lines are never charged straight to a GL account. Non-SKU lines need a Job and a Class; the Class fills in automatically from the job's latest QuickBooks invoice or estimate.
- Costs are the base (unloaded) cost. Every line is Not Billable.
6. Creating the PO
Click Review & Create PO, check the summary, then click Create PO in QuickBooks. The PO gets the next number in the 60000 series, and the screen shows a link to it in QuickBooks. The Memo goes into the QuickBooks PO's Memo field, followed by "IM2 Create PO · your name". Clicking twice can never create two POs. The last 10 POs created here are listed at the bottom of the screen.