Are you looking for a purchase order template that your company can use for all your purchases? Well, before you go ahead and download it, let me ask you this: Does your company really need a purchase order template?
What would you say if I tell you that it may not be a purchase order template, but a purchase order software, that your company actually needs? I am not trying to make you feel ambivalent about downloading the template. All I’m trying to do is to give you a nudge to reflect on the necessity of using one.
This is what you can and can’t do with a purchase order template:
Company details
While a purchase order template will allow you to add important details such your company’s logo, name, and address, etc. It is going to be time-consuming to do this for each and every supplier that you buy from. Unless, of course, you are willing to create a separate document for every supplier.
Another downside of using a purchase order template is that you won’t be able to track your order online. You may still have to pick up the phone and call to confirm whether or not the supplier has stock. You won’t have to do this when your company uses a purchase order software that links you with your vendor.
PO number
When you use only a purchase order template you are likely to end up mixing up PO numbers. For example, you may have one PO number for two different invoices! Detecting such an error may take time as you’ll have to go through all purchase orders one by one.
This blunder is avoided when you use a purchase order software. For example, when you use Procurementexpress.com, every time you create a purchase order a unique PO number is automatically created.
Authorizing signature
Having the signature of an authorized person on the form is not enough to prevent fraud. A determined and corrupt employee could still forge it. Your company may end up losing millions of dollars. This on its own won’t boost your company’s bottom line. In fact, your company can save on costs by replacing paper-based workflows with electronic signatures.
This is what you should do
Let’s say you use black and red to tell if your company’s financial state is in good or bad shape, respectively. If you are in the in the red for one-quarter your company will use the profits to cover some of your expenses. As a result, chances of growing your business become slim. You don’t want that to happen, right?
Here is how you can avoid this:
1.Change your game plan
Finding a way to maximize your sales without compounding costs is key. However, it’s important to eliminate costs early as failure to do so can stunt the growth of your business. Start by getting rid of time-wasting manual processes like the purchase order template you are about to use. Interestingly, as soon as you automate things your game plan will change from running a surviving business to a thriving one.
2.Keep your purchases transparent
Using a purchase order template will not allow you to view all purchases in real-time. You may try to argue with me by saying, “But I’ll be the one authorizing all these purchases.” However, authorizing purchases does not mean you are in control of your company’s spend. So long as purchases are not transparent, spending within budget becomes difficult. And you may have trouble eliminating goof-ups like ordering the wrong quantity, product or exceeding a spend limit.
3.Streamline your business
One of the easy ways of streamlining costs is by reducing paper use in your business. Furthermore, documents like the purchase order template you’re about to download can add unnecessary lead times or delays. Plus, you can’t streamline your business without creating a real-time tracking of accounts payables. You need to know when someone is wasting your money and put an end to it.
4.Improve your inventory management
You cannot improve your inventory management while using a purchase order template at the same time. That document won’t allow you to keep track of what is being ordered, from which supplier and for how much. What your company needs is an efficient purchase order software that links you and your supplier. This way you’d be able to view the entire purchasing process.
5.Deliver fast
Since business cycles are becoming increasingly fast, consumers expect quicker deliveries and consumption. Any system that wastes time will eventually alienate consumers. Technology gives us hope because it offers a variety of software for each business cycle. For instance, marketing, finance, production, sales or purchasing each have a special software designed for their specific needs.
Procurementexpress.com can help you improve your purchasing cycle by leaps and bounds. This efficient software has helped many businesses manage billions of dollars while they continue to generate millions along the way.
Why don’t you test drive Procurementexpress.com today? Get rid of the paper-trail hassle with inclusive online reporting that eliminates fraud.
Sign up for a free trial!