Owner set-up guide for purchasing controls

TillPoint now controls buying from start to finish. Every buying price is approved before it’s used. Purchase orders go through an approval step. Deliveries can be checked by a second person before stock goes up. You can also order from an Excel sheet.

Nothing changes for your staff until you decide. Your business starts in Standard mode, where everything works as before, but is now recorded. Work through the steps below, then switch to Strict mode when you are ready.

1. Decide who does what

Agree who in your team:

• Creates orders: usually procurement or the storekeeper.
• Approves orders and prices: usually the owner or a manager.
• Receives deliveries: usually the storekeeper.
• Confirms deliveries: someone other than the person who received them, for example a manager or supervisor.

Then go to Users & roles and check each person’s role and permissions. See Users and roles.

Check storekeepers’ approval rights

By default, storekeepers and inventory staff can approve purchase orders and buying prices that someone else created. If only managers should approve, remove those two permissions from storekeepers before you switch to Strict mode.

2. Add your suppliers

Go to Purchasing & expenses → Suppliers and add each supplier, with their Payment terms (days). See Suppliers.

3. Check purchase units in the catalogue

For each product you buy, open it in Catalogue and check the purchase unit and items per unit. For example, a crate of 24 bottles is purchase unit CRATE with 24 items per unit. Orders and deliveries are counted in purchase units, and stock is added in selling units, so this number must be right.

4. Approve a buying price for every product

Go to Purchasing & expenses → Prices.

1. Set Show to Products without a supplier. For each product you buy, select Propose price, choose the supplier, enter the price per purchase unit and a reason, then Send for approval.
2. Set Show to Missing approved price and do the same for anything listed.
3. Open Awaiting approval and approve the prices.

Keep going until Missing approved price is empty. Strict mode receives goods at the approved order price, so a product without one can’t be ordered there. See Approved buying prices.

5. Choose when a second approval is needed

On the Prices tab select Change. A back-dated price always needs two approvers. You can also set:

• Second approval from % change: for example 10, so that any change of 10% or more needs two people.
• Second approval from amount per unit: for example 500, so that a change of Ksh 500 or more per purchase unit needs two people.

Leave both empty if one approval is enough. Select Save controls.

6. Run one order end to end

While still in Standard mode, try a small real order:

1. Orders → New order: choose the supplier and products. The approved prices fill in. Save draft, then Submit.
2. A manager selects Approve.
3. When the goods arrive, the storekeeper selects Receive, enters what was accepted, rejected or damaged with a reason, and selects Send for verification.
4. A manager opens Receipts, checks the delivery and selects Confirm. Stock goes up now.

Try Upload Excel too, if you want to order from a spreadsheet. See Ordering from Excel.

7. Switch on Strict mode

When prices are approved and your team is comfortable, go to Prices → Change, set Mode to Strict and select Save controls. From then on:

• Price changes and orders need someone other than the person who created them. Owners can still approve their own, and each one is marked in the history.
• Order lines must use the approved price before an order can be submitted.
• Deliveries are received at the order price, and must be confirmed by someone other than the person who recorded them.
• Product cost can’t be edited by hand in the catalogue.

You can switch back to Standard at any time in the same place. Only an owner or administrator can change the mode.

Daily routine

Who	What	Where
Buyer	Create and submit orders	Orders
Manager	Approve orders and price changes	Orders → Awaiting approval, Prices → Awaiting approval
Storekeeper	Record each delivery, with rejected and damaged units	Orders → Receive
Manager or supervisor	Confirm deliveries	Receipts → Awaiting verification
Manager	Close orders that won’t be completed	Orders → Close short
Accounts	Post supplier invoices and payments	Invoices

If something goes wrong

• A wrong delivery was confirmed. A manager opens the receipt under Receipts → Confirmed and reverses it with a reason. See Reverse a receipt.
• The supplier changed their price. Propose the new price on Prices. Once it’s approved, new orders use it.
• The supplier can’t deliver the rest. Use Close short on the order.

Every page in TillPoint has a Help button that opens the guide for that page.