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Procurement Division
Creating Purchase Orders (ME21N)
Standard Operating Procedure
Procurement Division Creating Purchase Orders (ME21N)
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Procurement Division Operating Procedure Appendix D2 Page 2 of 33
Table of Contents Create a Purchase Order .............................................................................................................................. 3
PO Header Section .................................................................................................................................... 3
PO Item Detail Section .............................................................................................................................. 8
PO Item Section ...................................................................................................................................... 15
Adding an attachment to a Purchase Order .............................................................................................. 20
Checking Completed Purchase Orders ...................................................................................................... 23
Create a Purchase Order Using Material Numbers ................................................................................... 26
Create a Framework Purchase Order ........................................................................................................ 28
Create a Purchase Order incorporating a Work Order ............................................................................. 30
Change a Purchase Order ........................................................................................................................... 32
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Create a Purchase Order
PO Header Section
Begin by selecting a Vendor, if vendor
number is known enter it in the vendor
line and press enter, if the vendor
number is not known click the search
button to the right to open the search
box.
While on the ‘NSSB Standard (excluding blocked
vendors’ tab begin typing the vendor name, SAP
requires the information to be exact. If you are
unsure of the exact vendor name ‘*’ will open the
search criteria for example to find Officemax Grand
& Toy you could search with *Grand* or Office* etc.
Be sure to enter the company code 0055 (this will
only search vendors for AVRSB)
Click or press enter
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Note: If you are unable to find your vendor after searching and changing search criteria, a new vendor
may need to be set up. This is handled at Regional Office and typically does not take more than one day.
To set up a new vendor you must send the complete vendor address along with fax and phone number
(if you have them) to The Procurement Division. Be sure to keep a copy of the address for yourself.
Some searches result in a number or
possible vendors, double click to select
the desired vendor.
Be sure to choose carefully, this field
cannot be changed once the PO is
saved.
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Vendor name and number will now
display in the Vendor Field
On the Customer Data tab is the
Alternative Procurement selection.
This information will be set by default
to ‘Best Value’ and in most cases you
will not be required to make any
changes
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In the event that a change is required
there are 69 possible entries, consult
directly with the Procurement Division
to ensure the proper selection is made.
On the Texts tab, additional information can be typed.
If the Header Text is selected the information typed will appear at
the top of the body of the PO (above all line items).
Information such as Attention for the Vendor or a quote number
can be typed here
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If the Shipping instructions is selected the information typed will
appear at the bottom of the body of the PO (below all line items, by
the price).
Information such as ‘Must be invoiced and received before March 31’
at year end
If the Header Note is selected the information typed will NOT appear
on the PO, it is for internal communication only.
Header Note should be used when a PO is over $1,000 to provide
reasons or information to the approver.
For example: “Three quotes were obtained this vendor offered
best value, supporting documents to follow.”
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PO Item Detail Section
Acct. Assignment Cat.
Will most often be ‘K – Cost Center’ as
set up in defaults to allow for a ‘Goods
Receipt (MIGO)’, however can also be:
Z – 2‐way Cost Ctr. Match
Y – 2‐way Order Match
F ‐ order
Enter the Short Text, a brief description
of the item to be ordered.
This field is limited to 40 characters and
further details can be included elsewhere.
Tab to the next field
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Enter the PO Quantity
The number of items as described in
the short text you want to order
Enter the OUn ‘Order unit’ this is the unit
of measure of what you are ordering i.e.
pkg, or ea.
Your can enter the abbreviation directly
or search
There are many to choose from, the
most common are listed below.
Be sure to choose carefully as this
tells the vendor what you are
intending to order, a package of
paper is much different than a box
of paper.
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Activity Unit AU
Box BOX
Bottle BT
Each EA
Feet FT
Years YR
Liter L
Ounce OZ
Pair PAA
Pad PAD
Package PKG
Roll ROL
Set SET
Deliv. Date, the date you want the
ordered items to arrive.
If you set this field up in your
Default Values this will be
populated. If not then you may type
the date (mm/dd/yyy) or to open
the calendar and select a date.
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Enter the Net Price, excluding taxes, and not extended (the
cost of one item not multiplied by the number ordered).
Check the currency is correct
You will notice the currency field is “grayed‐in” and cannot
be changed the currency is based on the selected vendor.
Enter the Matl Group, if you set this field
up in your Default Values this will be
populated. If you need to change it click
to search.
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There are many to choose from, the most common are:
5000 Supplies and Materials Pens, Erasers, Binders, etc.
5120 Printer Supplies
Cartridges, Toner, etc.
5020 Photocopier Supplies Paper, Staples (for copier), etc.
5370 Equipment – Miscellaneous
Stereos, Adding Machines, etc.
Enter the Plant (your location), if you set
this field up in your Default Values this
will be populated. If you need to change
it click to search.
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Choose your Plant (location) from the list
and double click or highlight and click .
You can ‘check’ a PO for errors at any
time by clicking or by pressing
enter.
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Indicates an error on the line,
PO’s cannot be saved with errors
The error is detailed at the bottom, some errors
include:
Vendor wasn’t entered
Purchasing Group wasn’t entered
Short Text wasn’t entered
PO quantity wasn’t entered
OUn (order unit) wasn’t entered
Net Price is not greater than $0
Material Group wasn’t entered
Plant wasn’t entered
Cost Center wasn’t entered
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PO Item Section Account information
The new account number structure effective April 1, 2015 is:
1. G/L Account ‐ The G/L Account will be populated by the information provided above in the Matl.
Group. This number can change depending on the account. 786400 is supplies and materials, a few
other G/L Accounts include:
711400 Equipment 711500 Furniture 711300 Computer Hardware/Maintenance 631100 Travel – in Province
2. Cost Centre – Each school will have (only) one cost centre
The first two digits will always be “65”. The middle three digits are different for each school,
they are the three‐digit school number. The last three numbers will always be 610.
The cost centre will be 65XXX610
3. Functional Area & Fund – There are three possible Functional Areas and the associated
Funds, they are:
Functional Area Fund
Instructional 3050050000 1000
Discretionary 3050050000 3007
Library 3150050000 1000
*This information must be entered for each requisition to ensure all costs are captured
correctly*
1. G/L Account
2. Cost Center
3. Functional Area & Fund
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If there are multiple line items for this PO you may
save the account number so that you do not have
to enter it for every line.
On the first line, after you have entered the cost
centre, click ‘Repeat on’ button (white stick with a
red top and yellow all around the top). This will
save the cost centre for all the line items for the
PO you are working on.
If more detail, that would not fit
in Short Text, is necessary, it can
be typed here in the Texts tab.
Information entered here will
appear below the short text on
the PO
When working in the Item Section
(lower portion) of the PO be sure to
check here to ensure you are on the
correct line
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The steps detailed above are repeated for each line item on the purchase order.
Adding a Shipping Line: The steps above should then be repeated to include a shipping line.
Shipping line should be entered: Short text – Shipping PO Quantity – 1 OUn – AU (Activity Unit) Net Price – enter price if known, if unknown put an estimate (it can be changed at time of payment).
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Additional information regarding delivery instructions can be included in the ‘Delivery Address’ tab, such as an attention line. Click ‘Address Details’ to open the ‘Delivery Address’ window
Select more
fields to expand
the Street
Address section
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Additional delivery
instructions can be included
here, such as an attention
line c/o or floor.
Be sure to save at the
bottom, click
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Adding an attachment to a Purchase Order
Attachments can be added to your purchase
order by selecting the ‘Services for Object’
button at the top.
Any/all attachments to a purchase order should
be kept small and simple, things like
corresponding quote, list of items, or proof.
Large documents and/or pictures should not be
attached
Click , then select create,
create attachment.
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This will open a box to browse for
the document that you wish to
attach, find it and select ‘open’
You will be notified that ‘The attachment was
successfully created’
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Attached documents can be
viewed by clicking the same black
arrow, then ‘Attachment list’
The ‘Service: Attachment list’ box will display a
list of the attachments with details as to who and
when the attachment was created
To view an attachment double click the line or
select the glasses at the top.
You may also create additional attachments from
this window or delete attachments.
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Checking Completed Purchase Orders
Like the Errors (outlined
above) there are also
Warnings, warnings are for
information only and will not
stop the PO from processing
or saving.
Another Warning example
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All Warnings and Errors can
be checked by clicking the
‘Check’ button. This will open
the messages box, listing
any/all errors and warnings.
You can check your
Purchase Order anytime by
clicking Print Preview
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Print Preview will show your
Purchase Order as it will print
(or be sent).
Review the PO for any errors.
Click back to return to the
create PO screen.
When you are satisfied that the PO is
complete and correct click save
Record the Purchase Order Number that is
created and displayed at the bottom of the
screen
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Create a Purchase Order Using Material Numbers A SAP Material Number is a number assigned to products that have been tendered. The Material
Number stores all associated information regarding the product such as short text description, price,
material group, etc. Using Material Numbers eliminates manually keying information on to the PO.
Creating a PO using a Material Number has
many of the same steps as noted above. You
will still be required to select a vendor.
Then in the body of the PO in the Material
column enter the material number
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You may now enter the next Material
Number or text line item of the PO, or if
the PO is complete review and save (as
detailed above.
Type the material number and press
enter.
The Short Text, OUm, Net Price, Matl
Group, and Text (at bottom) will
populate automatically.
You will be prompted to enter the
Plant, PO Quantity, and account
information.
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Create a Framework Purchase Order A framework purchase order allows for a total amount to be entered and that amount to be spent over
a number of purchases. For example, a framework purchase order can be done for $200.00 for groceries
at a local grocery store, end users may make several trips over a period of time to the grocery store and
payment can be issued for each invoice (trip) until the maximum amount has been reached ($200.00)
Select Framework order from the top left section.
Enter the Vendor and line items as you would with a
standard PO.
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You will be prompted to enter the Validity
Start and Validity End, these are the date
range that the PO will be available for use.
These dates cannot be spread over two fiscal
years.
Choose the date range i.e. 01 Sept to 31 Dec.
Continue with the PO as detailed
above
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Create a Purchase Order incorporating a Work Order A purchase order incorporating a work order number link the SAP Plant Maintenance module with SAP
Materials Management allowing for purchase costs to be captured on a Work Order.
To allow a Work Order number to be used the
Account Assignment Category must be:
‘F Order’ (for use of a goods receipt) or a
‘Y 2‐way Order Match.
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Complete the Purchase Order as detailed
above and instead of entering a
corresponding Cost Center, enter an Order
number.
Review and save the PO.
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Change a Purchase Order
To make a change to an existing
Purchase Order, click Other
Purchase Order
Enter the purchase order number and
select
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This will open the selected purchase
order, however all fields are grey,
this is display mode, to make any
changes you have to be in change,
click display/change
You may now make changes and or
additions to the PO (follow the same
steps as creating a PO)
Review and save when all changes
have been made