Use purchase orders to track orders across multiple vendors and keep your inventory up to date. Creating purchase orders in Shepherd helps ensure accurate stock levels and provides a clear record in case of order discrepancies.
Create purchase orders the same day you place the order with your vendor. This makes it easier to reconcile items when they arrive and gives you documentation to share if anything is incorrect.
Creating a Purchase Order
Go to Admin -> Inventory
Click on the Purchase Orders tab
Select +Add New in the top-right corner
You can also edit an existing purchase order by selecting it from the list.
When creating a purchase order, you can choose between two types:
Vendor-specific: when you select a vendor, Shepherd will automatically add all items below their reorder point for that vendor
Blank: Turn on the Blank purchase order toggle to manually add any items
Blank purchase orders are helpful for small or one-off orders.
Optional fields you can fill out:
Notes
Taxes
Additional costs
Once saved, you'll be taken to the purchase order's details page.
We recommend keeping packing slips, receipts, and/or vendor order confirmations together with your purchase orders
Vendor-Specific Purchase Orders
To generate a vendor-specific order:
Select + Add New
Select a vendor from the dropdown list
Shepherd will automatically add all items from that vendor that are below their reorder point
To include additional items, click +Add New Item and select them from the list
Blank Purchase Orders
To create a blank purchase order:
Select +Add New
Enable the Blank purchase order toggle during creation
Click Add New Item
Select an item from the dropdown list
Adjust the order quantity if needed
Click Save & Close or Save & Add New to continue adding more items.
With blank orders, no items are pre-filled. You will manually build the order from scratch.
Edit Purchase Orders
To view or edit an existing purchase order:
Go to Admin -> Inventory -> Purchase Orders.
Click on the purchase order you'd like to open.
From here, you can:
Edit the date, tax, additional costs, and notes
Print the purchase order
Change the status to:
Pending
Ready to Order
Ordered
Partially Received
Closed
Voided
Add new items
Receive items
Delete individual line items
Use the search bar in the Purchase Orders tab to quickly find a specific item or order
You can also delete Purchase Orders by navigating to Admin -> Inventory -> Purchase Orders.
Deleting a purchase order that already had items received will also remove that receiving record. Inventory levels and purchase history will adjust accordingly.
Receiving Inventory
Once your items arrive, you can receive them directly within the purchase order.
To find the purchase order:
Go to Admin -> Inventory -> Purchase Orders, or
Click the purchase order from the right side of the Inventory Dashboard
To receive items:
Option 1:
Enter the received quantity in the Received Quantity column
Click the checkmark icon to open a window where you can confirm or adjust the quantity and cost.
Once done, select Receive
Option 2:
Use the Action menu on the right-hand side to select the Receive icon
Enter the quantity and update cost if needed.
Once done, select Receive
As you receive items, Shepherd will automatically update your inventory. If only part of the order is received, the status will update to Partially Received.
If you receive an item linked to a Product and update the Cost, you have the option to:
Override the Selling Price: this will maintain your markup percentage by adjusting the selling price
Toggle Off the override to keep the selling price unchanged and recalculate the markup.
Product Lot Information
If you receive items that require tracking (such as vaccines or controlled substances):
Go to Admin -> Products.
Select the product.
Scroll to Track Product Lots.
Enter the new lot information and Save
You must enter a new lot number before archiving an old one
