Purchases & Suppliers

Recording Purchases

The Purchases module tracks company expenses from software subscriptions and office supplies to contractor fees and equipment. Each purchase links to a supplier and can optionally be tied to a project or maintenance contract. A multi-step form organizes fields into logical groups.

Three-step form

To record a purchase, navigate to the Purchases page and click the Add button. The form is organized into three steps:

1. Basic Info - Select a supplier (required), optionally link to a project or maintenance contract, set the purchase date (defaults to today), and add a description.
2. Financial - Enter the price (required) and currency, choose an expense category (required, configured in your system settings), add tax if applicable, and mark the purchase as billable with an optional markup percentage.
3. Recurring - If this expense repeats on a schedule, enable recurring and choose a frequency. See the Recurring Purchases section below for details.

Project and maintenance linking

Purchases can optionally be linked to a project or a maintenance contract. This lets you track exactly how much you are spending on a given project or service agreement, giving you a complete cost picture alongside your revenue.

Viewing purchase details

Click any purchase row to open the detail drawer. The hero header shows the purchase ID, the supplier name as a subtitle, and the current status as a color-coded badge. Below the header, information is organized into sections: Details (date, description, linked project and maintenance contract), Financial (price, currency, category, tax amount, billable flag, markup percentage), Recurring (recurring status, frequency, end date, next due date), and Timeline (created and updated dates).

Editing and deleting

To update a purchase, open the record and click the edit action. The same three-step form opens with the current values pre-filled. To delete a purchase, use the delete action from the drawer. Deleted purchases are permanently removed.

Multi-currency support

Each purchase stores its own currency code, so you can track expenses in USD, EUR, GBP, or any other currency your organization uses. Currency formatting in the table and drawer adapts automatically based on the stored currency. Configure your available currencies in Settings to control which options appear in the currency dropdown.

Purchase Status Workflow

Every purchase has a status that tracks its lifecycle from creation through payment or cancellation. Statuses help your team coordinate approvals and keep financial records accurate.

Status lifecycle

Purchases move through four statuses:

• Pending - The default status when a purchase is created. The expense has been recorded but not yet reviewed.
• Approved - A team member or manager has confirmed the purchase is valid and authorized.
• Paid - The payment for this purchase has been processed. The paid date is automatically recorded.
• Cancelled - The purchase was rejected or is no longer needed. A purchase can be cancelled from either the Pending or Approved state.

Row actions by status

The available actions on a purchase change depending on its current status. These actions appear in both the three-dot dropdown menu on each row and the right-click context menu:

• Pending purchases: "Approve" moves the purchase to Approved. "Cancel" moves it to Cancelled.
• Approved purchases: "Mark as Paid" moves the purchase to Paid and automatically records today as the paid date. "Cancel" moves it to Cancelled.

Status badges

The table and drawer display color-coded status badges so you can see purchase states at a glance. Use the status filter in the search bar to view only purchases in a specific state, such as all pending purchases awaiting approval.

Recurring Purchases

For expenses that repeat on a schedule, such as monthly software subscriptions, quarterly service fees, or yearly license renewals, set up a recurring purchase to avoid manual re-entry each period.

Setting up a recurring purchase

In the third step of the purchase form, set "Recurring Purchase" to Yes. Choose a frequency (monthly, quarterly, or yearly) and optionally set an end date to stop the recurrence automatically. The original purchase acts as a template. The system tracks the next recurrence date and generates actionable periods for your review.

The Upcoming Purchases panel

The Purchases page displays a collapsible alert showing all overdue and upcoming recurring purchase periods. Overdue periods appear first and require action. Each entry shows the supplier name, the period date range, a color-coded frequency badge (purple for monthly, blue for quarterly, cyan for yearly), and the expected amount.

Approving and skipping periods

For each overdue period, you have two options:

• Approve creates an actual purchase record for that billing cycle. The new purchase starts with Pending status and follows the normal approval workflow.
• Skip advances the recurrence date to the next period without creating a purchase. Use this for periods where the expense did not occur or was handled outside the system.

The Approve All button lets you bulk-create purchases for every overdue period across all recurring purchases at once. This is useful when catching up after a vacation or a busy stretch.

Sequential enforcement

Periods must be processed in chronological order. You cannot approve or skip a future period until all earlier periods have been handled. This prevents gaps in your purchase history and keeps your records consistent. Recurring invoices follow a similar sequential approval workflow.

Managing Suppliers

The Suppliers module is your vendor directory. It stores contact and reference information for every company or individual you purchase from, creating a centralized record of your vendor relationships.

Creating a supplier

To add a new supplier, navigate to the Suppliers page and click the Add button. The single-step form captures the core vendor information:

• Name - The supplier's company or individual name. This is the only required field. It appears in purchase dropdowns and throughout the system.
• Email - The supplier's contact email address. Useful for quick reference when reaching out about an order.
• Website - The supplier's website URL. Handy for reordering, checking product catalogs, or verifying vendor information.
• Phone - A direct phone number for the supplier or their sales team.
• Contact Person - The name of your primary point of contact at the supplier. Especially useful for larger vendors where you work with a specific account manager.
• Address - The supplier's physical or mailing address.

Viewing supplier details

Click any supplier row to open the detail drawer. The hero header displays the supplier name. Below that, information is organized into sections: Contact (email, website, phone, contact person), Details (address), Purchases (recent purchases linked to this supplier), and Timeline (created and updated dates).

Recent purchases widget

The supplier drawer includes a Recent Purchases section showing the last five purchases linked to that supplier. Each entry displays the date, description, amount, and status. Click "View all purchases" to navigate to the Purchases page filtered to that specific supplier, giving you a complete spending history.

Editing and deleting suppliers

Supplier records can be edited at any time to keep your vendor directory current. When deleting a supplier, be aware that all purchases linked to that supplier will also be deleted. It is generally better to keep supplier records even for vendors you no longer use, as they preserve context for historical purchases.

The supplier table

The Suppliers table supports column visibility toggling, so you can customize which fields are displayed. Search by name, email, or contact person to find specific vendors quickly. Sort by supplier name, contact person, or date added as your vendor list grows.

Expense Tracking

The Purchases table is your primary tool for monitoring and analyzing company spending. With search filters, column customization, and status-based workflows, you can turn raw purchase data into actionable expense insights.

Search and filtering

Use the search bar to narrow down the purchase list with multiple filters:

• Supplier - Select a specific vendor from the dropdown to see all their purchases.
• Status - Filter by Pending, Approved, Paid, or Cancelled to focus on purchases in a specific lifecycle stage.
• Category - Choose an expense category to view purchases of a particular type. Categories are configured in your system settings.
• Date range - Set a start and end date to view purchases within a specific time period.

Combine multiple filters to answer specific questions, such as "What approved purchases from Supplier X are in the Software category this quarter?"

Table columns

The default table view shows the most important fields: Supplier, Purchase Date, Price, Category, and Status. Toggle additional columns for more detail:

• Description - The purchase description text.
• Project - The linked project, if any.
• Maintenance Contract - The linked maintenance contract, if any.
• Tax Amount - Tax charges on the purchase.
• Billable - Whether the purchase is marked as billable.
• Paid Date - The date the purchase was marked as paid.
• Recurring - Whether the purchase is a recurring template.
• Created At / Updated At - Record timestamps.

Sorting

Click any column header to sort the table. Sort by date to see recent expenses first, by price to identify your largest purchases, or by supplier to group expenses by vendor.

Using categories

Expense categories are configured in your system settings. Assign a category to every purchase for consistent expense classification across your team. Categories appear as a filterable column in the table, making it easy to analyze spending by type.

Best practices

• Record purchases promptly while details are fresh.
• Use consistent, descriptive supplier names so your team can easily find the right vendor.
• Assign a category to every purchase for easier filtering and reporting.
• Use the status workflow: create as Pending, approve after review, then mark as Paid once processed.
• Review the Purchases table periodically to identify spending patterns and recurring costs.
• Take advantage of multi-currency support by recording each purchase in the currency it was actually billed in.