Checklist on Purchase Order Required and Best Practices
Here are the checklists used by Actuant to reign in problem purchase orders. The top one below lists what they require order entry staff to verify prior to acceptance of a purchase order. The second one below is a list of preferred best practices to check. For more details, please refer to the accompanying article Reducing Errors and Aging with an Invoice Processing Procedure Checklist.
| Purchase Order Required Checklist | ||
| These Items Are Required Before the PO Can Be Accepted | ||
| Pass | Fail | Component Being Checked |
| Name of Correct entity as the vendor | ||
| PO Number at minimum | ||
| Bill-to, sold-to and ship-to address | ||
| Correct Terms of sale included | ||
| Signature and name of purchaser, including phone, fax and email info | ||
| Freight instructions including carrier info if customer is paying the freight | ||
| Date of PO Issue | ||
| Line Items should include clear product descriptions, including packaging and pricing, showing extension on each line | ||
| Purchase Best Practices Checklist | ||
| These elements are not required, but nonetheless should be checked before accepting a PO | ||
| Pass | Fail | Component Being Checked |
| Date each release is required | ||
| Be on a Proper PO form -- ideallycomputer-generated and not handwritten or just an email | ||
| Itemized additional charges including freight & sales tax | ||
| Noted acceptance of provisional pricing | ||
| If customer refers to their terms and conditions, sales should acquire a copy if not included with the PO | ||
| Tax registration info if required by state, province or federal | ||
| Customer Terms & Conditions - Be aware of this and be sure and double check these. Best Practice to review these and hightight with management and even legal department for any non standard terms | ||
| Any dealings direct with contractors must be also be reviewed direct with Sales Management VP as our standard business model here in North America is to send through distribution | ||
Dave Schmidt ·Order-to-Cash and SME Risk Expert, Credit Today