Purchasing
Order the furniture, lights and fittings the client approved from their vendors in one step: one purchase order per vendor and project. The vendor confirms and gives ship dates and tracking on their own page, late deliveries are flagged, and nothing is received without an inspection photo.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- Orders are emailed from personal inboxes, and nobody knows which items of which project are ordered.
- Vendors promise a ship date on the phone, and the delay is found when the installer reaches site.
- A damaged sofa is unpacked at installation, weeks after the vendor could have been told.
- Deposits paid to vendors are tracked in a separate sheet.
How it works
- On the furniture and fittings schedule, select approved items and use Order from Vendors, or press Order on one item. Items without a vendor are refused.
- One draft purchase order is made per vendor and project, a line per item at its cost, and the items become Ordered.
- On the purchase order, record the deposit paid to the vendor and press Send Vendor Page. The vendor gets a message with a link to their page.
- On that page, with no login, the vendor confirms the order and gives each item's ship date, carrier and tracking number. An item with a tracking number becomes Shipped.
- Every day, items past their ship date and not received give the project's procurement lead, or the project manager, a to-do Delivery late.
- When an item arrives, add the inspection photo and press Received, then Delivered to site and Installed. If it is damaged, write what and press Claim Damage: the vendor is told.
Everything it does
Ordering
- Only approved items not yet ordered; every item needs a vendor
- One purchase order per vendor and project; a line per item with its name, vendor code and finish, quantity and unit cost
- Purchase lines use one product, Interior item, made once per entity
- The purchase order carries the Interior Project and Deposit Paid to Vendor
- With Scale budgets: the order goes to the project's budget under Materials
The vendor's page
- Sent with Send Vendor Page as a message with a private link; no login
- Shows the order, your entity and every item with its quantity and finish
- Per item: Ships on, Carrier, Tracking no.; a tick We confirm this order
- Saving records the date confirmed and moves items with a tracking number to Shipped
- Each save leaves a note on the purchase order
Delivery and receiving
- Item tab Buying and Delivery: purchase order, Vendor Confirmed, Ships On, Carrier, Tracking No., Received On
- Daily check: ordered or shipped items past their ship date get a Delivery late to-do (one open to-do per item)
- Received needs the Inspection Photo; an inspection note can go with it
- Then Delivered (to site) and Installed
- Filters on the schedule: To Order, On the Way
Damage claims
- Tick Damaged and write the damage
- Claim Damage sends the vendor a message with it; the claim shows Claimed
- Settled is set by hand when the vendor makes good
What it does not do yet
- Boards and hardware for modular work are not ordered from the cut list. Buy them in your normal purchasing (the factory's manufacturing order shows the sheets needed)
- Shipment tracking is the number the vendor types; carriers are not followed online
Who uses it
ProcurementOrders approved items, sends the vendor page, receives with a photo and raises damage claims.
Project managerGets the Delivery late to-do when nobody holds procurement, and plans installation around ship dates.
VendorConfirms the order and gives ship dates, carrier and tracking on their page.
Site supervisorMarks items delivered to site and installed.
Where you use it
- Web: the furniture and fittings schedule (Interiors > Design > Library > Furniture and Fittings) and Purchase > Orders, Interiors tab
- The vendor's page: a private link, no login, works on a phone
- Not in the phone apps: ordering and receiving are on the web
What you control
Settings
- The project's procurement lead: who gets the Delivery late to-dos (else the project manager)
- Vendors and their markup rules (see the product library)
Notifications
- Send Vendor Page: the vendor gets a message by email with the link
- Claim Damage: the vendor gets a message by email with the damage
- Delivery late: a to-do for the procurement lead or the project manager, checked every day, one open to-do per item
Questions
Does the vendor need a login?
No. The vendor gets a private link to the order's page and fills in ship dates, carrier and tracking there.Can we receive an item without a photo?
No. Received is refused until the inspection photo is added, so the item's condition on arrival is on record.Can we order plywood and hardware for the factory here?
Not from the cut list. This flow orders the furniture and fittings the client approved. Boards and hardware are bought through the standard purchase orders.How are we told about delays?
Every day, items past their ship date and not received give the procurement lead a Delivery late to-do with the item and the date.Related features
ESTIMATING AND SELLINGProduct library, item schedule (FF&E) and proposalsKeep the furniture, lights, fabrics and fittings you specify in one library, clipped from the vendor's web page. Put them on each project's schedule room by room, priced by your markup rules. Then send the client a proposal of options to like and approve.PROJECTSBudgets by OPEX and CAPEXEach interior project gets a budget by cost category, approved before it counts. Purchase orders, subcontractor bills and expenses fill it by themselves, and payment milestone and design fee invoices count as revenue. The project manager is told at 80 % and again over 100 %.MEASURE AND MAKEOwn factory, outside vendor or bothEach cut list says who makes it: your own factory or an outside vendor. Your factory gets a manufacturing order with the boards it will use; a vendor gets the panel list and the drawings by email. Mix both on one project, and the project moves on only when every cut list is made.AFTER HANDOVERWarranties and after-sales serviceWhen the homeowner signs the handover off, every item with warranty months becomes a warranty from that day. The client asks for service from the Client app with a photo, and the team sees at once whether it is under warranty. With SmartMy Desk each request becomes a helpdesk ticket.ACCOUNTINGFull accounting with GST returnsKeep the books in the same system as your interiors jobs. Design fee bills, payment milestones and subcontractor bills arrive as drafts for your accountant, with full reports from ledgers to cash flow. For Indian entities, GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are worked out from the posted invoices and bills.
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