Getting an approved order to a vendor
How an organiser confirms an approved purchase order with a caterer when no screen sends it, then records the delivery and matches the invoice.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Events businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
The gala dinner is three weeks away. The caterer's quote was chosen, the purchase order went through approval, and the caterer's events manager is now on the phone: "We can't hold the date without your PO. Can you send it over?" You open the order in Achekam and look for a send button. There isn't one.
That gap is easy to work around once you know it is there. This article covers what the approved order gives you, how to get it to the vendor in a way that holds up later, and how the delivery and the vendor's invoice are checked against it.
An approved order and how it got there
In Achekam's procurement, an order does not appear from nowhere. Someone raises a purchase requisition saying what is needed, why and the estimated cost, and a person other than the requester approves or declines it. Vendors' quotations are captured against the requisition and one is selected; choosing one that is not the cheapest needs a written reason, which is kept.
The purchase order is then raised from the selected quotation. The person who raised it cannot approve it, so at least two people have looked at every order before it reaches a vendor. An approved order can still be cancelled later, with a reason.
For an event, that chain is worth having. When the caterer's final invoice arrives with more covers than you ordered, the order shows exactly what was agreed, who asked for it and who approved it.
No send button on the orders tab
A purchase order cannot be sent to the supplier from any screen. The server can produce the order's PDF, but the purchase orders tab has no download or e-mail button yet. So the approval happens inside Achekam, and the vendor finds out about it from you.
Do not let that become an excuse for confirming orders by voice note. The order is only useful later if the vendor saw the same details you approved.
Confirming the order with the vendor another way
Send the vendor an e-mail from your own mailbox that repeats the approved order. A good confirmation includes:
| Include | Why |
|---|---|
| The purchase order number | The vendor quotes it on the invoice, which makes matching easier |
| Each line: item, quantity, unit price | So there is no doubt later about what was ordered |
| Delivery or service date, time and venue | Caterers and hire companies schedule by date |
| The on-site contact and their phone number | So the delivery driver does not call the office at midnight |
| Payment terms and any deposit agreed | Avoids a surprise demand on the day |
| A request to reply confirming | The reply is your evidence the vendor accepted |
When the vendor replies, save the e-mail. Achekam's Document Centre is a folder-based store where you can upload files, tag them and search them later, so a folder per event with the vendor confirmations in it keeps the evidence in one place.
A note for organisers in Nigeria and Kenya: purchase orders are currently recorded in rand, because the order form sends no currency. Show the amounts in your own currency in the confirmation e-mail, and keep the vendor's quote with it, so the agreed price is clear whatever the screen displays.
Events change, and orders sometimes have to change with them. If the guest count drops or a session is cut, an approved order can be cancelled with a reason, and a new requisition raised for what is still needed. Tell the vendor in writing at the same time, quoting the original order number, and keep their acknowledgement with the first confirmation. Check the vendor's cancellation terms before you cancel, because the order in Achekam records your decision but does not change what you agreed with the vendor.
Recording deliveries line by line
On the day, record what actually arrived against the order. Deliveries are recorded line by line, including part deliveries, and a goods-received record is kept. For an event this matters more than in a shop, because things arrive in pieces: chairs in the morning, linen at lunchtime, the second load of glassware just before guests arrive.
Give the person receiving deliveries a copy of your confirmation e-mail and ask them to count before signing the driver's delivery note. If the hire company sends fewer chairs than ordered, record the short delivery there and then. If you are receiving stock you will sell, note that goods received against an order do not add stock; the stock side is handled separately.
Matching the vendor's invoice to the order
When the vendor's invoice comes in, record it against the order. Achekam matches it with what was ordered and what arrived. If the price or quantity differs, the invoice is held until someone writes a resolution note explaining what was agreed. Only then can it be posted, which puts it in the ledger as expense, input VAT and trade payables. The vendor's invoice number stops the same invoice being posted twice.
This is the three-way match that accounts teams rely on everywhere, and AccountingTools explains three-way matching as comparing the supplier invoice, the purchase order and the receiving report before paying. At events the usual differences are extra covers, extra hours and late-night call-out charges. Each one either matches something you approved on the night, in writing, or it goes back to the vendor.
A routine for every vendor
For each approved order: send the confirmation e-mail the same day, file the vendor's reply, receive deliveries line by line on site, and match the invoice when it arrives. To keep those orders inside the event budget, see keeping vendor spend inside the event budget, and for the most common dispute after a dinner, read when the caterer invoices more covers.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
