TUTORIAL: Introduction to Purchases
We'll cover;
This tutorial should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
What are Purchases?
Purchases (or Purchase Orders - POs) are the records of purchasing your raw materials. They're the tool you'll want to use whenever you add new materials into Craftybase.
By adding purchases, you'll be able to:
- Automatically increase your material stock levels.
- Keep a clear record of what you paid for each item.
- Track unit costs for more accurate reporting.
Adding new Purchases
For this tutorial, we will assume that the material already exists, and the guide below will take you through the process of restocking a quantity of material.
You can add a new purchase in two ways:
Navigate to the Purchases tab -> select + Add Purchase (best when entering multiple materials from one purchase).
From any Materials detail page -> go to the Purchases tab -> select + Add Purchase (best when restocking a single material).
Filling Out the Purchase Form
When you arrive at the purchase form, you'll notice a few fields:
Purchase Date: Enter the date you bought the materials.
Code: Use this for an order number, vendor reference, or any identifier you find useful for tracking your purchases. If left blank, Craftybase will assign a number automatically.
Vendor: adding information about the company you purchased your material from. This is an optional field, but it is useful for keeping complete purchase histories from your vendors. You can select an existing vendor or create a new one by clicking the +New Vendor icon to the right of the search box.
Adding Items to Your Purchase
Next is the Purchase Items section of the form, where you’ll enter the materials you’ve purchased. Click the Add Purchase Item button, and a new window will open - this is the Add Expense Item form. Let’s go through the fields you’ll see here in more detail:
Category: this determines what type of item you’re adding. The Materials category will already be selected for you, since this is the most common type of purchase. Only the Materials category allows you to link directly to a material in your inventory. If you switch to another category, the material search field will disappear, and other fields will appear instead.
Material: This is a search-enabled field that lets you select an existing material from your inventory. If you opened the purchase form directly from a material’s detail page, this field will be pre-filled for you.
If the material doesn’t exist yet, click Add new -> beside the search box to create it. Once added, you’ll return to your purchase form with your details intact.
Quantity & Costs: Here you’ll record how much of the material you purchased:
- Purchase Quantity - if you’ve set up purchase units and multipliers (e.g., “1 pack = 12 pieces”), this field will appear. You can enter the vendor-facing quantity, and Craftybase will automatically convert it to your tracking unit.
- Tracking Quantity - the actual number of units being added to your inventory (e.g., 12 pieces). You can enter this directly if you prefer, and the purchase quantity will update to match.
- Unit Cost is the cost per single tracking unit.
- Total Cost is automatically calculated by multiplying the Unit Cost × Tracking Quantity. Changing either value will recalculate the other, giving you flexibility depending on the information you have.
Your Unit Cost is always based on the tracking unit you’ve defined (not the vendor’s purchase unit price). For example, if a pack of 12 pieces costs $6.00, the unit cost is $0.50 per piece. When you adjust the Unit Cost, the Total Cost will recalculate automatically, and vice versa. This flexibility lets you enter purchases using whichever value you have available.
Stock Changes: This section shows how your inventory levels will change once the purchase is saved. Each column provides more detail about the restocking process:
- Received - tick this box if the items have already arrived. If the items haven't arrived yet, leave this unchecked. Your inventory will only update once you edit the purchase and mark them as received.
- Lot # - enter a lot or batch number if you’re tracking materials by lot. This helps with traceability, allowing you to track exactly which batch of material was used in manufactures or linked to sales. (Lot tracking is available in INDIE+ plans and above.)
- Purchased - the number of units being added from this specific purchase.
- Available - your current stock on hand before applying this purchase.
- New Available - your updated stock on hand after this purchase is saved. This value recalculates automatically as you adjust quantities or the received status.
Purchase Item Notes: Finally, you’ll see a small field for adding any notes about the line item. Use this for details you want to keep tied to the item, such as vendor references, batch information, or reminders.
When you’re done, click Add Purchase Item. The item will then appear under the Items Purchased section of the form with the details you entered. From here, you can:
- Review or edit the item.
- Add another purchase item if your order includes multiple materials.
Purchase Totals: Once all purchase items have been added, scroll down to the Totals section.
- Item Total - the combined cost of all purchase items. If you only entered one item, this will match its total cost.
- Discount - enter any discount received for the purchase. Craftybase will proportionally apply the discount across each line item.
- Tax & Shipping - add any tax or shipping charges. These are proportionally distributed across all items.
- Grand Total - calculated using the formula: Item Total - Discount + Tax + Shipping.
Final Details and Saving: At the very bottom of the purchase form, you’ll find a few optional fields.
- Estimated Arrival Date - you can record when you expect to receive the items. (This feature is available on INDIE+ plans and above.)
- Notes - a general notes field for information about the purchase as a whole (e.g., invoice number, delivery instructions).
- Paid - mark whether the purchase has been paid. The status (Paid or Unpaid) will appear in the Purchases list view for quick reference.
- Source - this comes in handy when you're correcting or managing purchases that were brought in through integrations or bulk CSV imports. Its main purpose is to ensure you can accurately track and manage data that originated from external sources.
When you’re happy with the details, click Save. You’ll be returned to the material page (or Purchases tab), and your inventory will be updated automatically.
- If the items are marked as Recieved, your stock on hand will increase right away.
- If Received was unchecked, your stock will remain unchanged until you edit the purchase and confirm receipt.
Have some questions?
If you have any additional questions, please get in touch, and we'll be happy to help.