Start from a project that already has supplier-linked material lines

This workflow is usually owned by the office manager, project coordinator, owner or estimator who controls purchasing. It starts from the project record after the quote has been accepted and converted, because Fencify builds lifecycle purchase orders from the material lines already attached to that project's quote.

Before you open the Material Procurement area, make sure these foundations are already in place:

• the project is linked to the accepted quote you intend to deliver
• supplier records exist for the vendors you actually buy from
• inventory products are assigned to the right supplier where you want a lifecycle purchase order
• the quote has material lines ready to purchase, with labour and commercial totals already checked
• install dates are realistic enough for supplier ETA tracking to mean something
• the office knows which staff member will own ordering and receiving for the job

That preparation matters because Fencify creates supplier purchase orders from quote material items linked to the supplier on the product catalogue. If the supplier mapping is missing, the material line may still exist on the job, but it will not become a supplier lifecycle order until the catalogue data is cleaned up.

Supplier setup also affects timing. Supplier records can carry lead time days, and Fencify uses that value to seed a default ETA when a draft purchase order is first created. That gives the office an immediate planning reference before the supplier sends back a confirmed delivery date.

Review the supplier grouping on the project before you create anything

Open the relevant project and scroll to Material Procurement. Fencify groups the quoted material lines by supplier and shows each supplier as its own procurement card. That card is where you decide whether the material pack is ready to become a purchase order, whether a supplier is missing, and whether the quoted quantities still suit the job you are about to install.

Each supplier block gives you a practical pre-order review:

• supplier name and current PO number if an order already exists
• a running total for that supplier pack
• the individual item lines pulled from the quote
• SKU details where they exist on the product record
• ordered, received, backorder and outstanding quantities once the PO lifecycle is active
• unit cost values that will later feed receipt costing

At this stage, you are looking for practical procurement issues rather than fine quote editing. If the wrong supplier is showing, fix the catalogue relationship before ordering. If a line quantity is clearly wrong for the site scope, go back and correct the underlying quote before you issue anything to a vendor. If a material line should be split between two suppliers, sort that out in your estimating data before you create the draft order.

Create the draft purchase order and check what Fencify pulled in

When a supplier card is ready, use Create Draft PO on that supplier block. Fencify creates one active purchase order for that supplier and project, assigns a PO number, keeps the order in draft, and pulls in the non-labour quote material items linked to that supplier.

That draft stage is where you should confirm the order before it leaves the office. Open the supplier card again and check:

1. the supplier is the correct vendor for the material pack
2. each line item description still matches what the team intends to install
3. the SKU is present where supplier ordering depends on it
4. ordered quantities look right for the run lengths, gates and quoted scope
5. the unit cost is sensible enough for receiving and job costing later
6. the project site details are current before you print or send the PDF

You can also download the PO from the project at any time. The PO PDF includes the supplier details, site delivery address, site contact, PO reference, status, ETA and the ordered, received and outstanding quantities for each item. That makes the draft PDF useful as an internal review copy before the supplier ever sees it.

Fencify also guards against duplicate active purchasing for the same supplier. If a draft, issued, accepted or part received order already exists for that supplier on the project, the system will not quietly create a second active lifecycle PO over the top of it. That helps keep ordering clean when several staff members are working in the same project.

Issue the order, record supplier acceptance and watch the ETA badges

After the draft is checked, move the PO through its live supplier stages from the same supplier card. The available actions reflect the current stage of the order, so the project page itself becomes the day-to-day purchasing tracker.

The issue step is simple: use Issue from the draft card once you are ready to order. When the supplier comes back with confirmation, use the Accept action and enter the ETA date. That ETA becomes a planning signal on the project.

Fencify uses clear ETA badges to help the office read risk quickly:

• ETA Needed means the order is open and still waiting on a supplier date
• ETA On Track means the ETA is not later than the project install start date
• ETA Risk means the ETA sits later than the install start date and the job may be exposed to a material delay

Those badges are especially useful when several active jobs are moving at once. They turn supplier feedback into a practical install readiness check instead of leaving ETA promises buried in emails or phone notes.

Receive delivered materials line by line and keep backorders visible

Once the supplier starts delivering, stay on the same project card and record the receipt against the actual PO line. Fencify shows a receive panel for open orders in the issued, accepted and part received stages. That panel is built for goods receiving, not just order administration, so it captures what physically arrived for the job.

For each delivered line, enter:

• the quantity received for that delivery
• the quantity still backordered if the shipment was short
• the unit cost you want reflected in the receipt and actual material cost record

After you save the receipt, Fencify updates the ordered, received, backorder and outstanding figures on that line. If there is still quantity to come, the PO stays in a live receiving stage. When the outstanding quantity reaches zero across the order, the purchase order moves through to fully received.

This line-by-line approach is what keeps partial deliveries useful. A common fencing example is receiving posts and rails this week while sheets or gates remain on backorder. The project record can show that split clearly, which makes it easier for the office and supervisor to decide whether the install can start, whether a stage of work needs rescheduling, or whether another supplier conversation is required before the crew is committed.

Keep the receive entries disciplined:

• receive against the correct supplier line rather than estimating the whole order as complete
• use the real delivered quantity, even if the shortage feels minor
• keep the backorder quantity current so the outstanding balance stays visible
• review the unit cost before saving if the supplier price changed from the quoted expectation

Understand what receiving changes in job costing and material actuals

Receiving is more than a stock note. When a PO receipt is recorded, Fencify writes the receipt into the project's material receipt history and also creates the matching material cost entry for the job. That means actual material cost starts building from what has physically been received, not just from what was originally priced in the quote.

In practical terms, one receipt can update several parts of the project story at once:

• the PO line quantities and status
• the purchase order's overall received position
• the material receipt ledger for the project
• the actual job cost entries used in cost review
• the variance picture when actual cost starts moving away from the project baseline

If your project uses a cost baseline and variance alerts, Fencify can immediately re-check the project after a receipt is saved. That helps the office spot a material overspend while the order is still active, rather than discovering it only after the final invoice review.

This is why it is worth entering the correct unit cost at the receive stage. If a supplier discount, freight change or urgent replacement purchase alters the material cost, recording that change here gives the project a truer profitability picture. It also gives the next workflow, job costing and profitability review, better numbers to work from.

Practical fencing example and final procurement checklist

Imagine a Colorbond boundary replacement with one gate, scheduled to start on Monday. The project already carries the accepted quote and the supplier-linked materials have been grouped on the project page into one steel supplier pack and one hardware supplier pack. The office creates the draft PO for the steel pack on Wednesday, checks the line quantities and SKU values, and downloads the draft PDF before issuing it that afternoon.

On Thursday morning the supplier confirms the order and gives a Friday ETA, so the office uses the Accept action and enters that date. The project now shows the order as accepted with an ETA that is still on track for Monday. Friday afternoon the posts and rails arrive, but several sheets are short. The office records the delivered quantities, sets the missing sheets as backorder and saves the actual unit cost from the supplier docket. The order shifts into part received, the outstanding quantity stays visible, and the project cost records now reflect the material that has actually landed.

That is the kind of clean procurement record you want before a crew starts work. Use this final review checklist before you hand the job into the next delivery stage:

• every supplier-critical material line is linked to the right supplier before the draft PO is created
• the draft PO quantities and SKU values match the real job scope
• the order has been issued only after the delivery address and site contact are correct
• supplier ETA dates have been recorded where available
• ETA badges have been reviewed against the install start date
• partial deliveries are recorded with real received and backorder quantities
• unit costs used at receiving reflect what the business is actually paying
• actual material cost movement is being watched before it becomes a margin surprise

Once this workflow is under control, the next question is no longer what was ordered. It becomes whether the job is still on budget, whether outstanding material will affect delivery, and how the real cost picture compares with the contract value.