Release a purchase order

To release a purchase order:

Important:
If you attempt to release a purchase order that has a purchase order number exceeding the supplier’s limit, you will be unable to release the order.

Open the Purchase Order workform.

Select Tools > Release from the menu bar or click .

If no issues were found with the purchase order, a message box appears with the prompt to generate on-order items. For information about additional messages that may appear when you release a purchase order, see Additional Messages and Alerts.

• Generate item records - If the purchase order is not a standing order An order placed with a vendor or the publisher directly for all publications in a series, all volumes in a set, or all publications of a single publisher. or subscription, a message asks if you want to generate item records. Click Yes if you want the items to appear with the circulation status On-Order in the public access catalog, click No if you do not want to generate item records, or click Cancel to stop the purchase order release. If you generate items, the purchase order information is transferred to the Source and Acquisition view of the Item Record workform. The invoice number is displayed on this view when the invoice is paid. For more information, see Enter acquisitions information for an item record.

Important:
If the bibliographic records linked to the on-order items have call numbers, and the Polaris Administration Cataloging profile Bring call number fields from bib to item record when link is made is set to Yes, the call number information is copied to the linked on-order item records according to settings in the Item Create Call Number Hierarchy database table.

Note:
When the purchase order is released and on-order items are generated, the Unit price (list price) displayed in each of the purchase order line items is copied to the on-order items, not the discount price.

Important:
If you are releasing an enriched EDI order so that you receive shelf-ready items from the supplier, you should generate on-order items so that the items retain the link to the purchase order line item segment when they are updated to shelf-ready items. If you do not create on-order items, you can still import bibliographic records with embedded holdings data to create shelf-ready items, but they will not be linked to a purchase order line item segment. Only shelf-ready items that are linked to a purchase order line item segment can be checked in and received using the Check In Shelf-Ready Materials workform.

When the Payment Options dialog box appears, select Pay on receipt of invoice or Prepay on the Payment Options dialog box.

If you chose Prepay, the Payment Options dialog box expands to display the Payment Methods frame. You can select Check or Voucher, type the check or voucher number, and select the date, but this information is not required to prepay the order.

Click OK on the Payment Options dialog box.

When the purchase order is released successfully, the following events occur:

• The status of the order in the order status box changes from Pending to Released (or Continuing if the order type is standing order or subscription).

• The purchase order is saved with the original purchase order number and purchase order number suffix, but these can be changed after the order is released. If the purchase order number and/or suffix is changed, the Properties sheet displays the original purchase order and suffix. The purchase order number/suffix is updated for any linked on-order item records.
• The date of the release appears.

Tip:
If the purchase order is linked to a foreign supplier, the amounts encumbered or expended are converted to the base currency according to the current exchange rate, and the amounts are posted in the linked funds in the base currency.

• If you selected the Pay on receipt of invoice checkbox, the appropriate funds are encumbered.

• If you selected Prepaid, the appropriate funds are expended, and an invoice is automatically created.

• If the purchase order has a payment method of depository agreement, the appropriate funds are debited, and an invoice is automatically created.

• If you chose to create item records upon release, the item records are created with a circulation status of on-order. The List price in the purchase order line items (not the discount price) is copied to the on-order items.

• The status bar indicates that the order was released successfully.

Additional Messages and Alerts

The following messages and alerts may appear when you release a purchase order:

• Purchase order release alert - There are linked bibliographic records without an ISBN, or with the Display in PAC box unchecked. Click Display in PAC to check the box in the bibliographic record and click Continue to release the purchase order, or click Cancel and edit the line items before releasing the purchase order.

Tip:
To change the Display in PAC setting in the linked bibliographic records, you must have the permission Modify a bib record from acquisitions and serials. See Administering Purchase Orders.

Important:
If you order using EDI, a line item may be rejected and automatically cancelled by the supplier if it is missing an ISBN/ISSN. Check your supplier’s requirements.

• This supplier accepts EDI orders - If the supplier linked to the purchase order accepts EDI orders, a message reminds you to send the order. Click OK to close the message box.

Tip:
Releasing the order does not automatically send it via EDI; select File > Send from the Purchase Order workform. See Transmit a purchase order electronically.

• This supplier cannot accept orders where the PO number exceeds [X] characters. - If the supplier linked to the purchase order has a limit on the length of the purchase order number allowed for EDI orders, a message tells you to change the purchase order number to be less than or equal to the supplier’s EDI purchase order number maximum length.

Tip:
Polaris attempts to match each released line item segment with an existing item template. See Creating On-Order Item Templates.

• The following item templates are missing required fields. - If the system cannot find an item template to match the branch, collection, and material type, the Item Record Creation error message box appears. It lists the missing required fields and alerts you that no item records will be created if a template cannot be found.
  • Click No to cancel the release operation. Create an on order item template if none exists, or correct an existing one in the Cataloging subsystem. See Creating On-Order Item Templates.
  • Click Yes to release the purchase order without creating item records. An error condition will result. Even in the event an item template code match is done, no item template will be found. You can create the item records when the items are received, although if you are outsourcing your cataloging through enriched EDI, correcting the error is encouraged.

• Foreign currencies - If the linked supplier uses a currency other than your base currency, the currency code appears next to Amount; for example, Amount (USD) if your base currency is Canadian Dollars, and the linked supplier uses U.S. dollars. If you need to change the exchange rate, click Cancel and select Utilities > Update Currency Exchange Rate. You must have the Polaris Acquisitions permission Adjust currency exchange rate: Allow. See Update the currency exchange rate for a foreign currency.

• Exceeding or adjusting encumbrance limits - If you selected Pay on receipt of invoice, a dialog box appears if there is insufficient money in the fund.

• Click OK to continue. The Overencumbrance List dialog box appears.
• Click Continue to overencumber the funds and exceed the negative free balance. You must have the permission Release order exceeding fund encumbrance limits.
• Click Adjust Funds to adjust the fund limits in the fund record. See Adjust fund limits. Then, you can release the purchase order.

• Exceeding or adjusting expenditure limits - If you selected Prepay, and there is insufficient money in the fund or if the fund expenditure limits will be exceeded, the Overexpenditure List dialog box appears.

• Click Continue and release the order. You must have the permission Release order exceeding fund expenditure limits.
• Select a fund and click Adjust Funds to make changes in the fund. See Adjust fund limits.