Question

What's up with all the different kind of notes you can have display under an item in a purchase order?

What's the difference between Product Notes, Product Description, and Item Notes?

Answer

First, with respect to purchase orders, there are 3 types of notes you can have display under each item in a printed purchase order:

1. Product Notes
   
   You enter the Product Notes in the "Product Notes" box in the Products form. The Products form is where you enter information about products. You can get to the Products form by going to Setup > Lists > Product menu option, or by clicking on the Edit button to the right of the prompt for Product in the Edit Estimate form.
   
   
2. Product Description
   
   You enter the Product Description in the "Description" box right below the prompt for Product in the Edit Estimate form.
   
   The product description is in the estimate entry form to give room to describe/define the product with respect to its application to the specific job item. Why do you need the product description in the job estimate entry if you have product notes in the product entry? The reason is so you can define the product once in the product list, and then add any further definition/description in the product description in the estimate.
   
   A good example of this is a plumbing fixture. There may be a fair amount of information that is necessary to fully define a particular plumbing fixture, and all of this would go in the product description. But once you have that, it may still be necessary to define that product further for specific options that are selected for the particular job estimate item. For example: color, finish, dimension(s), etc.
   
   You could create separate products in the product list to fully describe every option available for a particular product, but that would require a lot more data entry, and you would still have the problem of uniquely identifying each version of the product in just the space of the product name.
   
   Using a product description in the job estimate allows you to create one entry in the product list for the most general specification of a product, then select that product in the estimate item entry form, and specify/define the product further in the product description in the estimate item.
   
   
3. Item Notes
   
   You enter the Item Notes in the "Item Note" box at the bottom of the right side of the Edit Estimate form. Item notes are displayed in a purchase order if you select the option to display item notes.

When product information is printed in purchase orders, both the product notes and product description is included, regardless of whether the option to display "Item Notes" is selected.

In printed customer documents (proposals, contracts, customer selections list, etc.), the product notes and product description is included when the option to include the display of product information selected.