Smart Contractor

Purchase Entry Form

To enter purchases, click Purchase in the shortcut menu, then click on Enter Purchases.

The Purchase entry form allows you to enter non labor costs for a job. Use the Enter Labor Hours form to enter labor costs (labor hours).

You can also enter job costs in the Job Progress form, but only if you are not using QuickBooks integration. See  Job Progress vs Purchase Entry for information on when to use the Purchase Entry form vs. the Job Progress form.

To enter purchases, you do not need to enter the list of materials purchased. These are already contained in the job estimates. To enter job costs, all you have to do is select the estimate item(s) being purchased, and enter the actual counts and costs for each.

You can also enter purchases for items that were not included in a job estimate. These appear as "extra purchases" in the Purchase Listing report and as over estimate costs in cost analysis reports.

You enter all job related purchases in the Purchase Entry form. This includes items purchased "on account" (for which you have received a vendor or subcontractor's invoice), as well as purchases that you have already paid for by check or credit card.

When you enter purchases:

  1. the job items' actual count and costs are updated in Smart Contractor,
  2. the item cost stored in the Product list is updated to reflect the cost entered.

If Smart Contractor is set up to integrate with QuickBooks (with the option to create purchases in QuickBooks), the Enter Purchases form will create purchase transactions in QuickBooks.

The type of purchase transaction created in QuickBooks depends on the option that you select in the prompt for Payment Method:

See the QuickBooks integration topic for more information on how purchase transactions are created in QuickBooks.

Notes About QuickBooks Integration:

To enter a purchase transaction, follow these steps:
To Enter a Purchase:
1. Click the Add button next to the prompt for Purchase (or click "(Add New)" in the dropdown list.

2. Complete the prompts described below.
To Edit a Purchase:
1. Select purchase transaction from the dropdown list in the prompt for Purchase:.

2. Complete the prompts described below.
Select A Vendor
Select a vendor, or subcontractor (or warehouse) from the dropdown list in the prompt for Vendor:. The program will list items for the job and allow you to select which ones to include in the purchase transaction.
To Save Changes:
Click OK.
To Cancel Changes:
Click Cancel.
To Exit Form:
Click Cancel to close the Purchase. Click Exit to close the form.
To Print Purchases:

Use the Purchases Listing report in the Purchase menu.

 

Screen Prompts

Other than the standard prompts, the Purchase entry form has the following prompts:

Purchase:
A "purchase" is group of items purchased from a vendor. Typically these would all appear on the same invoice or bill from the vendor (or sub). Select a pre-existing purchase to edit, or click Add to add a new purchase.
List Button

Click List to display a grid with purchases for active jobs. The grid has a Search prompt that allows you to search for a particular purchase by entering some search criteria. Click Edit to retrieve the selected purchase.

Status:

Select "Deleted" to delete an existing purchase transaction.

Note: If you are using QuickBooks integration in batch update mode, the program will display a message indicating this, and that the invoice in QuickBooks will be deleted when you run the Update QuickBooks Data utility.

Select Purchase Items...
The Select Purchase Items... drop down box contains several prompts that allow you to select estimate items to purchase. The Select Purchase Items box has the following prompts:
  • Project

    Select the Project from which to include jobs with items to purchase.

  • Job

    Select one or more jobs from which to include items to purchase.

  • Vendor

    Select the vendor for which to include items to purchase. You can assign vendors to estimate items in either of two places...

  • P.O. (Purchase Order)

    Select purchase order(s) from which to include items to purchase.

    Note: The item quantities and prices that appear in the grid will reflect the amounts entered in the purchase orders that you select. This will not necessarily be the same as the estimated quantities and prices because you can enter the quatities and prices in the Create Purchase Order form.

  • Show Items With Zero Estimate

    Check Show Items With Zero Estimate to include items with no estimated count or cost.

  • List Items

    Click List Items to list items to purchase based on the above criteria.

Vendor:

Select the vendor, subcontractor that this purchase (invoice) is from.

Note: You can also select a "warehouse" as a vendor. Selecting a warehouse as a vendor allows you to "purchase" from your warehouse, which will reduce the inventory count of products in your warehouse. Please see How Do I... Track Inventory for more information.

Vendor Ref No:
Enter the vendor reference (invoice) number.
Add Attachment
Click to add or open an attachment to an external document. When you click the Add Attachment button, the Attach External Document form will be displayed to allow you to attach to an external document.
Purchase Date:
Enter the date of the Purchase.
Payment Method:

Select the purchase payment method.

  • To enter a vendor invoice (bill), select "On Account". This will create a bills in QuickBooks (which you can then pay in QuickBooks).
  • To enter a purchase that has already been paid for by check, select "Check". This will enter a Check in QuickBooks (which has already been written). 
  • To enter a purchase that has already been paid for by credit card, select "Credit Card". This will enter a Credit Card purchase transaction in QuickBooks.
  • To enter a purchase that has already been paid for with cash, select "Cash". This will enter a check in QuickBooks with the check number set to "Cash" (the check will appear in your bank register in QuickBooks).
  • To enter a purchase that has already been paid for with a debit card, select "Debit Card". This will enter a check  in QuickBooks with the check number set to "Debit Card" (the check will appear in your bank register in QuickBooks).

Depending on the option that you select in the prompt for Payment Method, the form will display different prompts discussed below:

If you select Payment Method "On Order", the form will display these prompts:
Terms:
Select the vendor's payment terms.
Due Date:
Enter the Purchase due date.
AP Account:

Select the accounts payable general ledger account to post to in QuickBooks. This defaults to the AP Account selected in the QuickBooks Integration Setup form, but you can change it for individual Purchases.

 

If you select Payment Method "Check", the form will display these prompts:
Bank Account:
Select the general ledger account for the check's bank account to post to in QuickBooks.
Check Number:

Enter the number of the check used for the purchase.

Note: To enter a debit card purchase, you should use the "Check" purchase payment method, and enter "Debit" in the prompt for Check #. 

If you select Payment Method "Cash", the form will display these prompts:
Bank Account:
Select the general ledger account for the bank account in QuickBooks from which the cash was withdrawn.
Check Number:

The prompt for Check Number will be disabled, and the check number will be set to "Cash".  

If you select Payment Method "Debit Card", the form will display these prompts:
Bank Account:
Select the general ledger account for the check's bank account to post to in QuickBooks.
Check Number:

The prompt for Check Number will be disabled, and the check number will be set to "Debit Card".  

If you select Payment Method "Credit Card", the form will display these prompts:
Credit Card Account:
Select the general ledger account for the credit card's account to post to in QuickBooks.
Charge Ref No:

Enter the credit card charge transaction reference number.

QB Class:

Select the QuickBooks Class to post items in this purchase transaction to. The prompt for QB Class appears under the following conditions:

Purchase Item Grid
The purchase item grid has the following columns:
Selected
Check the box in the Select column to include the item in the current purchase transaction. You can click the Select All button below to check or un-check all items in the list.
Job
Select the job for which the item was purchased.
Item

Select or enter the name of the item purchased.

The list of items in the drop-down list comes from the items in the estimate for the job selected in the Job column.

  • If you select an item from the list, the purchase will be recorded under that estimate item.
  • If you enter an item that is not in the list, the program will create a new item in the estimate and place it in the group item that you specify in the "Sub-Item Of" column. The new item will reflect zero estimated costs, and actual costs equal to the purchase(s) entered for it.
Cost Category
Select the item cost category: Materials, Equipment, Subcontract, or Other Charge.
Product

Select or add the Product being purchased for the item.

When you select a product, the program will retrive information about the product (entered in the Edit Product form), and insert this in the following columns:

  • Job Phase
  • Purchase Unit
  • Purchase Cost - if you have selected a vendor in the prompt for Vendor above, and if you have entered a price for that vendor in the Edit Product form, the program will insert that price in the Purchase cost column.
Job Phase
Select the Job Phase for which the item was purchased.
Estimated Count
Displays the estimated item count.
Estimate Unit
Displays the estimated count unit.
Estimated Cost

Displays the estimated cost per unit.

Note:The item quantities and prices that appear in the grid will reflect the amounts entered in the purchase orders that you select. This will not necessarily be the same as the estimated quantities and prices because you can enter the quatities and prices in the Create Purchase Order form.

Previous Purchase

Displays the total count previously purchased of this item.

To view a list of the previous purchases, click on the cell displaying the amount previously purchased. A "..." button will appear. Click on the "..." button. A listing of the previous purchases for this item will appear.

Remaining Count

Displays the difference between the estimated count and the total count previously purchased; the amount remaining to be purchased.

Purchase Count
Enter the count to be purchased in this transactions.
Purchase Unit
Select the unit of the count to be purchased in this transactions.
Purchase Cost
Enter the cost per unit of the item to be purchased in this transaction.
Purchase Complete
Check the box in this column if this item has been fully purchased. Leave unchecked if more of the same item will be purchased.
Taxable
Check this box if the purchase item is taxable. The taxable status defaults to the taxable status set for this item in the job estimate. Changing the taxable status here will not change it in the job estimate.
Sales Tax
Displays the amount of sales tax for this item.
Total Purchase
Displays the total amount of the purchase: Purchase Cost + Sales Tax.
Sub-Item Of
Select the group item under which this item should be added in the job estimate (if this item is not in the estimate).
Allowance
Check the box in this column if this is an Allowance item (if this item is not in the estimate).
Change Order
Select or add the change order under which this item will be reported.
Item Note
Enter a note to appear on the customer's invoice.
Journal Note
Enter a note for the internal (confidential) job journal.

The rest of the prompts on the form are:

Select All:
Click Select All to select/un-select all items in the list.
Notes:
Enter any notes to appear in the QuickBooks purchase transaction "Memo" field.
Purchase Total:
The Purchase Total prompt displays the sum of the selected line items.


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