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How to Manage Purchase Orders and Subcontracts in Buildern

Purchase Orders (POs) and Subcontracts (SCs) help you track commitments to vendors and subcontractors throughout your projects. In this article, you'll learn how to perform management actions on Purchase Orders and Subcontracts.


📋 Requirements

Before you begin, make sure:

  • You have access to Buildern.

  • You have access to at least one project.

  • At least one Purchase Order or Subcontract has been created.


Manage Purchase Orders and Subcontracts

To manage a Purchase Order or Subcontract:

  1. Navigate to POs and Subcontracts.

  2. Locate the Purchase Order or Subcontract you want to manage.

  3. Click the ⋯ (three-dot menu) next to the document.

The following actions are available:

1) Edit - Update document details, cost lines, taxes, notes, attachments, terms and conditions, and other information.

2) View - Open the Purchase Order or Subcontract to review all document information, including cost lines, vendor details, taxes, attachments, comments, and status history.

3) Resend - Send the Purchase Order or Subcontract again to the assigned vendor or subcontractor.

4) Duplicate - Create a copy of an existing Purchase Order or Subcontract.

5) Preview - Review how the document will appear to the recipient before sending.

When accessed from the ⋯ (three-dot menu), the preview opens in read-only mode, allowing you to review the document without making changes.

To edit the document layout, displayed fields, or other preview settings, open the Purchase Order or Subcontract and click Edit > Preview in the upper-right corner.

6) Unpublish - Remove the document from the recipient's portal or shared view.

Once unpublished, the vendor or subcontractor will no longer be able to access the document through the shared link or portal.

ℹ️ Note - Unpublishing a document does not delete it from Buildern. The document remains available internally and can be published again later if needed.

7) Approve - Approve the Purchase Order or Subcontract and confirm that it is ready to proceed.

Approved documents remain available for tracking and can be used as part of the project's commitment and cost management process.

8) Reject - Reject the Purchase Order or Subcontract if it requires corrections or should not move forward. Rejected documents remain in the system and can be reviewed or updated if necessary.

9) Mark as Completed - Change the document status to Completed once all materials, services, or subcontracted work have been delivered and fulfilled. This helps keep project commitments up to date and provides clear visibility into completed work.

10) Create - Create related financial records directly from the Purchase Order or Subcontract.

The available options include:

  • Bill - Create a Vendor Bill using information from the Purchase Order or Subcontract. Relevant details and cost information will be carried over to help reduce manual data entry.

  • Expense - Create an Expense associated with the Purchase Order or Subcontract and track project costs against the committed amount.

This helps maintain accurate financial records and ensures that project commitments and actual costs remain connected throughout the project lifecycle.

11) Download PDF - Generate and download a PDF version of the Purchase Order or Subcontract. The downloaded file can be saved for recordkeeping, shared externally, or printed when needed.

12) Send Test Email - Send a test email to review how the Purchase Order or Subcontract email notification and document will appear to recipients before sending it to vendors or subcontractors.

13) Watchers - Add or manage watchers for the document. Watchers receive notifications about updates and changes, helping team members stay informed throughout the document lifecycle.

14) Delete - Permanently remove the Purchase Order or Subcontract from Buildern.

When you select Delete, Buildern displays a confirmation window asking you to verify the action before the document is removed. This helps prevent accidental deletions.

Once deleted, the Purchase Order or Subcontract will no longer be available to you or other users with access to the project.

ℹ️ Note - Available actions may vary depending on the document status and your user permissions.


Search and Filter Purchase Orders and Subcontracts

Use the available filters at the top of the page to quickly locate specific documents.

You can filter by:

  • Search – Search by document name, ID, or related information.

  • Sub/Vendors – View documents assigned to specific vendors or subcontractors.

  • Status – Filter by Draft, Pending, Approved, Rejected, or Completed status.

  • Date – Filter documents by date.

  • Type – Display only Purchase Orders or only Subcontracts.


Customize the List View

Buildern allows you to customize which columns are displayed in the list.

To manage columns:

  1. Click the Columns icon.

  2. Select or deselect the columns you want to display.

  3. Drag and drop columns to change their order.


Download Purchase Orders and Subcontracts in Excel file

To export the current list:

  1. Click the Download icon.

  2. Buildern will generate a file containing the displayed records.


Now that you know the basics, you're ready to work more efficiently.

Happy building!

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