How to Manage Purchase Orders and Subcontracts in Buildern

📋 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.

👉Learn more about How to Create a Purchase Order or Subcontract in Buildern

Manage Purchase Orders and Subcontracts

To manage a Purchase Order or Subcontract:

Navigate to POs and Subcontracts.
Locate the Purchase Order or Subcontract you want to manage.
Click the ⋯ (three-dot menu) next to the entity.

The following actions are available:

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

👉 Learn more about How to Edit a Purchase Order or Subcontract

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

ℹ️ Note - When the Purchase Order is sent, the vendor is automatically added as a watcher and will receive updates on the document activity.

4) Submit for Approval - Send the Purchase Order for review and approval.

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

6) 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.

👉 Learn more about How to Edit a Purchase Order or Subcontract Preview in Buildern

7) Revert to Draft - Return the Purchase Order to the Draft status from any current status.

ℹ️ Note - When the status is changed back to Draft, existing watchers are not removed automatically and they will still receive notifications about the status change. If you do not want them to receive these notifications, you need to remove the watchers manually.

8) 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.

ℹ️ Note - Only users with the required Approve permission can approve Purchase Orders or Subcontracts.

👉 Learn more about How to Add/Edit Roles and Permissions

9) 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.

10) Confirm - Change the document status to Confirmed 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.This action is relevant to subcontractors.

11) 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.

12) 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.

13) 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.

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

ℹ️ Note - Users who approve a Purchase Order are automatically added as watchers. Additionally, once a Purchase Order is sent to the assigned subcontractor or vendor, those recipients are also automatically added as watchers, allowing them to receive notifications about subsequent updates and changes.

15) 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.