Purchase order automation
Customer POs into your ERP, without re-typing them.
Customer purchase orders arrive as PDFs, emails and spreadsheets in a dozen layouts. We read each one, check it against your records, and stage a clean sales order in your system. Someone on your team clicks approve before anything is final.
Example: a six-line PO from a repeat customer
What comes in
- Customer
- Northland Fabrication
- File
- PO-55821.pdf, 2 scanned pages
- Lines
- 6
- Requested ship
- Nov 14
What your team seesSample data
- Customer matched to account 10442
- 5 of 6 customer part numbers matched to your item numbers
- Needs a look: Line 4: part NF-2210 not on file. Suggested match: your item 7731-B
- Needs a look: Line 6: $18.40 each vs. $17.25 on quote Q-3307
- Ship-to address matches the account record
Staged as a draft sales order with two lines flagged for review.
Names and numbers in this example are made up for illustration.
How it works
Read every PO where it arrives
Your customers keep sending POs the way they do today, to the same inbox or portal. PDFs, scanned pages, Excel files and plain emails all work.
Pull out the order details
Customer, ship-to, PO number, line items, quantities, prices, requested dates and notes are pulled into one clean, structured order.
Check it against your records
Customer part numbers are matched to yours. Prices are compared to the quote or price list on file. Duplicates, unknown items and odd quantities are flagged.
Your team approves
Your order desk sees the staged order with anything unusual highlighted. One click sends it into your ERP. Nothing is entered until a person says so.
The problem with keying POs by hand
Most order desks still work the same way. A PO lands in the inbox, someone opens it, and they type the customer, ship-to address, part numbers, quantities, prices and dates into the ERP one field at a time. Then the next one. A ten-line PO can take fifteen minutes. A busy morning can bury a whole person.
The typing is only part of the cost. Customers use their own part numbers, so somebody has to look up yours. Prices on the PO don't always match the quote. Ship dates get missed because the request was in the body of an email instead of the attachment. Each of those mistakes shows up later as a wrong shipment, a credit memo or an unhappy buyer.
Hiring another order entry clerk clears the backlog for a while. It doesn't change the work.
What it works with
If your ERP or accounting system can import a file, receive email, or has an integration option, we can usually connect to it. That covers most systems small and mid-size manufacturers run, including older on-premise ones. We confirm the fit for your specific system during the free audit, before you spend anything.
Common questions
Do our customers have to change how they send POs?
No. They keep sending POs the same way. We work from whatever already lands in your inbox or portal.
What about scanned or handwritten POs?
Clean scans work well. Handwriting and very poor scans are harder, so those get flagged for a person instead of guessed at.
What if a customer uses their own part numbers?
We build a cross-reference from your past orders and keep it up to date. When a part number is new, the order is flagged with a suggested match for your team to confirm.
Will it enter orders without anyone checking?
No. Every order waits for a person on your team to approve it. That stays true until you decide otherwise.
How long does it take to set up?
The pilot runs 2 to 3 weeks on your real POs. You see it working on your own orders before committing to anything ongoing.
More we take off your plate
Book your free workflow audit.
30 minutes, no cost. We'll find where your team's hours go and tell you honestly whether automation pays off, even if the answer is no.