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7. Suppliers and purchasing
Two things to set up here: where your blanks come from, and how you reorder them.
Connect a supplier catalogue
Insight, then Integrations. Three suppliers have direct integrations:
| Supplier | Region | Credentials needed |
|---|---|---|
| AS Colour | AU and NZ | API token from your trade account |
| SanMar | US and Canada | Username and password, PromoStandards account |
| Ralawise | UK and EU | API key |
Paste the credentials, save, and the card shows a status. A successful verification means the catalogue sync can run; see supplier catalogues for what each feed provides and how often to re-run it.
Without credentials, syncs run in stub mode: a small synthetic catalogue so the rest of the product works. That is fine while you evaluate, and not fine once you are quoting real jobs, because your customers will be quoted on garments you do not buy.
Suppliers without a direct integration are handled by CSV import into the catalogue, and their purchase orders work exactly the same way.
How purchasing works
Records, then Purchase orders.
A purchase order moves through: draft, then sent, then received (fully or partially). Stock is credited when you receive, not when you send, so on-hand never lies about what is in the building.
Creating a PO
Two routes.
Suggest from low stock on the PO list looks at every SKU at or under its reorder point and creates draft POs, grouped by brand, sized by each SKU's reorder quantity. This is the fast path and it is why reorder points are worth setting properly. Review the drafts before sending: the suggester knows your reorder settings, not that you are about to lose a customer or take on a 2,000-shirt contract.
Create builds one by hand:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Supplier | Supplier name, free text |
| Supplier email | Where Send to supplier posts the PO |
| Brand | Which brand this PO is for |
| Expected delivery | Used to flag late deliveries |
| Lines | SKU, quantity, unit cost |
| Notes | Anything the supplier needs to know |
Unit cost matters: it feeds the cost snapshots that make your margin reports real. A PO with zero costs produces jobs that look infinitely profitable.
Sending and receiving
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Download PDF | A printable PO |
| Send to supplier | Emails the PO to the supplier email on the record and marks it sent |
| Receive delivery | Records what actually arrived, per line, and credits stock |
Partial receipts are supported and normal: receive the 180 that turned up, and the PO stays open for the 20 that did not. Every receipt writes a stock movement, so the ledger explains every unit.
Setup to do now
- Connect the supplier you buy most from, or confirm you will be importing CSVs.
- Enter unit costs for your top SKUs, either through the sync or by hand.
- Set reorder points and quantities on your top twenty SKUs.
- Run Suggest from low stock once, to see what it produces on your data. Delete the drafts if you do not want them.