Understanding the Purchase Order (PO) Lifecycle in Quartzy

This guide is for labs using Quartzy as their dedicated procurement platform and central system of record for purchasing. It covers how to manage Purchase Orders (POs) end-to-end — from creation and approval to ordering and closure. Learn how PO statuses work, how to check out through Quartzy, and how to track changes and approvals through a detailed event history. If you're ready to streamline and centralize your lab’s purchasing, this is the place to start!

Table of Contents

• PO Statuses 
• Creating New POs
• Approving Pending POs
• Checking Out on a Quartzy PO
• Marking Pending POs as Ordered
• Closing POs
• Editing POs
• PO Event History
• How Request Approvals and PO Approvals Work Together

PO Statuses

1. Draft: PO is created, but not yet submitted for approval
2. Pending: PO is awaiting approval
   • If your lab does not have PO Approvals enabled, all POs will skip this step
3. Open: PO has been approved
   • If PO has not yet been ordered, related requests will remain in a Pending or Approved state
   • If PO has been ordered, related requests should reflect an Ordered, Backordered, Received, or Cancelled state
4. Closed: PO has been fully received or cancelled

Creating New POs

1. Submit requests via the Add Request page or Quartzy Shop
2. Select the requests you'd like to group into a Purchase Order using the checkboxes on the left side of each request
3. Click Group Actions > Create PO
   
   
   
   
4. Add additional relevant information to the PO, such as:
   • PO #
     • If your organization has auto-generated PO #s enabled, the PO # will be pre-populated
   • Shipping & Billing Address
   • Payment Terms
   • Quote # (if applicable)
   • Save the PO as a Draft or Submit for Approval
     
     

Approving Pending POs

1. Once a PO is submitted for approval, selected admins will receive an email notification
   • Click Review PO in Quartzy to open it in the Quartzy web application
     
     
     
     
2. Once on the PO Details Page in Quartzy, click Approve if no changes are required
   • If any changes need to be made, click Edit to remove or update items, or leave a comment on any relevant requests to notify the requester
     
     
     
     
3. If multiple approval steps are defined, the PO will require approval by all relevant admins before moving from Pending > Open. 

Checking Out on a Quartzy PO

If Quartzy is the vendor on your PO, you'll see a Checkout button at the top of the PO Details Page when the PO is in the Open state.

 

 

If any items are already in your cart, they will be moved to the Save for Later section if they don't belong to the PO you are placing an order for.

 

1. On the Cart Summary page, select your desired shipping methods and apply promo codes (if any), then click Checkout
   
   
   
   
2. Verify PO #, Shipping Address, and Billing Address
   • If you arrived in the cart after clicking Checkout on the PO Details Page, the PO # will be auto-populated on the Payment page:
     
     
     
     
3. On the Review page, verify your order details and update your notification email preferences for the order, then click Place Order
   
   
   

Marking Pending POs as Ordered

If Quartzy is not the vendor on your PO, you'll see a Mark Ordered button at the top of the PO Details Page when the PO is in the Open state.

1. Once a PO has been approved, selected admins will receive an email notification
   
   
   
   
2. Click See PO in Quartzy to view the PO in the Quartzy web application
3. Place the order with the vendor via your usual method (e.g., vendor website or email)
   • If placing the order via email, click Export PDF to download a copy of the PO
4. Once an order confirmation is received, click Mark Ordered and enter:
   • Confirmation Number
   • Shipping Fees, Handling Fees, and/or Taxes
     
     
     
     

Closing POs

POs are automatically closed once all related requests have a received or cancelled status. 

Editing POs

You can edit the following details directly by clicking Edit on the PO Details page:

• Shipping Address
• Bill To Address
• PO #
• Payment Terms
• Quote #
• Tax, Shipping, and Handling
• Notes
• File Attachments

POs can also be edited indirectly through the following actions:

• Adding or removing an item via the Requests module
• Updating the quantity or unit price on a related request

Once a PO has been approved and is in the Open state—but hasn't been marked as Ordered—any change that increases the PO Subtotal will move the PO back to Pending status. These changes may include:

• Adding a new item to the PO
• Increasing the unit price on a related request
• Increasing the quantity on a related request

PO Event History

Each PO includes a detailed history of events that track key actions including:

• PO submitted (who created it and when)
• Approval actions (who approved it and when)
• Ordering status (when it was marked as ordered and by whom)
• Closed status
• Any changes to the PO total that occur via the following methods:
  • Unit price update
  • Quantity update
  • Shipping, handling, or tax update
  • Item additions or removals

How Request Approvals and PO Approvals Work Together

When both Request Approvals and PO Approvals are enabled, all requests on a PO must be Approved before the PO can be submitted for approval. 

POs can include unapproved requests while in Draft status. Once all related requests are approved, the PO can be submitted.

If a Draft PO contains unapproved requests, each will display an Approval Required warning. Click View Request to open the individual request and approve it.