Function #25: Automatically generate purchase orders from a sales order

Function #25: Automatically generate purchase orders from a sales order

We kicked off the "Function Fridays" series with the goal of helping you automate your everyday accounting tasks. As we delve into today's post, I'm delighted to announce that we're here to present the 25th custom function in this series. While it is a small milestone, we are committed to continuing this series to provide more functions that can save you time and significantly enhance the efficiency of your business operations. You can find a complete list of all the functions we've shared to date by visiting this link. 

Coming to today's function, you're likely familiar with the feature in Zoho Books that allows you to raise multiple purchase orders from a sales order when item quantities are running low or depleted. If your sales order has several low-stock items that must be procured from different vendors, manually creating separate purchase orders for each vendor can become quite a time-consuming task. To streamline and simplify this process, you can set up a workflow rule that will trigger the automatic creation of purchase orders.

Here's how it works: Let's take the example of John, a retail business owner who has received an order. While he's in the process of creating the sales order, he notices 2 items whose stock levels need to be replenished to fulfill future orders. During the sales order creation in Zoho Books, John can simply use a checkbox-type custom field (specifically created for this purpose) to mark the items that need to be ordered. From that point, Zoho Books takes over.



The custom function is executed to generate purchase orders for all the marked items. The choice of vendor in the purchase orders is based on the preferred vendor assigned to each item. If there are multiple items in the sales order with the same preferred vendor, the system will consolidate these items and add them to a single purchase order.

Prerequisites: 

1. Create a check box-type custom field for the items by the name "Generate PO" to be displayed in the item table of sales orders. When creating a sales order, it's necessary to tick this checkbox to initiate the creation of a purchase order for the item.



2. It's important to fill in the "Preferred vendor" field in the item details screen so that the purchase orders are raised for the corresponding vendor. Do note that the "Preferred vendor" field will be displayed only when the Purchase information of the item is enabled.




3. Create a Connection named "zbooks" to successfully execute the function. You can watch the GIF attached below to know how to create the connection.



Custom Function:

Navigate to Settings -> Automation -> Workflow Actions -> Custom Functions -> +New Custom Function > Add the function code from this GitHub link.
 
Workflow Rule: 
 
Go to Settings -> Automation -> Workflow Rules -> +New Workflow Rule and set up the workflow rule as shown below:-





In the final step of this workflow rule, associate the custom function you created and then hit Save.

This function will not just be a time-saver but also help you maintain optimum inventory levels required to fulfill customer orders. Should you need any help in configuring this function, remember, that we're just an email away. Feel free to drop your queries to support[at]zohobooks[dot]com. We're always available to provide the assistance you need! 

Regards,
Shireen Farhana S
Zoho Books

    • Recent Topics

    • "View ticket" link is broken

      The "View ticket" link in our Zoho ticketing system confirmation emails is broken (please see attached). Impacts ability to update/review details, and, refresh recollection at a later date. Any help would be much appreciated.

    • import data from Apollo.ai into zoho crm via zoho flow

      I might be asking this question in the wrong forum. We use Apollo.ai to find potential new leads for our business, there are around 10000 leads that we have initially found. We have an Apollo.ai account but just to do searches, we dont use it as a crm.

    • Can't Figure out Books and level 2 payment data

      Hello, I am having trouble figuring out how to collect level 2 payment data as required by my payment gateway. Last month it cost us almost $5000 in fees because of this. We are invoicing our clients with books and they pay through the link in that email

    • Woocommerce Line Item Information

      I'd like to add each line item from a Woocommerce order to a zoho creator form record. The line items are found within the line items array, but I'm not sure how to get each item out of the array? Any help would be much appreciated.

    • Synching changes to Stripe when changes are made in Zoho Billing

      We have a situation where we have merged customers in Zoho BIlling and then found out later that the payment in Stripe was not updated and still associated with the old customer record. The card gets updated and billed, but that payment is still associated

    • How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

      How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

    • Disable Smart Filters By Default

      The smart filters "feature" is causing confusion for Zoho Mail users. New emails should be delivered to the inbox unless they have specifically opted to redirect them somewhere else. People don't understand that new emails might be waiting in a random

    • ME SALE ESTE ERROR: No fue posible enviar el mensaje;Motivo:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked

      Ayuda!! Me sale este error al intentar enviar mensajes desde mi correo electronico de Zoho! Tampoco recibo correos pues cuando me envia rebotan. Ayuda, Me urge enviar unos correo importantes!! Quedo atenta MAGDA HERNANDEZ +5731120888408

    • Zoho Mail not working

      Zoho Mail not working

    • I can't add a new customer in Zoho invoice? Anyone had this issue before?

      Ive been using Zoho invoice for over 6 years. Today I wanted to add a new customer to send an invoice to but it doesn't save when I try to access it from the pulldown menu when you go to send a new invoice.

    • Spreadsheet View click & focus issue in Arabic (RTL) localization

      Hello Zoho Support Team, I am facing an issue in Zoho Creator Spreadsheet View when using Arabic localization (RTL). Scenario: My app supports English (LTR) and Arabic (RTL). I created a Spreadsheet View for a form. In English, everything works correctly.

    • Ghost email notification on a form

      Hello, We have recently encountered an error where I can not see a email notification set up for a form which I am currently the owner, although neither the form nor the notification were created by me. However, neither can the Super Admin access the

    • bulk edit records and run internal logic

      hi there is few logics in manner "it this than that" logics work well when i edit entry openning it one by one (via workflow "on add/edit - on success" , for custom field "on update/on user input") but when i try bulk edit records - logic does not work.  how can i turn on logic to work as programmed - for mass editing records via bulk edit?

    • Limitations on editing a message in Cliq

      Hi I've checked the documentations and there's no mention of how many times a message can be edited. When trying with code, I get various numbers such as ~1000 edits or so. Please mention if there's a limit on how many times one can change a message via

    • email address autocomplete

      Is there a way to eliminate certain addresses from showing up in auto complete when entering an address? Many old and unused addresses currently show up, many of which I would like to get rid of. Thanks

    • How to use MAIL without Dashboard?

      Whenever I open Mail, it opens Dashboard. This makes Mail area very small and also I cannot manage Folders (like delete/rename) etc. I want to know if there is any way to open only Mail apps and not the Dashboard.

    • How can i download and secure all my mails from the archive folders?

      Hi, i would like to download all my mails from my archive folders and secure it on my external HDD. Is this possible? Thx. amir

    • How to open filtered report in popup using Zoho Creator Deluge?

      First report: There is so many records in Report, If I click one record, pop up is occur. Second report (Pop up): there is also so many record data, and this pop up is also Report, not Form. First report: It has got "Sales Order" field. when I click any

    • Can you default reports/charts to report the current week?

      Our data table maintains two years of data. Management wants certain report to automatically filter the report to the latest calendar week. I know I can do this manually with filters but I want the report to automatically default to the latest calendar

    • Rendering PDF to view on page

      My company upload lots of PDF files onto Zoho. But every time we open it, it downloads the file instead of viewing it on the web page. Does Zoho allow uploaded PDF files to be rendered to view on web page yet? I've been trying to use <embed> or <object> but it cannot be loaded.  (similar thread: https://help.zoho.com/portal/community/topic/how-to-open-a-pdf-file-of-a-view-in-preview-mode)

    • Overlapping Reports in Dashboards

      It's rare, but occasionally it would be a good feature if I were able to overlap reports, either fully or partially in the Dashboards. Also, then having the ability to move objects to the front or rear, or make them transparent/translucent would be good

    • Feature request - pin or flag note

      Hi, It would be great if you could either pin or flag one or more notes so that they remain visible when there are a bunch of notes and some get hidden in the list. Sometimes you are looking for a particular name that gets lost in a bunch of less important

    • Admin guide: Handling Mailbox Settings for better user management

      Managing day-to-day email scenarios, such as supporting users with multiple email addresses, ensuring uninterrupted email access during employee absences, enabling secure mailbox sharing, and enforcing organizational security and compliance, can be challenging

    • Cisco Webex Calling Intergration

      Hi Guys, Our organisation is looking at a move from Salesforce to Zoho. We have found there is no support for Cisco Webex Calling however? Is there a way to enable this or are there any apps which can provide this? Thanks!

    • Designing a practical Zoho setup for a small business: lessons from a real implementation

      I recently finished setting up a Zoho-based operating system for a small but growing consumer beauty business (GlowAtHomeBeauty), and I wanted to share a practical takeaway for other founders and implementers. The business wasn’t failing because of lack

    • DKIM (Marketing emails) UNVERIFIED (Zoho One)

      I'm having a problem with Zoho One verifying my Marketing Email DKIM Record for MYFINISHERPHOTOS.COM. I have removed and re-entered the ownership, DKIM (Transactional emails), SPF and Marketing DKIM and all of them come back verified except the DKIM (Marketing

    • Zoho Recruit Community Meet-up - India

      Namaste, India. 🙏🏼 The Zoho Recruit team is hitting the road—and we 're absolutely excited behind the scenes. Join us for the Zoho Recruit India Meet-up 2026, a morning designed to make your recruiting life easier (and a lot more effective). Date City

    • Generate a Zoho Sign link

      From time to time I get a response "I never received your you e-document for electronic signature" is there a way to generate a Zoho Sign link to share.

    • Is it possible to create a word cloud chart in ZoHo Analystics?

      Hi there, I have a volume of transaction text that I would like to analyse using word cloud (or other approcah to detect and present word frequency in a dataset). For example, I have 50,000 records describing menu items in restaurants. I want to be able

    • How to Fix the Corrupted Outlook 2019 .pst file on Windows safely?

      There are multiple reasons to get corrupted PST files (due to a power failure, system crash, or forced shutdown) and several other reasons. If You are using this ScanePST.EXE Microsoft inbuilt recovery tool, it only supports the minor corruption issue

    • [Webinar] A recap of Zoho Writer in 2025

      Hi Zoho Writer users, We're excited to announce Zoho Writer's webinar for January 2026: A recap of Zoho Writer in 2025. This webinar will provide a recap of the features and enhancements we added in 2025 to enhance your productivity. Choose your preferred

    • How to drag row(s) or column(s)?

      Hi. Selecting a row or column and then dragging it to a new position does not seem to work. Am i missing something or this is just not possible in Zoho Sheet? Cheers, Jay

    • Building Toppings #5 - Creating and configuring custom service connections in Bigin Toppings

      Hello Biginners, Integrating Bigin with external applications extends its capabilities and enables customized functionalities. In our last post, we saw how to create a default service connection. Today, we'll see how to create a custom service connection

    • Optimising CRM-Projects workflows to manage requests, using Forms as an intermediary

      Is it possible to create a workflow between three apps with traceability between them all? We send information from Zoho CRM Deals over to Zoho Projects for project management and execution. We have used a lookup of sorts to create tasks in the past,

    • Conditional fields when converting a Lead and creating a Deal

      Hi, On my Deal page I have a field which has a rule against it. Depending on the value entered, depends on which further fields are displayed. When I convert a Lead and select for a Deal to be created as well, all fields are shown, regardless of the value

    • ATE Session on Payment Gateways: Our experts are live now. Post your questions now!

      Hello everyone, Our experts are all excited to answer all your questions related to payment workflows. Please feel free to join this session and learn more about this topic. If you have a query at anytime, please post them here.

    • Upload data deleted all Zoho form data that we manage

      Good morning. Let me introduce myself, I'm Iky from Indonesia. I'm experiencing an error or problem using Zoho Forms. I manage Zoho Forms, but I previously encountered an error when I misclicked the delete button in the upload format. It apparently deleted

    • ZOHO FORMにURL表示ができない

      初心者です。 ZOHO FORM で宿泊者名簿を作っています。 ゲストが、URLをクリックするとStripeで支払いができるようにURLを表示をしたいのですが、 上手くできません。 やり方が分かる方、ぜひ教えてください。

    • Custom module - change from autonumber to name

      I fear I know the answer to this already, but thought I'd ask the question. I created a custom module and instead of having a name as being the primary field, I changed it to an auto-number. I didn't realise that all searches would only show this reference.

    • No Automatic Spacing on the Notebook App?

      When I'm adding to notes on the app, I have to add spaces between words myself, rather than it automatically doing it. All my other apps add spacing, so it must be something with Zoho. Is there a setting I need to change, or something else I can do so

    • Next Page