Bellwether’s Purchase Order Software is a trusted solution by purchasing managers for over 35 years, designed for companies creating 50-1000 PO’s a month. Eliminate phone calls, emails, spreadsheets, and verbal approvals. Bellwether’s BPM software is 100% web-based and is the proven purchase order management software for small to midsize businesses. Stop wasting valuable time and automate your purchase orders today! Benefits of Bellwether PO System Increased Efficiency Saves Money BPM makes the purchasing process more efficient & helps companies reduce supply costs, cut administrative costs, shorten the length of the purchase cycle. Gain Control of Spending Company defined approval levels help eliminate maverick purchasing. With BPM purchase orders software, managers achieve greater transparency into corporate spending at all levels of the organization and every stage. Customize Workflow Customizable workflows provide controls for establishing budget tolerances & thresholds, and an automated, web-based PO process free up precious time better spent on vendor research & negotiations. Access anywhere, anyplace 100% web-based software offers flexibility and customization for your specific needs. Our enterprise ePMX software is available to an unlimited number of users. Company information is kept safe and secure. What is Purchase Order Software? Cloud based purchase order software automates the entire purchasing process. It helps to create purchase orders (POs), transmitting POs to suppliers, reconciling invoices to POs and contracts, and more. The features you get all depend on the type of software and the brand you choose, so it’s essential to do your research and know what you are looking for. Small business purchase order software is all about saving both time and money. When you automate specific business processes, you free up your employees to do other, more critical, and less repetitive tasks. This can help improve the chances of success for your business. With each person able to do more each workday, you are saving thousands of dollars a year. What are the Features You Should Look For a Purchase Order System? There are many types of purchase order software out there and from many different companies. Choosing can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re looking for in a product. If you are making the switch from manual spreadsheets to an automated system, here are the features that you should look for. Automated Workflows Make sure the software you choose automated workflows and tasks to help create a seamless process. Creating custom workflows should be easy, and you should be able to route requests based off of certain fields. This includes automating approvals that may have taken time out of your system in the past. After workflows are set up, they should flow automatically from one area to the next. Form Customization In order to properly run your business, you need to be able to modify the data fields on POs to capture information. This is especially crucial if your customer calls and needs to make changes to an order. Being able to customize POs will help build a trusted relationship between you, your customers, and your vendors. This is because you’ll have a smoother PO process, which positively impacts all aspects of your business. Cloud-based Storage You may already be using the cloud to store important information about your business. However, you need to be able to store, access, and approve POs seamlessly with centralized storage. This means a cleaner, more productive PO environment since people won’t have to go searching through papers for purchase orders. Role-Based Access Since not everyone focuses on the purchasing and procurement process of your business, you’ll need to be able to provide access to only those using the software. With purchase order management software, you can maintain the essential information based on the specific user and conditions. Auto 3-way Matching With an automated purchasing system, you can perform three-way matching of purchase orders with invoices and purchase requisitions. This is just one small aspect that you may not realize takes time out of your employee’s day; time that they could be using to build relationships with your customers and suppliers. The automated process also takes away any of the potential for human error. Real-time Data Reporting Purchasing software allows you to see data in a readable format so that you can determine delays. Easy Interface Your e-purchasing software should be easy to use so that you don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to use it. End user training should only take about an hour, and using it should be easy for yourself and your employees. If you think an interface is too difficult to understand, it’s safe to assume that your employees will feel the same way. Never use software that you feel could prove difficult to implement and use every day. Integrations Your software should allow for real-time integrations that communicate directly with your accounting system automatically and in real-time. This will speed up your entire procurement process. If you use Quickbooks, your PO software should be able to integrate seamlessly so that you don’t have to switch from using an automated system to a more manual one throughout the process. Fast Deployment When you switch from a manual spreadsheet purchase order system to an automated one, it should not take long to implement the new program. Your purchase order management software should be ready to use within a month. It should also be available on the web or mobile devices so that you and your chosen employees can access data anywhere and anytime. Remember, your software should be flexible enough to meet your business needs and not the other way around. Budgeting Managing your budget can be difficult, especially if you are making purchases without knowing whether or not they fit into your budget. Your purchasing software should show you the information you need to make informed decisions about what to buy, where to buy it, and who needs to approve it. Before you submit a purchase, you should be shown the amount of money left in the budget so that you know whether or not an item is likely to be approved. If you know that the purchase is over budget, you should then be able to route the request for approval. Customer Service No matter which company’s purchasing management software you use, you should make sure that they are available for you. Their customer service should matter just as much as yours does. PO software should be easy to implement and straightforward enough to use almost immediately. However, you should be able to rely on the company for any questions and concerns you have. What To Do Before Buying a PO Solution Before you commit and invest in a new PO system, it’s important to understand your business. We recommend sitting down with your employees who work in purchasing to understand their needs better. Let them know that you are considering getting purchase order inventory management system to help take care of the more repetitive tasks. Take into account their insight about where they believe the purchase order process falls flat. They may have some ideas that can help you implement a better plan of action, or let you know what to look for when researching PO software. Who Needs Online Purchase Order System? If you’re an SMB working with a manual, spreadsheet-based purchasing system, you may benefit from purchase order tracking software. As your business grows, you’ll find that your current process is no longer effective or efficient. An infective purchasing process can make running an organization much more difficult than it needs to be. If you’re in charge of approving requisitions and purchases, you may be slowing down the process. We understand that you are focused on the more crucial aspects of running a business. However, if you don’t approve things in a timely manner, you are negatively impacting your purchasing function. Don’t let this happen to you. If you want your business to continue to grow, you will eventually need an automated purchasing system that allows you to accomplish more in less amount of time. Web Based Purchase Order System Made Affordable Many organizations hesitate on making the switch from manual purchasing processes to automated because they think it will be a significant investment. However, Bellwether offers free purchase order software that can help you manage your process more efficiently. From there, if you believe you need a more robust system, Bellwether has got your back. Cloud purchase order system will only help save your business money from all of the time saved using automation. With Bellwether Purchasing Software You Can Automate the PO Process Many of our SMB customers use spreadsheets for their purchasing process. They eventually find that as their business grows, they can no longer keep up, and the manual spreadsheet is prone to error as well as confusion. We aim to eliminate paperwork while reducing errors and saving time. Control Spending You can reduce maverick spending by knowing what your budget is before making a purchase. Enforcing pre-purchase approvals is crucial for businesses who need to improve their bottom line. Also improving budget compliance will help to ensure everyone involved with the purchasing process is not spending more than they should. Catalog The easiest way to compare vendor pricing is by using their catalogs. PO software allows you to create a comprehensive product catalog. This feature should help you compare vendors based on price, warranty, and maintenance details, along with any terms that are listed in their contract. Track Invoices Make sure you’re getting paid and making payments. This is the foundation of every business. PO software allows you to track invoices and payment details for each PO. This function helps you to stay up to date on your finances and communicate more effectively with the accounting department. Customize Reporting In order to understand your purchasing process better, you’ll need to create reports that analyze trends, track supplier contacts, and manage your budgets and the health of your supply chain. PO software lets you easily choose the fields for which you want to see specific data and shows it to you in an easy to understand way. PO vs. Invoice In the business world, we’ve heard many customers use the terms PO and invoice interchangeably. Both are important in the purchasing process, and both relate to money. However, while they are both involved in the process, they serve two different functions. A PO is prepared by the buyer when they order goods or services, while an invoice is created by the seller to request payment for those goods or services. Both documents include details about the order and shipping, but the invoice consists of an invoice number, date of delivery, and PO number. Therefore, the PO comes first, and the PO comes after certain terms have been met. You need to be able to manage both with your purchase order system. In fact, you should easily be able to convert a PO to an invoice without the need for human intervention. If you’re using a manual process, you run the risk of inserting the wrong numbers and information onto the invoice. These errors can upset the buyer when they receive it and see that you’ve added an extra zero. While this is just a simple typo, upsetting your buyer can impact your relationship in a negative way. Instead, automated purchase order software will automatically convert the PO to an invoice and eliminate the risk of human error. Why Bellwether? We’ve worked with thousands of SMBs to help them automate their purchasing process. Not only do they say that it has helped relieve some of the stress of operating a business, but has saved them both time and money. With Bellwether, you can stay on top of your budget, reduce maverick spending, and make your purchase process much more effective and efficient.