Purchase Orders

We recommend a purchase order system for any company large enough to have a home office and job-site foremen. It will make job costing much easier, and it will improve communications enormously.

NOTE-- In 2000, MacNail was replaced by Goldenseal construction accounting software. Goldenseal is an integrated program that includes general accounting, job costing, payroll and project billing, plus estimating and other features (including purchase orders and work orders).

Have a book of triplicate purchase order (PO) forms on each job site. When the foreman orders any items, makes any change orders, pays petty cash, or makes any kind of agreement with subcontractors, document it in the PO book. One copy can go to the involved party, one copy can stay on the job site, and one copy can go back to the office.

Material, subcontractor and misc. items can be entered into the appropriate Logbook or Ledger in the MacNail construction accounting software, directly from the POticket. Put the PO number in the item of work or comments column, and leave the amount blank unless you have a firm cost.

When actual invoices come in, it will be easy to use Excel's Find command (from the FORMULA menu) to see the matching lines, and enter the actual costs.

You can also wait until actual invoices come in before entering PO information into the Logbooks.