Workflow Tasks for Creating and Publishing POs to NetSuite

Overview

This article provides an overview of the tasks required to publish purchase orders (POs) to NetSuite from Tropic using Tropic’s NetSuite PO integration. Here, you’ll learn how to add tasks for PO creation, review, and publishing within a procurement workflow.

Note: This article assumes your NetSuite instance is already integrated with Tropic. If not, see the NetSuite Integration article for setup instructions.

The NetSuite integration allows you to create, review, and publish POs as part of a procurement workflow in Tropic, streamlining the process of sending POs directly to NetSuite.

Required Purchase Order Creation Tasks

When an employee fills out a Request Form, it initiates a Request in Tropic that is dynamically assigned to one of your organization’s workflow If PO creation is part of this process, you must add the following PO-specific tasks to your workflow:

• Create Purchase Order
  • Assign this task  to the person responsible for drafting POs. The assignee can create the PO by referencing proposal information within the task 
    
    • Note: A supplier must already exist in NetSuite for a PO draft to be created. If this is the first purchase from a new supplier, ensure the supplier is added as a vendor in NetSuite.
• Validate GL Code ad Approve Purchase Order
  • Typically assigned to the accounting or finance team, this task involves reviewing and adjusting the GL code, if needed, before the PO is published. 
• Send the Purchase Order to NetSuite
  • The final task that instructs Tropic to publish the PO to NetSuite.

Please refer to Creating a Purchase Order in NetSuite to help you with this guide.

Adding Purchase Order Tasks to Workflows

Where you add these tasks depends on your organization’s PO process. We recommend placing PO tasks after purchase approvals to avoid last-minute adjustments.

Create Purchase Order

• Recommended Placement: Right after the last approval to reduce changes. It can be parallel with the signature task if PO creation is allowed before signing.
• Default Task Fields:
  • Task Type: Integration
  • Integration: NetSuite
  • Integration Sub Type: Create Purchase Order
  • Task Name: “Create Purchase Order”
  • Assignee Type: Teammate (someone who will create POs for your organization)
  • Due Date: 2 days

Note: Task durations are counted in calendar days, including weekends and holidays.

Validate GL Code and Approve Purchase Order

• Placement: Following Create Purchase Order Draft in sequence.
• Purpose: Allows the PO to be reviewed for GL code accuracy before approval.
• Default Task Fields:
  • Task Type: Integration
  • Integration: NetSuite
  • Integration Sub Type: Purchase Order Approval
  • Task Name: “Validate GL Code and Approve Purchase Order”
  • Due Date: 2 days

Send Purchase Order to NetSuite

• Placement: Directly after Validate GL Code and Approve Purchase Order
• Purpose: Publishes the PO to NetSuite
• Default Task Fields:
  • Task Type: Integration
  • Integration: NetSuite
  • Integration Sub Type: Send Purchase Order to NetSuite
  • Task Name: “Send Purchase Order to NetSuite”
  • Due Date: 1 day

Since adding PO tasks might require revisiting various workflow stages, use the Go to Stage widget to navigate directly to stages like Approvals or Closing. Each stage is marked with an icon that matches individual tasks, helping you quickly locate relevant tasks.

When editing tasks, the task details panel remains visible and refreshes automatically as you select different tasks. For tasks like Send Purchase Order to NetSuite, which may need adjustments, this allows for easy navigation without needing to close the panel.

FAQs 

Q: Why is the system telling me that there are no vendor matches in NetSuite for the supplier I am looking to draft a PO for? What should I do?

A: Currently, the ability to create a new vendor record in NetSuite is not supported by Tropic's PO integration. This means that the supplier must already exist in NetSuite for the Tropic system to register for the PO creation. You will need to request that someone from your organization with NetSuite access creates a vendor record for this supplier in NetSuite.

If your organization has high volumes of purchases from net new vendors, you may wish to add an additional Task in your new purchase Workflow(s) that is assigned to a NetSuite User from your organization and tasks them with adding the supplier from the Request as a vendor in NetSuite. Having this Task before the 'Create Purchase Order Draft' Task will all Users can create the draft PO, even if they are not NetSuite Users.