How-to
    Core Workflows

    Mark a purchase order as received

    Learn how to mark purchase orders as fully or partially received. This updates your inventory and allocates costs to jobs for accurate profitability tracking.

    4 min read
    Updated June 3, 2026

    This guide shows you how to mark a purchase order as received. Doing this keeps your inventory accurate and applies the costs of purchased items to your jobs.

    When you receive items from a supplier, updating the purchase order in AtomicSam is a key step. It adds the items to your inventory so they can be used on jobs. It also allocates the costs from the purchase order, giving you a real-time view of job profitability.

    Before you start

    • You need a staff member role with permission to manage purchase orders.
    • You must have an existing purchase order with a status of Sent or Partially Received.

    Mark a purchase order as fully received

    Follow these steps when you receive the entire order from your supplier in one shipment.

    1. Navigate to Purchases → Purchase Orders.
    2. Find the purchase order you want to update. You can use the search bar or filter the list by status.
    3. Click on the purchase order number to open its details page.
    4. Click the Receive Items button.
    5. A new window will appear showing all items from the order. Review the quantities to ensure they match what you received.
    6. Click Receive All to confirm you have received all items at the ordered quantities.
    7. Click Save. The purchase order status will update to Received.
    ℹ️ Good to know: When you receive items, their cost is immediately added to the Actual Costs on the linked job. This gives you an up-to-the-minute view of your job's profitability.

    Mark a purchase order as partially received

    Use this process if a supplier sends only part of your order. This allows you to track which items are still on backorder.

    1. Navigate to Purchases → Purchase Orders.
    2. Open the purchase order you want to update.
    3. Click the Receive Items button.
    4. In the Quantity to Receive column, enter the number of units you actually received for each line item.
    5. Leave the quantity blank or enter 0 for items that have not yet arrived.
    6. Click Save. The purchase order status will update to Partially Received, and the remaining items will be tracked as outstanding.
    ⚠️ Heads up: You cannot edit the quantities or items on a line that has been fully received. If you receive a different item than you ordered, you will need to adjust the original purchase order or create a new one.

    Good to know

    • Inventory updates: Items from a received purchase order are automatically added to your organization's inventory count.
    • No undo function: You cannot reverse the status of a received purchase order. To correct a mistake, you will need to make a manual inventory adjustment and, if necessary, a bill credit.
    • Creating bills: Marking a purchase order as received does not create the supplier's bill in AtomicSam. To track payments to your suppliers, you must create a bill from the purchase order separately.

    What's next

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