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Purchase order software for construction

Manage the purchasing process with ease

Knowify pairs financial management with project management, while integrating directly with QuickBooks Online. This allows you to create, send, and record payment for purchase orders directly through Knowify and never question where your business stands financially. It’s clear, real-time, and actionable, for every member of your team.

Itemized purchase to submit to vendor | Purchasing | Knowify feature
Purchase order management software, built for subcontractors

Handle the procurement process from the office or the job site

Handing off paperwork, forwarding emails, collecting paper receipts and spreadsheets — the traditional methods of handling purchase orders are dangerously inefficient and inaccurate. With Knowify, you can create purchase orders from the office or the job site, using the Knowify mobile app.

View of submitting an expense via our smartphone app | Job costing | Knowify features
View of the client portal displaying contract progress | Customer communications | Knowify features
Set purchase approval limits by employee or role

Keep purchasing under control with Knowify’s approval workflow

Knowify prevents a common problem from holding you back: tracking receipts and keeping track of every purchase gets harder and harder as your business grows.

  • See all purchases and reimbursements that are pending approval from one screen.
  • Create purchases from the field or the office, include receipt photos, and have them approved in seconds.
  • Set approval limits by employee or role, and keep complete control over your business finances.

Pay for materials when you get paid

Get up to 120-day terms

If you’re like most contractors, you have net 30 supplier terms but are waiting 60, 70, or even 90 days to get paid. That’s why we’ve partnered with Billd to align your material expenses with your AR. Billd buys materials from your supplier upfront and in cash, and you pay Billd back when you get paid. It’s that simple. Become your supplier’s favorite sub with the buying power to secure better discounts and priority timelines on short-supply materials.

Billd logo
Track materials purchased, received, and paid for

A purchase order workflow built for project owners

Knowify’s streamlined project workflow means you can quickly generate purchase orders and send them through Knowify. Save time by avoiding separate emails or phone calls, and stay organized by keeping your POs associated with the right project.

Enhanced experience to send purchase orders | October updates | Knowify
Abstraction of two pills for Knowify and QuickBooks and different sync status between the two: syncing, synced, paused, error | Knowify + QuickBooks bunle
The strongest QuickBooks Integration in Construction

Ditch the spreadsheets and integrate directly with QuickBooks

Knowify is powerful on its own, but it’s even better when integrated with QuickBooks Online.

  • Create purchase orders directly from the project plan, and with the help of the strongest job costing capabilities in the construction industry, see your committed costs reflected against budget in real-time in both Knowify and QuickBooks.
  • With a real-time two-way sync, you can close out purchase orders in either system, and see accurate information wherever you choose to work.

“We use Knowify to generate our PO’s, which is super user-friendly.“

Source: G2 Crowd

Build your business with confidence

Take the pain out of your purchase order management process – try Knowify free for 14 days, and experience next-level business control and organization for yourself.

FAQs

What is a purchase order used for in construction?

Purchase orders (PO) are formal documents that contractors send to suppliers, subcontractors, etc. indicating that they’d like to purchase specific materials or services. For example, a carpenter might submit a PO to a lumber yard for framing materials. An electrician acting as a subcontractor might receive a PO from a GC requesting wiring services for a home build.   

Purchase orders are important because they act as a formal agreement between two parties specifying quantities, costs, payment terms, delivery dates, etc. POs are an important way to maintain accurate financial records, prevent disputes between buyers and sellers, and help with inventory tracking.

What is the best software for purchase orders?  

While it’s possible to create and manage POs manually using spreadsheets, email, and hard copies, for a busy contractor, software is a better choice. Contractors should look for purchase order software that first makes it easy to generate and send POs without the need for any manual work. 

They should also look for a tool that integrates with their job costing system as purchases are a major source of project costs. When your purchase order software works alongside your job costing software, you can easily mark when a PO is fulfilled, and the bill is paid, and see how those actual costs track against your budgeted costs in near real-time.  

Lastly, it’s ideal that your PO software integrates with your accounting software so your bookkeeper and accountant always have accurate financial records.

Does QuickBooks have a purchase order system?

QuickBooks does give you the ability to generate and send purchase orders. This is a great tool for businesses with simpler needs. For contractors and construction companies with more complexities and the need to manage costs at the project level, purchase order software designed for construction makes more sense.