PO Lines & Products
The header says who and when; the lines say what you’re actually buying — and each line quietly decides three futures: which expense account the cost will hit, which budget line it consumes, and whether receiving it creates an asset. This reference walks every field on a Purchase Order line.
Access you'll need. Adding and editing lines requires the Accounts Payable v2 permission set (AP clerks & managers) or Accounting Admin v2 (system administrators). The Accounting Controller v2, Accounts Receivable v2, and Read Only v2 sets can view lines but not change them.
The line fields
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Product | What you’re buying, from your catalog. Picking it fills the line’s GL account, description and default price — consistency without typing. (Products are set up via Creating Products.) |
| GL Account | Where the cost will land when the matched bill posts — and which budget allocation the commitment consumes. Defaults from the product; override per line when the same product serves different purposes. |
| Description | The line as the vendor will read it on the PDF. Meridian’s example: "Facade deep-clean & lobby glass — per quarterly visit". |
| Quantity & Unit Price | How many, at the agreed price. Both must be positive; their product is the Line Amount. The unit price becomes the matching benchmark for every future invoice against this line. |
| Discount Amount | A negotiated reduction on the line — the commitment (and later matching) uses the net. |
| Cost Center | The reporting dimension the eventual cost should carry — it flows through matching to the invoice and into your ledger. |
What each line tracks after posting
Once the order posts, every line keeps its own score, feeding the order’s header balances:
- Received — updated by Receive Goods, delivery by delivery.
- Invoiced — updated as bills are matched, slice by slice.
- Balance to Receive / Balance to Invoice — what’s still owed to you, and what the vendor can still bill. When both hit zero, the line’s story is closed.
The asset switch
Two extra fields turn a line from expense into asset acquisition:
- Create Asset — flag the line, and receiving it produces Capital Asset records automatically: one per unit received, in Under Construction status, linked back to this line.
- Asset Type — which class of asset (Office Equipment, Buildings & Improvements…). The type brings its depreciation defaults, so the assets are born correctly configured.
That’s how Meridian’s four reception-equipment units became four tracked assets the moment the delivery was received — no separate registration. The GL account on such lines is typically the asset-cost account rather than an expense (your product setup handles this when the product’s type is Asset).
Two lines, two futures — the lobby renovation
Meridian's lobby-renovation order shows how much a line's setup decides. Same order, same vendor — completely different journeys:
| Construction services line ($48,000) | Reception equipment line ($20,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| GL Account | An expense account — the cost hits the P&L when the bill posts | An asset-cost account, defaulted by the product's Asset type |
| Create Asset | Off — services never become assets | On, with an Asset Type — receiving created one Under Construction Capital Asset per unit, four in all |
| After receiving | Received quantity climbed as work completed | Four tracked assets, each linked back to this line |
| After billing | Matched to invoice MPI001019 ($48,000) | Still waiting for the equipment bill — its Balance to Invoice stays open |
Editing rules
Lines are fully editable while the order is Draft — add with + Add Line, remove with the ✕. Once posted, lines lock ("Cannot modify lines on a non-Draft Purchase Order."); to change them, reopen the order to Draft, edit, and post again — subject to what’s already been received or billed. See Posting & Voiding a PO.
Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Lump-sum lines (quantity 1 for many deliverables) | Receiving and billing become all-or-nothing; partial deliveries have nowhere to go | One unit per deliverable — visits, units, milestones |
| Burying a negotiated discount in the unit price | The concession disappears from view, and the price no longer matches the vendor's list | Keep the list price and record the reduction in Discount Amount |
| Overriding the product's GL account by habit | The commitment consumes the wrong budget allocation, and the matched bill inherits the miscoding | Trust the product default; override only with a reason |
| Receiving equipment on a line that was never flagged Create Asset | No Capital Asset records are created — the units exist physically but not in your asset register | Flag the line (and pick the Asset Type) before receiving |
| Line descriptions written for yourself, not the vendor | The description goes on the PDF the vendor reads — internal shorthand invites wrong deliveries | Write what the vendor should deliver, as Meridian did: "Facade deep-clean & lobby glass — per quarterly visit" |
Where to go next
- Creating a Purchase Order — lines in the flow of a real order.
- Receiving PO Lines (Assets) — the Received side of the score.
- PO Budget Analysis — how each line meets the budget.
Frequently asked questions
Products carry the defaults that keep purchasing consistent — GL coding, descriptions, pricing. If you buy something with no product yet, have your administrator add one; it takes a minute and pays back on every future order. See Creating Products.
Yes — dimensions are per line. A single order can spread across departments, and each line’s eventual cost lands with its own tag.
Use the unit that receiving will confirm. Meridian ordered 2 visits at $4,800 — so each completed visit is received (and billable) individually. Quantity 1 at $9,600 would have forced all-or-nothing receiving.
The match stops it: each line can be billed at most what's been received and not yet invoiced, and posting beyond that fails with "Invoice quantity exceeds the remaining quantity on the Purchase Order Line." Record the delivery first, or query the bill.
Not directly — posted lines are locked. Reopen the order to Draft, correct the account, and post again; the corrected line then routes both the budget commitment and the eventual bill to the right place.
Yes — the commitment and the matching benchmark use the net line amount, so the vendor's invoice is expected at the discounted figure, not the list price.
Was this article helpful?