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Procurement

Smart Procurement: How to Save Money and Buy Better with Purchase Order Management

Most businesses lose money not because they sell poorly, but because they buy poorly. Learn how a proper procurement workflow — from Purchase Order to Goods Received to Invoice Matching — protects your margins and keeps your suppliers honest.

Kofi BoatengJul 24, 20259 min read

Procurement is where your profits are made or lost. Every cedi you overpay a supplier, every delivery you accept without verifying quantities, and every invoice you pay without matching it to what you actually received — that is money walking out of your business.

The Procurement Lifecycle

A proper procurement workflow has three critical stages, and each one protects your business:

Stage 1: Purchase Order (PO)

The Purchase Order is your formal commitment to buy. It documents exactly what you want, in what quantities, at what price, and from which supplier. Without a PO:

•You have no record of what was agreed

•Suppliers can deliver whatever they want and bill you for it

•There is no basis for dispute resolution

•Your budget is uncontrolled

Stage 2: Goods Received Note (GRN)

When the delivery arrives, you verify it against the PO. The GRN records what was actually received — which may differ from what was ordered. Common discrepancies include:

•Short deliveries (ordered 100, received 85)

•Damaged goods

•Wrong variants (ordered blue, received red)

•Expired or near-expiry items

Stage 3: Invoice Matching

The supplier sends their invoice. Before you pay, you match it against both the PO (what you ordered) and the GRN (what you received). This three-way match ensures you only pay for what you actually got at the price you agreed.

Why Businesses Lose Money Without Proper Procurement

No Purchase Orders

Without POs, your purchasing is informal. Staff call suppliers, place verbal orders, and goods arrive with no documentation. This leads to:

•Price disputes — "I was told it was GHS 50 per unit, not GHS 55"

•Duplicate orders — two staff members order the same thing

•Budget overruns — no visibility into committed spend

•Audit failures — no paper trail for large purchases

No Goods Verification

Accepting deliveries without checking them against a PO means:

•Short deliveries go unnoticed — you pay for 100 but receive 90

•Quality issues are missed — damaged or expired items enter your stock

•Wrong items are accepted — you end up with stock you cannot sell

No Invoice Matching

Paying supplier invoices without matching means:

•Overpayment — invoiced for more than delivered

•Duplicate payments — same invoice paid twice

•Price creep — supplier gradually increases prices unnoticed

How SyncBooks Handles the Full Procurement Cycle

Creating Purchase Orders

In SyncBooks, creating a PO is straightforward:

1. Select your supplier from the contacts list

2. Add products — with variant selection (size, colour, pack type)

3. Set quantities and confirm unit prices

4. Choose the destination warehouse for receiving

5. Submit for approval (if approval workflows are enabled)

The PO is sent to your supplier via email or printed for manual delivery.

Approval Workflows

For businesses that need oversight before committing to purchases, SyncBooks supports approval workflows:

•Set approval thresholds (e.g., POs over GHS 5,000 need manager approval)

•Multi-level approvals for high-value purchases

•Approvers are notified instantly and can approve from their phone

•Full audit trail of who approved what and when

Receiving Goods (GRN)

When goods arrive, your warehouse staff receives them against the PO:

1. Open the relevant PO in SyncBooks

2. Click "Receive Goods"

3. Enter actual quantities received per line item

4. Note any discrepancies, damages, or batch/expiry information

5. Submit the GRN — stock is added to the specified warehouse

Key receiving features:

•Partial receiving — receive 60 of 100 today, the rest next week

•Batch tracking — assign batch numbers and expiry dates on receiving

•Variant confirmation — verify that the correct variants were delivered

•Photo documentation — attach photos of damaged goods

Invoice Matching

When the supplier's bill arrives:

1. Create a Supplier Bill in SyncBooks

2. Link it to the relevant PO and GRN

3. The system highlights any discrepancies:

•Quantity differences between PO, GRN, and Invoice

•Price differences between PO and Invoice

4. Resolve discrepancies before approving payment

This three-way match prevents overpayment and gives you a clear audit trail.

Variant Purchasing

Many businesses buy products in variants — different sizes, colours, or configurations. SyncBooks handles variant purchasing natively:

•Your PO can include specific variants (e.g., "T-shirt - Large - Blue x50, T-shirt - Medium - Red x30")

•Receiving verifies variants individually

•Stock is tracked at the variant level across warehouses

Batch Tracking on Receiving

For perishable goods, pharmaceuticals, or any products where batch tracking matters, SyncBooks captures batch information at the point of receiving:

•Assign batch numbers to incoming goods

•Record manufacturing and expiry dates

•Track cost per batch (critical when purchase prices fluctuate)

•FIFO deduction ensures oldest batches sell first

The Savings Add Up

Businesses that implement proper procurement workflows in SyncBooks typically see:

•3-5% reduction in procurement costs through better price control

•Fewer stock-outs because ordering is planned, not reactive

•Zero overpayments through three-way invoice matching

•Stronger supplier relationships through clear documentation and timely payments

•Audit readiness with complete procurement records

Start Managing Procurement Properly

If your business is still placing orders by phone and paying invoices without verification, you are almost certainly losing money. Start your free 14-day trial of SyncBooks and bring structure to your procurement process.

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