Purchasing Automation Versus Inventory Management: Finofo's Boundaries

How It Works

The Products & services catalog describes what you buy: each item's SKU, Type (Inventory, Non-inventory or Service), Category, Base unit, Unit cost and Receipt basis, plus vendor offerings and a Sourcing card with Preferred vendor, Lowest price and Shortest lead time. Finofo uses it to match PO, receipt and invoice lines in one base unit. Items have no on-hand or stock quantity.

Goods receipts record units accepted and rejected against each purchase order, with optional Lot number, Serial number, Expiry date, Bin / location and Condition notes fields. These records support three-way matching and vendor claims; they are not a stock ledger.

What Finofo Covers

Each task below shows whether it happens in Finofo, followed by where to find it.

• Item catalog and vendor offerings: Yes.
  Products & services.
• Purchase orders and approvals: Yes.
  Documents > Purchase orders.
• Receiving, rejections and substitutes: Yes.
  Documents > Goods receipts.
• Three-way matching and payment: Yes.
  Invoices; Batch payments.
• Stock levels and inventory valuation: No.
  Your ERP.

Set Up Items for Matching

1. Open Products & services and click New item.

2. Enter the Item name, Type, Base unit, SKU and Unit cost.

3. Click Add vendor offering and enter the vendor's SKU and name, the unit, the pack size and a price.

4. Click Create item.

Tips

• Use the same SKU in Finofo as in your ERP, so records line up.
• Switch on Lot number and Expiry date in Settings > Receiving for traceability on receipts.
• Add "Also seen as" aliases so vendor item names match your catalog.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Finofo track stock levels?

No. Finofo isn't a warehouse or inventory valuation system; stock levels and valuation stay in your ERP.

Why does the catalog have an Inventory type?

The type describes the item, "whether the item is stocked, bought without stocking, or a service". It does not create a stock count.

Can I record lot numbers and expiry dates?

Yes, on goods receipts, when those optional line fields are switched on in Settings > Receiving.