How to Properly Close a Purchase Order

The Finance department continues to receive many invoices in Accounts Payable referencing a purchase order (PO) that has already been closed by the department. When a PO is closed prior to the invoice being received, we are unable to open the PO to finish invoicing. We must reach out to the PO owner to request that they submit the invoice on a Payment Request form in BobcatBUY. This creates unnecessary work for all parties.

Below are some best practices to follow prior to closing a PO for goods:

• Back Orders of Cancellations
  • If any products from your PO are on back order and you wish to cancel them, you MUST reach out to the supplier’s customer care team to cancel your order.
  • Closing the PO without contacting the supplier will result in the product being shipped when it is available, and an invoice being sent for the closed PO.
• Partial Shipments
  • Some companies will send partial orders due to the location or availability of different products purchased on your PO. When this happens, you may receive more than one invoice when each part of your order ships.
  • BobcatBuy will transition a PO to Soft Closed status if either the PO dollars or quantities are fully invoiced.
• Returned Products
  • If you return a product that was ordered from a PO, we must still pay the invoice. Do not close the purchase order. Once the company has received the product back, they will issue a credit which will be applied to your PO. Your PO must remain open to apply a credit from the company and subsequently back to your account.

If you have any questions related to the closure of POs, please reach out to us at financecustomercare@ohio.edu.