A purchase order stays editable while its progress allows it. On an existing order you can change the header details (such as the supplier, locations, dates, and currency) and manage the product and additional-cost lines. As the order moves forward, receiving stock, billing, or closing it locks down the parts that would change your inventory, cost, or accounting records.
This article covers what you can change on an editable purchase order and when each field locks. Approving, receiving, and billing are covered in their own articles, so this page focuses on the edits themselves and links to those workflows where they overlap.
Open a purchase order to edit
- Open Purchase Orders.
- Select the order you want to change.
- The order opens on its Order tab, showing the header at the top and the line-item tables below.
Editable fields appear as active inputs and selectors. When a field is locked for the order’s current progress, it is shown but greyed out and cannot be changed.
Changing a field does not save it on its own. Your edits are held until you select Save in the top toolbar. If you try to leave the page with unsaved edits, Qoblex asks You have pending changes, if you leave this page you will lose those changes. Do you want to continue? before navigating away.
Edit the header fields
The header sits at the top of the Order tab. Which fields you can change depends on how far the order has progressed.
Always editable (no progress lock):
- Order Number — the order’s reference number.
- Supplier reference — the supplier’s own reference for this order.
- Bill To — the billing location.
- Is Tax Inclusive? — whether line prices already include tax.
Editable until the order progresses:
- Supplier, Created at, and Price List stay editable until the order has been received or partially received, has an authorized bill, or is closed. Use the edit (pencil) and add (plus) buttons next to Supplier to edit the selected supplier or add a new one.
- Ship To (the receiving location) stays editable until stock has been received. It is not editable on a drop-ship purchase order.
- Estimated delivery (the order’s due date) stays editable until the order is closed.
Currency and Exchange rate can be changed only while the order has no bills. Once any bill exists, both fields are locked so the order value cannot drift away from what has already been billed. If the currency is wrong, review or remove the bill first.
When you change the currency, Qoblex sets the exchange rate from the available rate when no rate is set yet. If the order currency matches your company currency, the rate is set to 1. When the exchange rate changes, Qoblex recalculates the product line prices and additional-cost prices using the previous and new rates.
Manage the product lines
The product lines are the Product table on the Order tab. Each row shows the product, Unit, Sku, Barcode, Supplier Sku, MAC (current moving average cost), On Hand at the ship-to location, Quantity, Received, ETA, Discount (%), Price, Tax (%), Other Costs, and Total.
On an editable line you can:
- Change the Quantity to order.
- Change the Price.
- Change the Discount (%).
- Choose a Tax (%) rate, or select the plus button to create a new tax rate.
- Change the Unit of measure (when unit measurements are enabled for your company).
- Set an ETA (estimated delivery date) for the line.
- Add a per-line note with the note (comment) button, then clear it with Clear notes.
- Reorder lines by dragging them.
- Remove the line with the close (x) button at the end of the row.
To add products, select Add order lines (or Add Line Item on an empty order). This opens the product search. Bundles are not shown in this picker. When you add a product, Qoblex fills the line from the product and supplier defaults: quantity (from the product’s quantity-to-order value, or 1), purchase tax (the supplier’s purchase tax, otherwise your company default purchase tax), purchase price (from the variant, or from the order’s price list when one applies), and the supplier discount when one is set.
If the order’s price list currency does not match the purchase order currency, Qoblex shows a message: The order currency … and the customer price list currency … do not match. Line prices from a mismatched price list will not be applied as expected, so align the currencies first.
When line edits lock
Line edits lock as the order progresses and as individual lines are received or billed:
- Price on a line can be changed until that line has been billed on an authorized bill, and while the order is not closed.
- Quantity, Discount (%), and ETA can be changed while the order is not closed.
- The Unit, Tax (%), and removing a line are blocked once the order is past draft and that specific line has already been received or billed. Lines you have just added stay editable until you save.
- Adding new lines is blocked once the order is closed.
You cannot remove a line that has already been received or billed. If the line is on a bill, Qoblex tells you: Cannot delete item as it is billed in … Remove the item from the bill then try again. If the line is on a goods receipt note, it tells you: Cannot delete item as it is in a goods receipt note. Remove the item from the goods receipt note then try again. Remove it from the bill or GRN first, then delete the line.
Work on several lines at once
Select the checkbox at the start of one or more rows to act on them together. Two buttons above the table then become available:
- Bulk Assign Tax applies one tax rate to every selected line. This is disabled when the selected lines are not editable.
- Print Labels prints product labels for the selected lines (up to 100 lines).
Use the Columns button to choose which columns are shown.
Import and export line items
On a saved order, the Import / Export menu below the product table offers:
- Export line items to CSV — download the current lines.
- Import line items from CSV — replace or add lines from a CSV file. This appears only while the lines are editable.
Importing saves the order first. The field layout for the CSV file is documented in Import purchase orders and line items.
Manage additional-cost lines
Below the product table, the Other Costs table holds extra costs attached to the purchase order. On an editable additional-cost line you can set the description, Type, Quantity, Discount (%), Price, and Tax (%). Add a line with Add a custom line item (or Add Additional Cost on an empty order), and remove one with the close (x) button.
Each line has a Type:
- Landed Costs — extra costs that are distributed across the received order line items.
- Expenses — extra costs that should not be distributed across received line items, such as VAT or taxes.
An additional-cost line cannot be removed once it has been billed. Qoblex tells you: Cannot delete item as it is billed in … Remove the item from the bill then try again. Its price stays editable only while it has not been billed on an authorized bill and the order is not closed.
After you save, Qoblex recalculates how landed costs are distributed across the received lines. Any distribution warnings from that recalculation appear at the top of the order page.
Notes and tags
At the bottom of the Order tab, two tabs hold order-level notes:
- Notes to Supplier — notes that can appear on purchase documents and emails to the supplier.
- Private Notes — internal notes: Only you and other staff can see private notes.
Tags are managed in a separate Tags card in the side panel of a saved order. Tags help you search, filter, and group your orders. The side panel also has an Attachments card for files linked to the order.
Order-level notes, tags, and attachments are covered in more depth in Related orders, notes, attachments, and history.
Save your changes
Select Save in the top toolbar to commit your edits. Before saving, Qoblex validates the order and lists any problems at the top of the page. If validation passes, it saves your changes and refreshes the landed-cost distribution.
Common validation messages include:
Correct the listed lines and select Save again.
Some actions need a saved order first. If you try to email, print, or import line items on an unsaved order, Qoblex asks you to Please save the order first. Linking a related order to an unsaved order shows a separate message, Please save your order first prior to adding a new order relationship.
Related workflows
- To reopen an approved order for editing, or to see how approving, receiving, billing, and closing change what is editable, see Purchase order statuses and actions.
- To record received stock (which locks received lines), see Receive goods and manage GRNs.
- To create a purchase order from scratch, see Create a purchase order.