When you place a purchase order, Material keeps track of what hasn't arrived yet. The On Order Report puts it all in one place, so you always know what's coming, from whom, and how much you've committed to spend.
What Can I Use the On Order Report For?
Use this report to:
- See how many units, and how many dollars, are still on their way to your store.
- See how much you have committed with each vendor.
- Check what's already coming before you place a reorder.
- Find older purchase orders that never fully arrived, so you can follow up with the vendor or close them.
How to Open the Report
- Go to Inventory > Purchases.
- Click On order report, next to the Export button.
You can also open it directly at app.materialretail.com/reporting/on-order.
What Counts as On Order?
A product is on order when it's on an open purchase order and hasn't been fully received.
- As you receive shipments, the number on order goes down.
- When you close a purchase order, anything that never arrived stops counting as on order. If you reopen the order, it counts again.
Group Your Report
The On Order Report can be grouped by:
- Vendor (the vendor you placed the purchase order with)
- Department
- Location
- Product
- Total
Grouping by Vendor shows how much you have committed with each vendor. Grouping by Department shows which areas of your store have new inventory coming, which is handy to check before you buy more.
Reading the Columns
- Open purchase orders: how many purchase orders in this group still have units to arrive.
- Units on order: the units you've ordered that haven't been received.
- Expected cost: what those units will cost, based on the unit cost on the purchase order, less any discounts. Shipping is not included.
- Oldest order date and Oldest PO: the oldest open purchase order in the group. Click the PO number to open it.
If a purchase order has been open for a long time, it's worth a look. Follow up with your vendor, or close the order if the rest isn't coming, so your on order numbers stay accurate.
Filter the Report
Narrow the report down with the filters at the top:
- Vendor or brand: finds purchase orders placed with that vendor, and also products of that brand ordered through someone else. For example, filtering by a brand will find its products even if you bought them from a distributor.
- Department
- Location, if you have more than one store
- Product
On a phone, tap Filters to show them.
Export the Report
Click Export to download the report as a spreadsheet. We'll email you when it's ready, and you can always find it under Downloads.
Other Places You'll See On Order
You don't have to open the report to know what's coming:
- On your product list, products with units still coming show a blue badge such as 12 on order next to their quantity. Click the badge to open the product. Use the On order filter to see only the products you're waiting on.
- On a product's page, the On order section lists each open purchase order for that product, with its ship date and the units still to arrive. The Variants table shows which colors and sizes are on the way.
The Buying Workflow
Inventory Value → Sales → Product Stock → On Order
Before you reorder a product you found in the Product Stock Report, check whether more is already on its way.