Vendors, purchase orders and contracts
Who you buy from, what is on order, and the last day you can give notice, kept next to the assets they relate to.
What it does
Purchasing sits in the menu as three lists: Vendors, Purchase orders and Contracts. It is a register, not a finance system. It holds what you need when a delivery arrives, something breaks or a renewal is coming: what was ordered, who to call, the account number, what is covered, and the last day you can give notice. It does not raise invoices, track payments or route approvals.
- A vendor record with account number, a named contact, and the support number and web address
- Purchase orders that turn into assets, stock and licences when the delivery is received
- Contracts with a notice period, keyed on the act-by date, with reminders in the digest and the calendar feed
- A Cover card on every covered asset: the contract, the vendor, the support number and your reference
- Spend by vendor, spend by category and open purchase orders, as reports with CSV export
- Vendors and purchase orders in the REST API and the organisation data export
The full walkthrough, with the permissions and what can go wrong, is in the purchasing guide.
Vendors
A reseller, a manufacturer you deal with direct, a domain registrar, a repair firm.
The Supplier field on assets, maintenance records, accessories, components and consumables, and the Registrar field on a domain, all link to vendors. Start typing and your vendors are suggested; a name that is not there is created when you save. Spelling is forgiving, so "KRCS", "krcs" and " KRCS " are one vendor. A vendor's page lists everything bought from them, with the support number and account number first and a spend total from what the register holds.
On upgrade, the vendor list is built from the supplier text you already have. That text stays on every record, so exports, reports and API responses keep their shape. Vendors can be renamed (which renames them everywhere), merged, marked as no longer used, or deleted.
Purchase orders
Record what you order, then receive it when it arrives. The receiving step is the point: instead of typing the vendor, price and purchase date into six new laptops, you receive the line and enter six serial numbers.
Write the order
A number (PO-0001 and so on, or your own), the vendor, their reference, an order date, an expected delivery date and who asked for it. Add a line per thing ordered. The line's type decides what receiving it does: asset, accessory, component, consumable, software licence, or a service.
Mark it as ordered
A new order is a draft. Someone with the "Place and cancel purchase orders" permission marks it as ordered. Administrators have it, and an access group gives it to whoever signs off spending, a Finance group for example, without making them an Editor. There is no approval chain.
Receive the delivery
An asset line creates one asset per item from a grid of serial numbers, with the vendor, unit price and purchase date from the order and a link back to it. A stock line tops up an accessory, component or consumable. A software line creates a licence or adds seats. Receive 4 of 10 today and the order shows Part received until the rest arrive.
- The list opens on open orders, late deliveries first, with the value still to come
- Each delivery is listed with its date, who received it and any note
- Attach the quote, the order confirmation and the invoice to the order
- An asset received on an order links back to it from its page
- The dashboard shows orders awaiting delivery while there are any
Contracts
Hardware support, maintenance agreements, leases, extended warranties, subscriptions.
The date that matters is usually not the end date. A contract that renews itself and needs 90 days' notice has to be decided three months before it ends. Tagaris works out the act-by date, the end date less the notice period, and uses it everywhere: the status on the contract (Active, Ending soon, Act now, Ended), the order of the list, the daily digest and the calendar feed.
A contract lists the assets and software licences it covers. A covered asset shows a Cover card on its own page with the contract, the vendor, the support number and your reference, so whoever is standing at the broken device has who to call and what to quote. Attach the signed agreement or the renewal quote to the contract; the documents are stored with your photos, so backups already include them.
- Cost as one-off, monthly or annual, with the list totalling what your contracts in force cost per year
- Reminders on the same day thresholds you set for warranties and renewals
- Contracts due and Vendor summary as reports, and a CSV export of the list
Spend reports
Spend by vendor and Spend by category cover a period you choose, the last twelve months by default. They count assets at their purchase price on their purchase date, maintenance at its cost on the date of the work, and stock, software and services received on purchase orders. An asset received on an order is counted once, as an asset. Open purchase orders shows what is still to arrive, how many days late, and its value. They report what the register holds, so treat the totals as a guide and your accounts as the ledger.
Common questions
Is this a finance system?
No. It holds what you need when a delivery arrives, something breaks or a renewal is coming: what was ordered, who to call, the account number, what is covered and the last day to give notice. It does not raise invoices, track payments or route approvals.
What happens to the supplier text already on my assets?
The first start after the upgrade builds the vendor list from it. Spellings that differ only by case or spacing become one vendor. The text stays on every record, so exports, reports and API responses keep their shape.
Can a delivery be undone?
No, on purpose: the assets may already be labelled and in use. Delete the assets or correct the stock quantity, and note it on the order.
Who can place an order?
Placing, cancelling, reopening and deleting orders is a permission of its own. Administrators have it, and an access group gives it to whoever signs off spending, without making them an Editor. Editors write orders and receive deliveries.
Does it need a paid plan?
No. Vendors, purchase orders, contracts and the spend reports are on every plan, the free tier included.
Receive six laptops as six serial numbers
The live demo has vendors, orders and contracts loaded. Purchasing is on every plan, the free tier included.