The Purchase Options button in the Work Items tab of a construction contract

 

The Purchase Options button in the fixed bar below the Work Items tab of a construction contract creates a ready purchase document from the materials you select, without re-entering the materials, their quantities, and units. Use it when you want to buy the contract’s materials from suppliers, whether you start the cycle with a purchase request or jump directly to a purchase order or a purchase invoice. This guide explains when the button appears, the available documents and the permission for each, what transfers from the contract, and the messages and restrictions.

Before you begin

• Enable the Construction app, the purchase cycle app for the purchase request, quotation request, purchase quotation, and purchase order, and the Inventory app for the purchase invoice.
• The contract’s status must be Active, and it must be linked to a Cost Sheet.
• The cost sheet must contain materials (products of the product type, not services).
• The supplier must already be added if you’ll create a purchase quotation, purchase order, or purchase invoice.
• To fill cost centers automatically in the purchase invoice, enable Purchase Invoices under Item-Level Cost Center Assignment by Transaction Type in Accounting General Settings.

Open Purchase Options

1. From the main menu, click Construction, then Contracts, and open the contract.
2. Click the Work Items tab (it appears after the contract is activated).
3. Select work items or materials using the checkboxes; click the arrow next to a work item to show its materials.
4. A fixed bar appears at the bottom of the screen with the number of selected items and the Export to Excel, Purchase Options, Expand Group, and Collapse Group buttons.
5. Click Purchase Options and choose the document. The document’s add form opens with the materials.

When the button appears

Condition	If it isn’t met
At least one item is selected	The bar doesn’t appear at all.
The contract is linked to a cost sheet	The button is hidden.
The contract’s status is Active	The button is hidden (draft, canceled, or finished contracts).
You have the permission and app for at least one document	The button is hidden. The list shows only the documents you’re allowed to create.

Available documents and the permission for each

Document	Permission	App	Opens	After saving / canceling
Purchase Request	Manage Purchase Requests	Purchase cycle	The add purchase request form	Saved as usual; canceling takes you back to Purchase Requests
Quotation Request	Manage Purchase Quotations	Purchase cycle	The quotation request form (more than one supplier)	Canceling takes you back to Quotation Requests
Purchase Quotation	Manage Purchase Quotations	Purchase cycle	The add purchase quotation form	Canceling takes you back to Purchase Quotations
Purchase Order	Manage Purchase Orders	Purchase cycle	The add purchase order form, linked to the project	Canceling takes you back to Purchase Orders
Purchase Invoice	Add New Purchase Invoice	Inventory	The purchase invoice form with cost centers filled in	Saving opens the invoice; canceling takes you back to Purchase Invoices

What transfers from the contract to the document

• Only materials transfer from the cost sheet linked to the contract. Any product of the service type is excluded without a message.
• Selecting a work item transfers all its materials in the cost sheet, and the work item itself isn’t added as a line in the document. Selecting the work item and some of its materials together doesn’t repeat the material.
• For each line: the product, the Quantity (the planned quantity in the cost sheet, rounded to the number of decimal places allowed in your account), the unit, and the conversion factor.
• The same material with the same unit in more than one work item is combined into one line with the total quantity; with different units, it’s split into a line for each unit.
• The document is linked to the contract’s project automatically.
• The quantities are only suggestions, and you can edit them or delete any line. The system doesn’t deduct what was purchased before; the full planned quantity is suggested every time.

What happens automatically

• The system saves the selected materials temporarily for 15 minutes, for you only, then opens the form. Refreshing the page during this time doesn’t lose your selection.
• The contract’s status, work items, and cost sheet don’t change when any purchase document is created.
• Every document converted later from the created document (such as quotation request → purchase quotation → purchase order → purchase invoice) stays linked to the contract’s project.
• In the purchase invoice, cost centers are filled for each line based on the project’s cost tracking level.

Restrictions

• Services don’t transfer to any purchase document.
• You can’t start from a contract that isn’t active or isn’t linked to a cost sheet.
• You can’t select items from another contract, or sub-items (main items) only; items that don’t belong to the contract are rejected.
• You must have permission to view the contract; a user who can view only their own contracts can’t start from a contract created by someone else.
• Distributing cost centers over more than one center is available in the purchase invoice only.
• In the purchase request and the quotation request, the same product isn’t accepted in two lines; if a material was split because of different units, delete one of the lines or unify the unit before saving.

Why can’t I…?

Problem	Cause	Solution
The button doesn’t appear	The contract isn’t active, has no cost sheet, or you don’t have any purchase permission	Review the conditions above
A specific document doesn’t appear in the list	You don’t have its permission, or its app isn’t enabled	Ask for the permission or enable the app
Some materials are missing from the form	The materials are services, or they weren’t selected	Select the materials you need
The quantity is larger than what actually remains	The suggested quantity is always the planned one	Edit the quantity manually

Error messages and solutions

Message	Cause	Solution
A message that purchase transactions can’t be created for services	Everything you selected is a service, or work items that contain only services.	Select at least one material.
A message that the selected work items are no longer available and you need to go back to the contract and select them again	More than 15 minutes passed after clicking Purchase Options, or the link was opened by another user.	Go back to the contract, select the materials, and click Purchase Options again.
Purchase transactions require an active contract.	The contract’s status is no longer Active.	Open an active contract.
Contract is not linked to a cost sheet.	The contract isn’t linked to a Cost Sheet.	Use a contract linked to a cost sheet.
Select at least one work item or material.	No item was selected.	Select a work item or a material.
Items … do not belong to this contract.	One of the selected items doesn’t belong to this contract (such as a sub-item or an item from another document).	Select work items and materials from the same contract’s tab only.
You are not allowed to access this page	You don’t have permission to view the contract or the document.	Ask for the permission from Roles.

FAQs

Can I start with a purchase invoice directly?

Yes; choose Purchase Invoice from the list.

Can I create more than one document from the same contract?

Yes, without limit; the system doesn’t deduct the quantities purchased before.

Do services transfer?

No; materials only.

Does the contract change after a purchase document is created?

No; the contract’s status and items don’t change.

Are the documents linked to the project?

Yes; the document and everything converted from it.

How long is the selection saved?

15 minutes.