Franchise ordering

This guide walks through a franchise order end to end — buying stock from your franchisor's central stockhouse or an approved partner supplier, rather than from one of your own suppliers. The steps mirror a normal purchase order; the difference is that a franchise order is a hand-off between you and the Franchisor, so it passes through more statuses on its way in.

For the why — the shared pipeline, what each status means, and how completing an order posts the delivery fee — see Purchase from Franchisor. For the plain-supplier loop these steps build on, see Place & receive orders.

1. Prerequisite: line up your franchise sources

A franchise order needs a franchise source on your supplier list: the stockhouse (added automatically on connect) or an approved partner supplier (request per partner, franchisor approves). Setting these up is covered in Managing suppliers.

2. Open the Orders page and pick a store

From the admin sidebar open Orders and pick the store you're ordering for — exactly as for a normal order (see Place & receive orders). The store's order list mixes plain and franchise orders together; franchise ones are told apart by their status (next section).

The per-store Orders list with a mix of plain and franchise orders — franchise rows carry hand-off statuses like Pending and Accepted, set apart from a plain order's Ordered status — The order list mixes plain and franchise orders; franchise ones carry hand-off statuses like Pending or Accepted.

3. Create a franchise order

Click Create Order in the top right to open the Create Purchase Order dialog.

3.1 Pick a franchise source as the supplier

In the Supplier picker, the stockhouse and any approved partners sit alongside your own suppliers, each marked with a franchise badge. Pick one and the dialog switches to a franchise order, which follows the hand-off rules below.

The Create Purchase Order dialog's Supplier picker open, listing the store's own suppliers plus the franchisor stockhouse and an approved partner, each carrying a franchise badge — Pick the stockhouse or an approved partner — marked with a franchise badge — and the dialog becomes a franchise order.

3.2 Delivery address

Picking a franchise source also reveals a Delivery Address field, pre-filled from the store's saved address so the franchisor (or partner) knows where to send the goods. It's editable per order — change it for a one-off drop-off without touching the store's own address.

The Create franchise order dialog right after picking the franchisor — a Delivery Address field has appeared, pre-filled with the store's saved address — Picking a franchise source reveals a Delivery Address field, auto-filled from the store's address — editable per order.

3.3 Add items

Click Add Item for each line and pick the item from the source's catalogue. Adding, removing, and the running Total Amount all work as on a normal order (see Place & receive orders) — with one difference: the unit price is fixed by the seller. The Cost field is filled in from the price the franchisor (or partner) set for that item and is read-only — you can't edit it, so it always matches their price list.

An item row in the Create franchise order dialog with a greyed-out, read-only Cost field filled from the seller's price — On a franchise order the unit price is read-only — filled from the seller's price list, not editable.

Quantities are in the source's order unit

Franchise items are bought in the unit the franchisor or partner sells them by — a pack, case, and so on — not in the individual stock unit you keep on the shelf. So each line works in that order unit:

The item shows the conversion, e.g. 1 pack = 12 pcs.
The Qty field is labelled with the order unit (Qty (pack)), and as you type it shows the stock-unit equivalent — e.g. 3 → = 36 pcs. That stock-unit amount is what restocks your inventory on receipt.
The price follows suit, shown per order unit (Cost/pack).

There's no per-line stock-unit toggle here — unlike a plain supplier order, where you can switch a line between the order unit and the stock unit, a franchise order is always placed in the order unit the source set.

A franchise order line showing the order unit at work — a '1 pack = 12 pcs' note under the item, a Qty (pack) field with a quantity of 3 and a '= 36 pcs' stock-unit equivalent beneath it, and the price shown as Cost/pack — Each line is entered in the source's order unit — the dialog spells out the stock-unit equivalent that restocks your inventory.

3.4 Save the order as a draft

Click Create Order. A franchise order is saved as a Draft first — your working copy, kept on your side and not yet sent to the Franchisor. It appears at the top of the order list with a Draft status. (A plain order starts as a Draft too, but you place it by simply switching its status to Ordered; a franchise draft is instead handed off with Submit Order, below.)

The per-store Orders list with a newly-created franchisor order at the top carrying a Draft status chip and a Franchisor badge — Create Order saves a franchise order as a Draft first — it shows at the top of the list with a Draft status.

3.5 Edit the draft, then submit to place the order

While the order is a Draft, nothing has been sent — open it from the list and it's yours to finalise:

Edit Items — change the items and quantities. Prices refresh to the franchisor's current list each time you open the draft.
Delete Draft — discard it entirely.

When it's ready, click Submit Order and confirm. That's the moment the order is actually placed with the Franchisor: it leaves your side and enters their queue as Pending, waiting for them to confirm — and from here on it follows the hand-off below.

The draft franchise Order Details dialog — the ordered-item table with an Edit Items button, and Close, Delete Draft and Submit Order buttons in the footer — A draft is editable on your side — Edit Items or Delete Draft — until you click Submit Order to place it with the Franchisor.

4. While the Franchisor handles it

After you submit, the order moves through the Franchisor's side — Pending → Accepted → Shipped — and both sides see the same status, so you can always tell where it stands. What each status means is laid out in Purchase from Franchisor. While it's still on their side, there are two things you may need to do.

The Order Details dialog for a franchise order, showing the franchise source, a status chip reading Accepted, and the ordered item lines — A franchise order's details show its current hand-off status — here Accepted, waiting for the Franchisor to ship.

Respond to a quantity change

The Franchisor can't always fill an order exactly as you placed it — an item may be short, or only sell in different multiples. Rather than reject it, while the order is Pending they can propose revised quantities and send it back for your sign-off. Until you respond the order is held: it can't be accepted, and an Approval needed badge sits beside its Pending status on the order list.

The per-store Orders list with a pending franchisor order carrying both a Pending status chip and an Approval needed badge, flagging a proposed quantity change — A proposed change flags the order on the list — a Pending chip plus an Approval needed badge — until you respond.

Open the order to see the proposal panel, which lays out:

A per-line change — your original quantity struck through, the Franchisor's proposed quantity beside it. A proposed 0 means that line is dropped once the order is accepted.
A note from the Franchisor, where they've left one, explaining the change.
The new total the revised quantities add up to.

Then make the call:

Approve Changes — the proposed quantities replace yours and the total updates. The order stays Pending on the new amounts, ready for the Franchisor to accept and ship.
Reject — your original quantities stand and the order stays Pending unchanged. You can add a short reason for the Franchisor before confirming.

The quantity-change proposal panel on a pending franchise order — a per-line diff with the original quantity struck through and the Franchisor's proposed quantity beside it, an optional note, a New total line, and Approve Changes and Reject buttons — A proposed quantity change — review the per-line diff and new total, then Approve Changes or Reject.

Cancel before it's accepted

You can cancel a franchise order only while it's still Pending — before the Franchisor accepts it (an unsubmitted Draft you simply delete). Once they mark it Accepted, it's committed on their side and you can no longer cancel it from yours; from there it runs through to delivery, and the only way to close it out is to receive it on arrival. (After acceptance, only the Franchisor can still cancel the order.)

5. Receive it when it arrives

Once the Franchisor ships, the delivery surfaces on the truck badge and you receive it just like any other order — staff or admin, from the portal header. The general walkthrough (truck badge, Delivery Details, who received it) is in Place & receive orders and isn't repeated here. When everything arrived as ordered, click Mark Received — that flips the status to Delivered, restocks your inventory, and posts a Material expense, all in one step.

Adjust the received quantity

Deliveries don't always match the order. Instead of Mark Received, click Report Discrepancy to open a per-line editor. Each line shows what was Ordered and a Received Qty field pre-filled with that amount — type the actual quantity that arrived (enter 0 for a line that never came), then Confirm Received. Two things follow that are specific to a franchise order:

The Franchisor reviews the difference. A mismatch is flagged for the Franchisor, who reconciles it when they invoice — you're billed for the quantities you actually received, not the ones ordered. The order can show a Discrepancy status until that's settled.
Your books follow the received amount. Inventory is restocked, and the Material expense posts, at the received quantity — exactly as on a plain order.

A shipped franchise order's details with the Report Discrepancy panel open — a note that any difference is flagged for Franchisor review, then per-line cards each showing the Ordered quantity and a Received Qty field pre-filled with it — Report Discrepancy — enter the actual quantity received per line; any difference is flagged for the Franchisor to reconcile at invoicing.

6. After delivery: invoicing and the delivery fee

The last two steps run on the Franchisor's side: they invoice the order (Invoiced) and then close it (Completed). See Purchase from Franchisor for the full picture.

Once the order is invoiced, the delivery fee the Franchisor set appears in the order's details, added to the goods' subtotal for the grand total you're billed.

The franchise Order Details dialog for an invoiced order, showing the received-item subtotal, a Delivery Fee line, and the grand total beneath it — On an invoiced order, the Delivery Fee shows in the order details, added to the goods' subtotal for the grand total.

Receiving already settled your stock and the goods' cost; Completed posts the one remaining charge — the delivery fee is filed automatically as a Transportation expense for that store, so it shows up in your expenses with no manual entry. (See Recording expenses for the expense side.)

The store's Expense History list — a Transportation entry named 'Inventory Delivery Fee' auto-generated from the completed order, sitting alongside the Material entries for the goods received (Coffee Beans, Paper Cups, Whole Milk) and other store costs — On completion the delivery fee posts automatically as a Transportation expense named 'Inventory Delivery Fee' — listed alongside the Material costs for the goods you received on the same order.

7. Read the order log

Back on the per-store order list, a franchise order shows its current hand-off status as a status chip — the same set of states described in Purchase from Franchisor, distinct from a plain order's Draft / Ordered / Received / Cancelled. As with any order, an overdue expected delivery shows in red, and a received-by line appears once it lands.

The per-store Orders list with an order to the franchisor — the supplier carries a Franchisor badge and the row shows a hand-off status chip such as Accepted or Shipped — A franchisor order on the list — the supplier carries a Franchisor badge and the row shows its hand-off status.

Franchise ordering

1. Prerequisite: line up your franchise sources

2. Open the Orders page and pick a store

3. Create a franchise order

Click Create Order in the top right to open the Create Purchase Order dialog.