Raising a Purchase Order for Hard-to-Find Refrigeration Parts and Tying It to the Job
A failed scroll compressor contactor is one thing; a discontinued OEM expansion valve or a long-lead EC fan motor that nobody stocks is another. When a part has to be special-ordered, the job goes on hold and the cost has to be pinned to the right customer — not lost on a counter receipt in your van. R-Pro handles both ends: the field app captures the exact failed part on site, and the office ERP raises the supplier purchase order and ties it straight back to that job.
On site: pin down the exact part before you leave
- Scan the equipment nameplate with the field app — model, serial, refrigerant and electrical data auto-fill, so the part you order matches the unit and not a guess from memory.
- Photograph the failed component (the burned-out ECM motor, the seized TXV, the cracked oil separator) and attach it to that customer's service record, with the OEM part number visible.
- Add a voice memo while you're still in front of the unit — 'R404A rack, evap fan motor, 230V, needs the matching control module too' — so nothing gets forgotten back at the office.
- Works fully offline: in a plant room or rooftop with no signal, the part details, photos and notes save locally and sync the moment you're back online.
- Issue an on-site receipt for the diagnostic call-out and any parts already swapped, so the customer knows the special-order part is the only thing outstanding.
In the office: raise the purchase order and order the part
- Open the supplier record for your refrigeration wholesaler or the OEM distributor and raise a purchase order for the hard-to-find part — quantity, agreed price and your part reference all on one PO.
- Scan the supplier's order confirmation or invoice receipt; the ERP auto-fills the line items and total, so the special-order cost lands in your books accurately without retyping.
- The PO and that purchase flow straight into accounting — recorded as a purchase against the job, feeding sales, purchases, expenses and net profit so margin on that repair is real, not estimated.
- Add the part to inventory when it arrives, or pass it straight to the job — either way the cost is tracked, not buried on a paper counter slip.
- Build an itemized quote for the customer covering the special-order part plus labour, then convert it to an invoice or tax invoice with your own country's tax name and rate (VAT, GST or sales tax).
The connection: one part, tracked from job to PO to invoice
- Because the field record and the purchase order both reference the same customer job, the special-order part never gets orphaned — you always know which unit and which invoice it belongs to.
- Field work flows into the office books automatically, so the part cost you logged on the PO shows up against the job with no double entry.
- When the part lands and you go back to fit it, your earlier nameplate scan, photos and voice memo are right there in the customer's service history — no scrambling to remember which motor you ordered.
- The customer ledger shows the full picture for that account: the diagnostic visit, the special-order PO cost, the labour, and the final invoice — all tied together.
- Reports let you see how often a part runs long lead times or eats margin, so you can quote special-order jobs with a realistic markup next time.
One subscription. Field app and office ERP, working as one.
R-Pro pairs an AI-powered field app — nameplate and receipt scanning, voice memos, per-customer history, offline diagnosis on 600+ real cases — with a full office ERP for quotes, purchase orders, suppliers, inventory, invoices and accounting. Capture the failed part on site, raise the supplier PO in the office, and watch it all tie back to the same job — in 10 languages, with no double entry.
Get R-Pro →FAQ
How do I make sure a special-order part's cost lands on the right customer's job and not just in general expenses?
Raise the purchase order against the customer job in the office ERP. Because the field service record and the PO share the same job, the part cost is recorded as a purchase tied to that job — it feeds net profit for that specific repair instead of floating in general expenses, and it appears on the customer ledger.
The part is on a long lead time and the job is on hold. How do I keep it from getting forgotten?
On site, the field app saves the nameplate scan, photos of the failed component and a voice memo to that customer's service history. The PO stays open in the office until the part arrives. When it lands, you return with the full record in front of you and convert the quote to an invoice — nothing slips through the cracks.
Can I scan the supplier's receipt instead of typing the PO cost in by hand?
Yes. Scan the supplier's order confirmation or invoice and the ERP auto-fills the line items and total. That purchase cost flows into accounting against the job, so your margin on the repair reflects the real part price, not an estimate.
Can I invoice the customer with my own country's tax on the special-order part?
Yes. Build an itemized quote covering the part plus labour, then convert it to an invoice or tax invoice using your own country's tax name and rate — VAT, GST or sales tax — set the way your business needs it.