Here's what we've been up to this past month:
Features and enhancements for the Office:
Features and enhancements for the Field:
Features and Enhancements for the Office
Set Default Tax Code in Default Purchase Order Settings
Users can now set a default tax code on the organization level! Previously organizations could only configure default tax codes on a Job level. Customers that mostly operate in a single area can setup a single default tax code instead of having to do it per Job.
To set this up for your organization, go to Admin > Integrations under the Default Purchase Order Setting.
[Sage] Allow Retrying Purchase Orders that have Errored in Linking
Previously users could not retry a Sage purchase order that errored out on linking to HH2. We now have a retry button to allow re-trying with Sage integrations!
[Procore] Support Link PO as Lump Sum
We now allow a rollup of line items by Cost Code and Cost Category as a lump sum and have individual line items entered with only the quantity and no price and extended price!
When reviewing budgets in their accounting system, most customers prefer viewing the POs by lump sum so they can see the total cost by cost type and cost category. This is already supported today for Sage and QuickBooks Online direct integrations.
Standalone RFQ Page
RFQ have a new home with a standalone page! The old RFQ tab on the Orders page will still be accessible for a time, and a "sunset" messaging banner is at the top of the table to direct users to the new page. The old RFQ tab on the Orders page will be deactivated soon with the wide release of the new RFQ experience.
Separating RFQ # from PO #
In the past, we were generating a draft PO # for RFQs when RFQs were not actual purchase orders. With the new RFQ experience enabled, we now use separate RFQ #s instead of PO #s!
Subcontractors use PO numbering schemes to help track the POs made in their accounting system. Gaps in the PO #s can create a false alarm in the sense that there is a missing order in their accounting system.
RFQ Header now uses the RFQ #
PO # is hidden and no longer required because users issue New PO from the RFQ when the new RFQ experience is enabled
RFQ Number field is autogenerated and required
RFQ Quote Allocation
We now help make it easier for users to easily compare quotes between Vendors, allocate line items to different Vendors, and split RFQs into multiple POs! Previously, we could only award a full bid to a single Vendor. Now you can take a RFQ and quickly allocate line items to multiple Vendors.
Easily getting pricing and availability from their Vendors is a key part of our customers procurement function. After the pandemic and resulting supply chain issues began, customers could no longer easily get all the items they were quoting in a RFQ from a single Vendor. Now customers can easily split out line items from their RFQ into multiple POs across different Vendors!
Here's a quick guide to the new RFQ experience:
View/Hide - Toggles hiding all line item rows from that Vendor in the Line Items Table.
Availability - number of line items available out of the total line items requested for quote. This is based on what the Vendor filled in on each requested line item in the Vendor RFQ Portal
Available - item’s full quantity is available on the quote by the Vendor
Not Quoted - includes # of line items that were not quoted by the Vendor
Backorders - includes # of line items with any backorders by the Vendor
Total Price - the total price of the quote
Can be filled in by the final price in the Vendor RFQ Portal
Can be filled in manually by a customer who receives the quote response via email outside of Agora as a lump sum total price
Attachments - quote attachments uploaded by the Vendor when submitting the quote
Notes - notes included by the Vendor when submitting the bid from the Vendor RFQ Portal
Bulk Allocate - actions that allow you to automatically allocate line items to the selected Vendor row
All - allocate to the selected Vendor all requested line item quantities to the selected Vendor row
All Available - allocate to the selected Vendor all available line items for that Vendor including the line items that have backorders
Fully Available - allocate to the selected Vendor only line items that have the fully quantity available.
Remaining - allocate to the selected Vendor for each line item the requested quantity minus the already ordered quantity to this Vendor
Remove All - clear all line items allocated to the selected Vendor
Line Item Table:
The line item table has a sticky header and footer that will always be accessible when you scroll up and down rows on the table. The line item table is organized with each line item in the RFQ having multiple rows, one row for each Vendor that was sent the RFQ.
Line Item No. - The 1st column is the line item number based on the line item number ordering in the original RFQ.
Description - The line item description as inputted by the customer in the original RFQ line item.
Qty - The quantity in an existing PO (including draft POs) over the total quantity requested in the RFQ. The Remaining quantity to be ordered is grey underneath.
Vendor - The name of the Vendor quoting each line item.
Available - The quantity available quoted from this Vendor for the line item through the Vendor RFQ Portal. This can also be manually filled in by the customer when emailed a RFQ response outside Agora.
Backorder - backorder quantity and date driven by a response in the Vendor RFQ Portal that is not manually editable...yet (coming soon).
Price - The price quoted from this Vendor for the line item through the Vendor RFQ Portal. This can also be manually filled in by the customer when emailed a quote response outside of Agora.
Allocate - This is where the user inputs the quantity for the line item that they want to award to this Vendor in a newly created PO.
Ordered - Ordered column includes the quantity already ordered for this line item, to the Vendor of that row, and a link to the PO issued.
Creating a PO from the RFQ Line Items Table
For each line item, enter a quantity to the Allocate column for the Vendor you wish to order from
Click Create POs button on the bottom when you are ready to create your new draft POs. You do not need to allocate every line item before issuing a PO. Since two separate Vendors were allocated quantities for the line items, we have two POs that will be issued to each Vendor.
You can update the PO # field or choose to issue the PO as an HFR or to Warehouse General Stock. Click "Create Draft POs" when finished.
The new RFQ Experience is currently in beta; you can click the "Request for Quotes Opt-In" button on the new "Requests for Quotes" page to gain instant access!
Added “Create RFQ” to Requisitions Page
Previously, to issue a RFQ for requisition line items, a user had to first create a draft PO, and then switch the PO type to RFQ. Users now have the option to directly create a RFQ from the Requisitions page!
The RFQ/PO # separation disables automatic PO # generation when creating a RFQ directly. However, when customers were creating RFQs from Requisitions, they were still using a PO # since creating a draft PO on the Requisitions page was the only option. Now a PO# is not used needlessly when creating a RFQ!
Features and enhancements for the Field
Additional Quick Order items - Electrical only
Bell Boxes - Number of KOs
Screw-On Box Supports - 4" and 6" sizes
Breakers - 70, 80, 90 amps
Custom Feeder - 600 and 750 MCM gauges
Multi Conductor - 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0 gauges
NEMA boxes - Metal & PVC materials
Ties - 14" length
Updated Delivery Date/Time Functionality
Requesting items "ASAP" was the default option in the Agora Jobsite app, which can cause frustration for both Purchasing and Vendors as it leads to confusion and increased delivery costs.
By making the selection of “ASAP” more intentional, the Field will use it less, and the Office should get a clearer sense of when the Field actually needs materials!
The updates include:
Swapped Delivery Date and Delivery Time locations
Date first, Time second
If the Date is ASAP, the Time is set to automatically set to ASAP as well
If the Date is Hold for Release, the Time is disabled
If the Date changes from ASAP to something else, the Time is set to AM by default
Removed ASAP as an option for Time entirely
Expanded View Area of Cart
Previously, field users had a hard time viewing all the items in their cart due to a scroll depth cap we had set. We fixed this so users could now easily everything in their cart!
Removed Ability to Set Delivery Date in the Past
Previously, Field users could select a Delivery Date for a Requisition or Order in the past. This was causing confusion, so we are preventing that going forward - the Need By Date can now only be set for today up to 1 year in advance!
Receive - Sort POs - Most Recent at the Top
POs are sorted by "Recently Added" at the top in the receiving flow, both initially and when starting to type in the search bar. Based on feedback, users can now see the most recent POs:
In "Receive", the POs you can select from are sorted with the newest POs at the top
When you start searching, the order remains consistent