So you're busy cranking out a purchase order to your favorite vendor in QuickBooks, and you get to the "Due Date" field as shown in the sample screen shot below:
Immediately, you think that by "due date", QuickBooks is referring to the date the goods on the purchase order would be due to you.
Not so fast...
WHAT THIS FIELD ACTUALLY REPRESENTS
In reality, the "Due Date" field is actually tied to the payment terms for the vendor pulled to the purchase order. So, in the example above, if you went to the vendor center and looked up East Bayshore and looked at their "terms", you would see "net 30 days". Because of that, when a PO is created for this vendor, QuickBooks is going to add 30 days to the date of the PO and fill that in as the "due date". This very likely has absolutely nothing to do with the actual shipping date of the goods you are ordering.
BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO TRACK THE SHIPMENT
If it were me, I'd customize the PO template you regularly use. Once in the customization area, I'd remove the "due date" (or at least rename it to "Payment Due Date" or something more descriptive) and then add the "Expected Date" field that is available. In the example below, I've added the "Expected Date" field and given it a new and descriptive name.
The content of this field now has no relation to the payment terms you have defined for the vendor- and that is a good thing if you want this to be tracking the shipment date.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- What costing system does QuickBooks use for inventory?
- QuickBooks for Manufacturers and Distributors: Ideas to reduce expenses
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