The main requirement to be a purchasing staff is diligence. Without it, it would be difficult for purchasing staff to manage important documents such as invoices or purchase orders, calculate cash flows, and many other tasks.
As a purchasing staff, your job is to make sure the items you buy with your company’s money backed by legal documents. These documents include invoices, purchase orders, and shipping documents.
Losing one of these three documents will definitely give you a panic attack. You can use an online document management system from HashMicro that is integrated with various modules such as timesheets and asset management so that it can manage and track all important company documents.
But there are other mistakes that you should avoid by purchasing staff like you. Here are five mistakes that should be avoided by a purchasing staff:
Read Also: Purchase Orders: All You Need to Know About Them
Non authorized purchases
This one can be fatal. You can be dragged to court because you spend company money to buy items that don’t have any purchase orders or invoices. As part of the accounting division, you have to be very careful and check repeatedly before spending company money.
Double-check who made the purchase order, and who agreed to it. If there is an invoice, check again whether there is a purchase order with the same contents of the invoice.
To reduce the risk of misrecording purchases, you can use an accounting software to automate cash flow management, financial statements, bank reconciliations, adjustment journals, invoice creation, and other accounting activities.
Early Payment
You pay for the item you haven’t received. In some situations, this might not be considered a mistake. For example, your company already has a good relationship with the vendor, or both parties have worked together for years.
But this will be a problem if you have just recently worked with the vendor. The vendor might be happy to receive your payment, but your manager might question your work.
Late payment
For this one, surely there is no party who likes to experience it. The vendor will definitely be upset because they haven’t received the money while the goods/services have been delivered/rendered. Not only that, your manager will push you to make the payment from time to time.
Do not make this mistake if you don’t want your manager to call you as unprofessional purchasing staff. Make the payment as soon as possible after you receive an invoice. But, make sure you check whether the invoice has a valid purchase order first.
Double payment
This error can be said to happen quite often if you are not careful. Manual purchasing usually is the culprit of double payment you do. One way to deal with this problem is by using purchasing systems.
One of the advantages of the purchasing system is that every purchase orders, invoices, and other documents are managed in one software. So mistakes like double payment can be avoided easily.
Buy unapproved items
This one is dangerous. You and the employees who need the items can be accused of embezzlement for purchasing an unapproved item. To avoid this, always confirm with all parties involved, such as the manager or director if needed.
Even though the item is needed by the employee, it does not mean that you can spend the company money if the purchase is not approved yet.
Read also: The Difference Between Purchase Order and Invoice
Streamline Your Purchasing Process with HashMicro’s Procurement Management Software
Being a purchasing staff requires diligence, accuracy, and a keen eye for managing essential documents such as invoices, purchase orders, and shipping records. Even a minor mistake in procurement—such as unauthorized purchases, early or late payments, or duplicate transactions—can lead to financial inefficiencies and compliance risks.
To avoid these costly errors, businesses must leverage automated procurement software. With HashMicro’s Procurement Management Software, you can track all procurement activities, validate purchases, and ensure proper documentation—all in one integrated system. This software eliminates manual errors, prevents duplicate payments, and enhances cost control by automating workflows and approvals.
Conclusion
If your purchasing department is still doing manual purchasing, mistakes will occur frequently, mostly by accident. This is why you need purchasing software to prevent those mistakes and become a better purchasing staff.
Help control procurement costs and become more efficient with the best procurement management software from HashMicro. This system can help you manage every purchase submission from each branch and get the best deals from suppliers in one system. In addition, this system is already integrated with various online software such as inventory management systems, accounting systems, and sales systems.
