Purchase orders, step by step

The wishlist

Anyone with Edit on Purchase Orders adds what the boat needs - in the app or by telling the AI Assistant. Each item shows who added it and when.

• Item, part number, quantity and unit
• Department (deck, engine, interior, galley, bridge) and priority (urgent, high, normal, low)
• The equipment it is for, a preferred supplier and a photo of the old part or label

Create the orders

The head of department ticks the items to order and presses Create order. Hey Captain makes one draft order per supplier in one go; items without a supplier go on their own draft, ready for quotes. You can change the supplier per item before creating.

Request quotes (RFQ)

On a draft, press Request quotes and pick two or three suppliers. Each one gets an email with the request as a PDF: the items and quantities, the delivery port and date - no prices. For a supplier without email, copy the same request as WhatsApp text. The items are locked while the quotes are out.

Enter the quotes

When a supplier answers, press Enter quote. Type the unit prices, or attach the supplier’s PDF or photo and press Read with AI: it fills the unit price per line, the delivery date and the notes. Items the supplier did not quote stay empty. Check, then Save quote.

Compare and choose

The order shows the quotes side by side: the price per line, the total, how many items are missing, the delivery date and the notes. The cheapest price on each line is green; the cheapest complete quote is marked Cheapest. Choose this quote puts that supplier and its prices on the order, declines the others and sends the order back to draft for approval.

Approval by amount

Who approves depends on the order’s total, converted to the vessel’s currency. The limits and exchange rates are set per vessel under Purchase Orders → Settings (Captain or management only).

The order shows “1 of 2 approved” with each approver’s name, role and time. Changing the supplier, port, date, currency or items clears approvals already given; notes and photos do not. Without a management company, the Captain alone approves where management is needed.

The purchase order PDF

An approved order prints as a PDF with the vessel, the billing name, address and VAT number, the delivery port and date, every line with part number, quantity, unit price and total, the order total and who approved it.

Send it

• By email: the supplier gets the order with the PDF attached; replies come back to the vessel’s email
• By WhatsApp: Copy for WhatsApp gives the order as text (order number, vessel, supplier, every line with quantity and part number, delivery port, invoice details, approver). Open WhatsApp opens it for that supplier - you press send yourself - then Mark as sent
• Coming soon: a direct connection, so an approved order goes straight into the supplier’s own system and the quote, confirmation and delivery come back by themselves

Confirmed by the supplier

When the supplier confirms, press Supplier confirmed and enter the confirmed delivery date, their reference and any changed prices. Today the crew enters this from the supplier’s reply; with a connected supplier it will arrive by itself.

Receive into stock

Press Receive items and enter what arrived - part of the order is fine. Each line goes into its stock item, matched by part number; otherwise choose an item, create a new one, or “don’t add to stock”. The stock quantity goes up, and the cost is added to the order’s budget line. The order becomes Part delivered, then Delivered.

The history

Every order keeps a history: created, items added, quotes requested and received, quote chosen, each approval, sent, confirmed and every delivery - with names and times.