Purchases

Special Purchase Master

The Special Purchase Master is a configurable buying workstation designed for businesses that purchase unique, one-of-a-kind, or artisanal products directly from individual producers. Unlike a standard vendor invoice that receives known catalog items, this screen lets you buy items that may not yet exist in your inventory — creating the items, setting costs and retail prices, generating labels, and recording the vendor payment all in a single transaction. Access from Purchasing › Special Purchase List.

Who Is This For?

This screen was built for businesses where buying is not just selecting from a supplier catalog — it is meeting a person, evaluating their work, negotiating a price, and taking possession on the spot. Examples:

Business Type	How They Use It
Art Galleries	A gallery owner meets an artist, selects paintings and prints, negotiates purchase prices, and records each piece with the artist's name, community, year, cost, and retail price. Items are auto-created in inventory with unique item numbers.
Inuit Art / Carving Dealers	Northern cooperatives and southern retailers purchase soapstone carvings directly from carvers. Each piece is unique — a "Dancing Bear" from artist "Kenojuak" in "Cape Dorset", 2024. The Carvings tab captures all metadata, auto-creates the item, and generates labels.
Farmers’ Markets	A retailer visits a farmers' market to buy artisanal preserves, honey, handmade soaps, or baked goods from individual producers. Each producer is set up as a vendor; the retailer enters what they bought, at what cost, and what they plan to retail it for.
Pawn Shops	Purchasing items directly from walk-in customers. Each piece is unique and doesn't exist in inventory. The New Products tab lets the buyer describe the item, assign a subdepartment and size, set a purchase cost and expected retail price, and create the inventory record on the spot.
Antique Dealers	Buying estate items, vintage collectibles, or antique furniture from individuals. Each item gets a description, cost, and retail markup. The "Transfer Funds To Customer" field records the payment to the seller.

Configuration

This screen requires configuration before first use. All settings are maintained in Purchases › Setup › Special Purchase Setup:

Setting	Purpose
Art / Carving Subdept	Subdepartments where new art and carving items are created
Force Subdept	When checked, the subdepartment is locked and cannot be changed per-purchase
Existing Product Subdept	Filters the Existing Products tab to only show items from this subdepartment
New Product Subdept	Default subdepartment for new products created on the New Products tab
Item Prefix / Start	Auto-generated item numbers use this prefix and starting number (e.g., "SP-1000000")
Transfer Account	GL account used for customer fund transfers (payments to sellers)
Default Community	Default community name for artist/carver metadata
Art / Carving Descriptions	Dropdown lists of standard descriptions maintained on the Descriptions tab
Printer Address / Port	Network label printer for immediate label printing after purchase

Without a properly configured Special Purchase setup, the screen will display an error and close.

Header Fields

Process No.

Auto-assigned transaction number. Uses the standard GltxFrame (Date, Store, Station, Employee are also captured).

Vendor

The person or business you are purchasing goods from — the artist, carver, farmer, estate, or individual bringing items to sell. This field is required.

How the vendor is used:

• A Vendor Invoice (or Consign-In, depending on the Type) is created in this vendor's name recording the purchase cost of all items.
• The vendor's A/P account is credited with the total amount owing.
• If a card transfer is created (see Transfer Funds To Customer below), the transfer debits this vendor's A/P account to clear the balance.
• The vendor must already exist in the Vendor Master. If the seller is new, create them as a vendor first.

Transfer Funds To Customer

Optional. When a seller is both a vendor and a customer (common in co-ops, consignment shops, and Indigenous art galleries), this field directs the purchase payment to their customer account instead of leaving it as an A/P balance.

What happens when a customer is specified:

• Two linked Card Transfers are automatically created:
1. Transfer Out — Debits the vendor's A/P account and credits the configured Transfer Account (set in Special Purchase Setup). This clears the vendor invoice balance.
2. Transfer In — Debits the Transfer Account and credits the customer's A/R account. This posts a credit to the customer's statement that they can use for future purchases or withdraw.
• The Transfer Account acts as a clearing account between A/P and A/R.
• Both card transfers reference the Vendor Invoice number for traceability.
• The customer sees the credit on their Customer Statement.

Prerequisites:

• The customer must already exist in the Customer Master.
• The selected Type must have Card Transfer Allowed enabled (configured in Special Purchase Setup › Types tab).
• A Transfer Account must be configured in Special Purchase Setup › Config tab.

When to leave blank: If you are paying the vendor by cheque, direct deposit, or any method outside the system, leave this field empty. The vendor invoice will remain as an A/P balance that you settle through normal vendor payment processing.

Description

A description of this purchase batch (up to 40 characters). E.g., "Spring Art Show Purchase", "Estate Buy - March 2026".

Type

The special purchase type controls how the items are received into stock. Vendor Invoice creates a vendor invoice; Consign In creates a consignment-in. The type also determines whether a card transfer to the seller is allowed. Configure types on the Types tab of Purchases › Setup › Special Purchase Setup.

Reference

Reference string for cross-referencing or notes (optional).

Status

Transaction status. Controls posting and visibility in lists.

Date

Posting date for the transaction. Defaults to today.

Time

Time of posting. Auto-filled from the system clock.

Work Date

Work date for the transaction (may differ from posting date).

Shift

Shift assignment for labour or shift-based reporting.

Store

Store where the transaction is posted. Defaults to current store.

Station

Workstation or terminal where the transaction was entered.

Employee

Employee who created or is responsible for the transaction.

Memo

Free-form memo or notes attached to the transaction.

Art Tab

For purchasing art pieces (paintings, prints, sculptures, jewellery, wall hangings, etc.). Each row becomes a new inventory item on save.

Art Defaults

Default Artist

Pre-fills the Artist column for every new row. Set this once when buying multiple pieces from the same artist.

Default Community

Pre-fills the Community column. Loaded from config, editable per-purchase.

Default Subdept

The subdepartment new art items are created in. May be locked by configuration.

Default Size

The item size to use (loaded from the subdepartment's size list).

Individual?

When checked, each item is created as a unique inventory item (qty = 1). When unchecked, multiple identical items can be grouped.

Art Items Table

Column	Description
Description	Dropdown of pre-configured art descriptions (e.g., "Painting - oil", "Sculpture") or type a custom description.
Artist	The artist's name. Stored as item Extra Data for traceability.
Community	The artist's community/origin. Stored as item Extra Data.
Year	Year the piece was created. Stored as item Extra Data.
Qty	Quantity being purchased (usually 1 for unique art).
Cost	Unit purchase cost (what you pay the artist).
Ext Cost	Qty × Cost. Auto-calculated.
Purch Tax	Tax code for the purchase cost.
Retail	Intended retail selling price.
Ext Retail	Qty × Retail. Auto-calculated.
Sell Tax	Tax code for retail sales.

Carvings Tab

Identical structure to the Art tab but configured for carvings (soapstone, wood, bone).

Carving Defaults

Default Carver

Pre-fills the Artist column for carvings.

Default Community

Separate from art community (a carver may be from a different community than the artist).

Default Subdept

Separate subdepartment for carving items (e.g., "Carvings" vs "Art").

Default Size

Loaded from the carving subdepartment.

Individual?

Same behavior as the Art tab.

The carving description dropdown is loaded from the config's carvingDescription list (e.g., "Bear", "Inukshuk", "Dancing Bear", "Owl", "Sedna").

Carving Items Table

The same 11 columns apply: Description, Artist, Community, Year, Qty, Cost, Ext Cost, Purch Tax, Retail, Ext Retail, Sell Tax.

Existing Products Tab

For purchasing items that already exist in your inventory. Use this tab when buying more stock of known products — for example, a pawn shop buying back an item they previously sold, or a gallery restocking prints.

Existing Products Table

Column	Description
Item Number	Look up an existing item. May be filtered to a specific subdepartment by config.
Description	Auto-filled from the item record. Editable for notes.
Size	Dropdown of available sizes for the item.
Qty	Quantity being purchased.
Cost	Purchase cost per unit.
Ext Cost	Auto-calculated (Qty × Cost).
Purch Tax	Tax code on the purchase cost.
Retail / Ext Retail / Sell Tax	Read-only retail information from the item's existing price record.

New Products Tab

For purchasing items that do not yet exist in inventory, but are not specifically art or carvings. Ideal for pawn shops, antique dealers, or farmers' market buyers where each item is unique and described on the spot.

Default Subdept

Choose the subdepartment for this item. May be defaulted and/or locked by config.

Individual?

When checked, each new product is created as a unique inventory item.

New Products Table

Column	Description
Description	Free-text description of the item (e.g., "Vintage Gibson guitar", "Homemade blueberry jam 500ml").
Subdept	Choose the subdepartment for this item. May be defaulted and/or locked by config.
Size	Dropdown of sizes from the selected subdepartment.
Qty	Quantity.
Cost	What you are paying for the item.
Ext Cost	Auto-calculated.
Purch Tax	Tax code.
Retail	Your intended selling price.
Ext Retail	Auto-calculated.
Sell Tax	Tax code for retail.

Table Cell Fields

The following fields appear as inline cell editors in the Art, Carving, New Products, and Existing Products tables. Click into a cell to activate the editor.

Description

Item description. In Art and Carving tabs, this is a dropdown of pre-configured descriptions (with optional free-text). In Products tabs, this shows the item's description from inventory.

Artist

The artist or maker's name. Stored as item Extra Data for reporting and traceability. The Default Artist field above the table pre-fills this for every new row.

Community

The artist's community or place of origin. Stored as item Extra Data. Pre-filled from the Default Community field above the table.

Year

The year the piece was created. Stored as item Extra Data. Defaults to the current year.

Qty

Quantity of this item. If Individual? is checked, items with qty > 1 are automatically split into separate inventory items on save (each with qty = 1).

Cost

The per-unit purchase cost — what you are paying the vendor for this item.

Ext Cost

Extended cost, auto-calculated as Qty × Cost.

Retail

The per-unit selling price you intend to charge customers.

Ext Retail

Extended retail, auto-calculated as Qty × Retail.

Size (Existing Products)

Item size selector for the Existing Products tab. Dropdown populated from the item's available sizes.

Size (New Products)

Item size selector for the New Products tab. Dropdown populated from the selected subdepartment's size list.

Totals Tab

Read-only summary of all items across all four tabs. Updated in real time as you add items:

Qty Total

Total quantity of all items across all tabs.

Item Cost

Total cost before tax (what you owe the vendor).

Cost Tax

Total purchase tax on cost.

Cost Total

Item Cost + Cost Tax. The total amount payable to the vendor.

Item Retail

Total expected retail revenue before tax.

Retail Tax

Total sales tax at retail.

Retail Total

Item Retail + Retail Tax. What customers will pay when the items sell.

Comments Tab

Comment

Free-text area for notes and special instructions. Examples: "Artist will deliver framing next week", "Items are on consignment — pay after sale", "Pawn ticket #4521 — 30-day hold period".

Taxes Tab

Read-only tax breakdown showing both cost-side and retail-side taxes for all items.

Column	Description
Tax	Tax code.
Name	Tax name (e.g., "GST", "PST", "HST").
Cost Taxable	Total cost subject to this tax.
Cost Tax Amt	Tax amount on cost.
Retail Taxable	Total retail subject to this tax.
Retail Tax Amt	Tax amount at retail.

What Happens On Save

When you click OK, the system performs the following in a single batch operation:

1. Item Creation — For Art, Carvings, and New Product rows, new inventory items are created with auto-generated item numbers (using the configured prefix, e.g., "SP-1000001"). Extra data (Artist, Community, Year) is attached to each item.
2. Vendor Invoice — A vendor invoice is created recording the purchase cost for all items.
3. Label Batch — A label batch is generated for all new items, ready for printing. The batch includes the Vendor Invoice # as extra data for traceability.
4. Card Transfer — If a Customer was specified in "Transfer Funds To Customer", a card transfer is created to record the payment to the seller's customer account, with the Vendor Invoice # attached as extra data.
5. Progress Display — A progress dialog shows each step as it executes.

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