Purchases refer to the act of acquiring goods or services in exchange for money or other forms of compensation. This transaction typically involves a buyer and a seller, where the buyer obtains tangible items like clothing or electronics, or intangible services such as consulting or maintenance.

Purchases can serve various purposes, including resale, personal use, or investment in assets for long-term benefit. They often require documentation, such as receipts or invoices, to ensure accountability and support financial reporting.

In a business context, purchases are recorded in accounting systems to manage expenses, track inventory, and prepare financial statements, making them a fundamental aspect of commerce.

Purchasing Workflow in Simple Terms

Here’s a breakdown of how the eTIMS purchasing process works.

Getting Purchase Data

A business can retrieve purchase records from eTIMS using Slade360 eTIMS APIs since all suppliers are expected to log their sales in the system, ensuring everything is connected.

Types of Purchases

Some purchases affect the business's stock, like items for resale. Others, like office supplies, don’t affect stock. Occasionally, errors happen, such as when a supplier enters the wrong customer PIN.

Slade360 eTIMS API users can confirm if the purchases affect stock thus sending them to KRA but not mandatory for those that don't affect stock or are incorrect.

Mapping Purchases to Inventory

Each purchase must match an existing item in the business’s inventory. Sometimes suppliers use different codes, so businesses must map these items to those in their stock.

Reporting Stock Changes

• Stock In/Out Update
  Businesses must report stock changes, whether an increase or decrease. For example, if a business buys 30 items, they report an increase of 30 items.
• Final Stock Quantity
  After updating stock, the business must report the new total. If they had 10 items before the purchase, they would report 40 items after.