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Buy Orders overview

How buy orders work in Restock.

What is a buy order?

A buy order is a record of purchasing devices from a customer or seller. Each buy order creates inventory items that flow into your organization's stock. You can create a buy order manually from scratch, or convert an accepted quote request into a buy order so that quoted devices are added to inventory in one step.

Key concepts

  • Entries — Each line item on a buy order is an entry. An entry represents one device added to inventory. It is linked to a specific item record and carries a cost, device type (phone, tablet, laptop, smartwatch, or other), specs (brand, model, storage, color), condition, and optional IMEI or serial number. You can add entries one at a time or in groups.

  • Groups — When you add several identical devices (same type, specs, and condition), you can record them as a single group with a shared unit price and individual IMEI/serial slots. Groups are created via Quick Add Multiple, so you specify the common details once and optionally fill in identifiers for each unit.

  • Payments — A buy order can have one or more payments attached. If you enter a single payment, Restock automatically adjusts it to match the order total. If you use split payments (e.g. cash plus card), the payments must sum exactly to the order total.

  • Statuses — A buy order can be complete (the default), pending, or cancelled. Status affects how the order is displayed and filtered.

  • IMEI / Serial numbers — You can optionally record an IMEI or serial number for each entry. For phones, tablets, and smartwatches, Restock supports IMEI lookup: after you save, the app enriches the device record with carrier and model information from an external source.

Adding entries — two modes

  • Individual entry — Add one device at a time. You choose the device type (e.g. Phone, Tablet), then fill in all fields directly on the form row: cost, condition, brand, model, storage, color, and optional IMEI/serial. Use this when you have a mix of different devices or need to enter unique details per unit.

  • Quick Add Multiple — Specify device type, specs, condition, quantity, and unit price once. You can optionally provide IMEIs or serials for each unit, or paste a bulk list of IMEIs and have Restock look up device data and create a group. All entries in the group share the same base details and unit price; you can override cost or other fields per entry if needed.

What happens after saving

When you save a buy order:

  • Device records are created and linked to the entries, and the corresponding items are added to your inventory.
  • For phones, tablets, and smartwatches with IMEIs, Restock queues an automatic enrichment job to fetch carrier and model details.
  • The order total is calculated and cached so lists and reports stay fast.
  • Activity is logged (e.g. buy order created, inventory purchased) for auditing.

What you'll find here

  • Creating a buy order — Step-by-step guide to creating a buy order, including customer info, entries, and payments
  • Bulk entry — Adding multiple entries at once with Quick Add Multiple and IMEI bulk import

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