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Sending Purchase Orders to Suppliers

Email purchase orders to suppliers with comma-separated recipient lists, automatic PDF attachment, and threaded reply tracking

On this page

OverviewSending a Purchase OrderHow Reply Threading WorksReply NotificationsEmail FormatMultiple RecipientsPlaceholder Email ProtectionTipsQuestions

Overview

When you create a purchase order for materials or services, BlueClerk lets you email it directly to your supplier. The system automatically generates a professional PDF attachment, supports multiple recipients in both To and CC fields, and sends from a trackable reply address so supplier responses thread back to your PO conversation.

Sending a Purchase Order

From the PO Detail Page

  1. Open a purchase order you want to send
  2. Click "Send" in the action bar
  3. The send dialog opens with supplier contact info pre-filled
  4. Review and edit recipients:
    • To field: Primary supplier contact email (pre-filled if supplier has a default rep email)
    • CC field: Additional recipients like project managers or accounting (pre-filled if supplier has a saved CC email)
    • Both fields support comma-separated lists - enter multiple emails separated by commas
  5. Optionally edit the message - A default message is pre-filled but you can customize it
  6. Click "Send PO"

What Gets Sent

The supplier receives:

  • Professional email with your company branding
  • PDF attachment of the purchase order with all line items
  • Reply address formatted as po+{publicToken}@reply.blueclerk.com
  • Your custom message or default template

How Reply Threading Works

Trackable Reply Addresses

Every PO email is sent from a unique threading address:

  • Format: po+{publicToken}@reply.blueclerk.com
  • Example: po+abc123xyz@reply.blueclerk.com
  • The publicToken identifies which PO the reply belongs to

When Suppliers Reply

  1. Supplier hits "Reply" in their email client
  2. Their email goes to the po+{token}@reply.blueclerk.com address
  3. AWS SES receives the email and forwards it to BlueClerk via SNS
  4. BlueClerk parses the reply using the token to find the matching PO
  5. The reply is saved as a DocumentMessage under the PO thread
  6. You're notified that the supplier responded

Viewing Supplier Replies

  1. Open the purchase order in BlueClerk
  2. Scroll to the "Messages" section
  3. See all supplier replies threaded in chronological order
  4. Each message shows:
    • Sender name and email
    • Date and time received
    • Message body (with quoted history stripped)
    • Any attachments

Reply Notifications

What You Receive

When a supplier replies to your PO email:

  • In-app notification with a link to the PO
  • Notification text: "New reply on PO-{number} from {supplier name}"
  • Click the notification to jump directly to the PO detail page

Who Gets Notified

  • The user who created the PO receives the notification
  • Only one notification per reply (no duplicate alerts)

Email Format

Default Message Template

Hi,

Please review the attached purchase order.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

PDF Attachment

The attached PDF includes:

  • Your company header with logo and contact info
  • PO number and date
  • Supplier name and address
  • Line items with descriptions, quantities, unit costs, and totals
  • Subtotal, tax, and total
  • Notes if any were added to the PO

Multiple Recipients

Comma-Separated Lists

Both the To and CC fields accept comma-separated email addresses:

  • Example To: john@supplier.com, jane@supplier.com
  • Example CC: pm@mycompany.com, accounting@mycompany.com

Validation

  • Invalid emails are rejected before sending
  • Duplicates are removed automatically
  • Whitespace is trimmed around each email

Placeholder Email Protection

BlueClerk automatically filters out placeholder emails when sending POs:

  • Blocked domains: @placeholder.local, @placeholder.blueclerk.com, @example.com, .invalid, .test, .local
  • Why: Prevents bounces from synthetic emails created during data imports
  • What happens: If the supplier's email is a placeholder, the "Send" button is disabled and you'll see a warning

Tips

  • Pre-fill supplier contacts - Add default rep and CC emails to supplier records so the send dialog auto-fills
  • Use CC for internal tracking - Add your PM or accounting team to CC so they get a copy of the PO
  • Check replies regularly - Supplier responses appear in the Messages section of the PO detail page
  • Customize the message - Edit the default message to add context or urgency

Questions

Q: What if the supplier replies from a different email than the one I sent to? A: As long as they reply to the po+{token}@reply.blueclerk.com address, BlueClerk will thread the message correctly regardless of the sender's email.

Q: Can I resend a PO to the same supplier? A: Yes - click "Send" again and the dialog will pre-fill with the same recipients. You can edit the message or recipients before resending.

Q: What if I don't see supplier replies in the Messages section? A: Make sure the supplier replied to the po+{token}@reply.blueclerk.com address. If they replied to your personal email, forward it to the PO reply address to thread it properly.

Q: Can I see when the PO email was sent? A: Yes - the PO detail page shows a "Last Sent" timestamp below the send button after you send the email.

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