How to add items to a PO (Purchase Order) that were purchased as a set but being sold individually?

[thetruehouse]

We are trying to track incoming inventory using the Shopify "Purchase Orders".  We have run into 3 challenges:

1. We sometimes purchase items from a supplier as a set (ie a set of 3 baskets-small, medium and large).  However, when we sell them through our POS, we are selling them individually.  We would like our PO dollar amount to match our receipts so the PO needs to list one set of baskets.  However, Shopify pulls its products from the products list and we added the baskets as individuals so we can't add the item as a set.  Furthermore, even if we could add it, then it would throw off our inventory.  Is there a workaround on this?
2. We would like to add a "tester" (ie candle testers) to our POs but we do not sell testers so they are not a product on our POS.  Besides adding the tester as a product, is there a faster workaround?
3. We would like to apply payment to a PO so we can track payments made towards an order since often times we are charged for product as it ships.  For example, we often place one large order and it is a partial ship.  We would like the ability to track each credit card charge as each portion of the order ships. 

Our goal with our POs is to track incoming inventory while also tracking our credit card charges.  Is there an app that can provide these services?  Thanks!

[Moira]

Hey @thetruehouse,

Thanks for reaching out!

Here are some potential solutions and workarounds:

• Use product bundling apps to manage sets purchased together but sold individually: Use a product bundling app like "Bundle Products and Discounts" or "Bundable - Customizable Kits" from the App Store here. These apps allow you to create a bundle (set) that can be purchased as one item but will break down into individual products for inventory tracking.
• Create non-sellable products for testers to include them in POs: Create a product in Shopify for the tester but mark it as "not available" on any sales channels. This way, it won't appear in your POS but can still be added to POs for inventory tracking.
• Use advanced PO management apps like Stocky or TradeGecko for tracking partial payments and shipments.