The Purchasing module covers the full procurement cycle from order placement to stock receipt. When you receive goods, OMBA automatically updates the relevant inventory location, applies landed costs including VAT and levies, and posts the transaction to the general ledger. The module also provides tools for tracking what suppliers have charged over time and for managing transport costs associated with deliveries.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ombamanual.ombaerp.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Purchase orders
Navigate to Purchases > Purchase Order to create and manage purchase orders.Open a new purchase order
Click Add New in the Purchase Order screen. The form panel slides open with all required fields enabled.
Fill in the order header
Enter the date and an order number. Then select the depot (the originating depot for the order), the transporter (carrier responsible for delivery), the driver, the vehicle, the supplier (referred to as BDC — Bulk Distribution Company for fuel-related businesses), and the destination. Optional flags let you mark whether the price includes taxes and levies, or whether this is a cell-site order.
Add products to the order
In the Product Build panel, select the product, enter the unit price, and specify the weight before and weight after loading (for bulk products, the net volume calculates automatically from the weight difference). Enter the total volume directly if weight dipping is not applicable. OMBA adds the product line to the order grid.
Allocate to clients (optional)
If the order is being fulfilled on behalf of specific clients, use the Client Allocation panel to select each client and enter the volume allocated to them. This builds a breakdown grid that carries through to the goods receipt.
Goods receipt (goods-in)
Navigate to Purchases > Goods Receipt to record the physical arrival of goods against a purchase order. Fill in the date, waybill number, destination location, and supplier. If the delivery involved a transporter, you can also capture the depot, transporter, driver, and vehicle to match the PO details. Configure the tax treatment for this receipt:- VAT inclusive — toggle on if the supplier price already includes VAT, then enter the VAT % rate.
- Levies % — enter the combined levy rate (e.g. NHIL + GHF + COVID levies) that applies to this product type.
Any client allocations recorded on the originating PO are visible in the goods receipt screen. You can set the ex-pump price for each allocated client before posting.
Expense recording (purchase invoices)
Navigate to Purchases > Expense Recording to capture supplier invoices and other purchase-related costs that are not inventory receipts. Each expense entry requires:| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | Invoice or transaction date |
| Due date | Payment due date |
| Invoice # | Supplier’s invoice reference number |
| Supplier | Supplier account |
| Expense account | G.L. expense account to debit |
| Description | Narrative describing the expense |
| Total amount | Gross invoice amount |
| Withheld amount | Any withholding tax deducted |
| VAT amount | VAT portion |
| Levies amount | Any applicable levies |
| Net amount | Calculated net payable (auto-filled) |
Supplier price history
Navigate to Purchases > Supplier Price History to review what suppliers have charged for each product over time. Set a From and To date range and click Load. The results grid groups pricing records by product so you can see the price progression for each item across multiple deliveries. The grid supports export to CSV, Excel, PDF, or Word.Transport claims
Navigate to Purchases > Transporter Claims to review delivery claims and calculate transport dues. Select a month/year period and click Search to load all deliveries for that period. The grid shows each delivery with columns for date, order number, transporter, supplier, invoice number, client, destination, depot, location, product, rate, volume, distance (in km), and the amount due. You can edit the rate and distance for any delivery line directly in the grid before processing. Set the tanker owners subscription % to apply a deduction for tanker owner association levies. Click Process to finalise the claims for the period.Transport claim rates are tied to item type and route distance. When you update a rate, set an effective date so OMBA can correctly apply historical versus new rates across the reporting period.