Recently I had a colleague struggling with a request to restrict items on a Purchasing Requisition where they only wanted a specific subset of items for purchase to be available on the purchasing requisition form, so only specific services for purchase and no inventory. For some, the instinct might be to have a developer create a custom client script to execute and filter the item drop-down for you. This can be an expensive option and can result in an over-engineered solution. There is an out of the box option that can satisfy the need very quickly and this is using item filtering on transactions for your purchase requisition form.
Set-up Required
- Item Saved Search – You’ll need to create an item save search that will be used to drive the items available for the transaction. You may need to create some custom fields if isolating your specific list cannot be achieved with the standard fields. Also make sure your search is saved ‘public’ and has a unique name that would prevent someone from accidentally modifying it on you. The results tab has no specific requirement, but do not use a summary search.
- Custom Form – Create a custom form or modify your existing preferred form that will be used for your purchase requisition process
How-To Make it Work
Once you have the above ready, edit your custom form and click on the Sublist Fields tab. Just above the field definitions you’ll see a drop down field named “Item Filter”, select your save search and save the form.
Now when you create a requisition the item drop down on the item lines will reflect the results from your save search a smaller more concise set of items that can be placed on the transaction.
With Filter:
Without Filter:
This feature is not restricted to just the Purchase Requisitions but is also available on all Procure to Pay and Sales Transactions where there is an item sublist. Create multiple searches with paired transaction forms if the need arises.
If you found item filtering on transactions interesting or want to learn more, reach out to a Plative consultant!
