Automatic Order Creation Between Companies

Feature Overview

When a sales order line in one company is drop-shipped (or marked as a special order) from an intercompany vendor, the app automatically creates the matching purchase order behind the scenes — the user never opens a blank purchase order and types it in. Releasing the sales order builds the purchase order, links every line back to its originating sales order and line, and copies dimensions across according to the app's dimension-mapping rules. The reverse also happens: when the intercompany vendor is really the Supply Company, the incoming order becomes a sales order there automatically once it is accepted from the IC inbox.

The link between the two documents is kept alive after creation, not just at the moment of creation. If the Sales Company changes dimensions on the sales order — for example after reopening it and updating a shortcut dimension — those changes are automatically pushed onto the still-open purchase order and its lines, so the two documents don't drift out of sync. The same creation logic also produces purchase return orders from sales return order lines that are flagged for intercompany handling, and reproduces call-off references when the originating line is tied to a blanket order.

Only lines that genuinely belong to the intercompany relationship are picked up: the sales line must reference a vendor that is itself set up as an IC partner's vendor, must be a drop-shipment or special order line (or a non-item/comment line used for context), and must not already be linked to an existing purchase line. This selective picking prevents duplicate purchase orders and keeps normal, non-intercompany sales order lines completely untouched.

Key Facts

Category	Values
Where it's triggered from	Releasing a sales order or sales return order (Sales Orders / Sales Return Orders pages)
Entity types supported	Sales Order → Purchase Order; Sales Return Order → Purchase Return Order
Line types picked up	Item lines (drop-shipment or special order), comment lines, and G/L Account lines already linked to a purchase line
Key configuration fields	Buy-from Vendor No. (sales line), Dimension Mapping (IC Setup), Enable Legacy Dim. Mapping (IC Setup)
Integration points	Sending & Receiving Documents Automatically (transmits the created order), Handling Returns Between Companies (return order variant), Cross-Company Invoicing (dimensions carried onto invoices)

Getting Started

On the intercompany vendor card (Sales Company), confirm the vendor is linked to an IC partner — this is what makes a purchase line eligible for auto-creation.
Open Intercompany Setup and set Dimension Mapping to the mode you want dimensions handled in (Standard or 1-1); enable Enable Legacy Dim. Mapping only if you need the older header-propagation behaviour alongside Standard mode.
Create a new sales order. On each item line that should be fulfilled by the partner company, set Buy-from Vendor No. to the intercompany vendor and mark the line as Drop Shipment (or Special Order, if used).
Release the sales order.
Open Purchase Orders and confirm a new purchase order exists, linked back to your sales order via Sales Order No. (sales).
Check the purchase line's dimensions match the sales line — this confirms the dimension mapping mode is applied as expected.
Reopen the sales order, change a dimension, and release again — confirm the change appears on the still-open purchase order without creating a duplicate.
Repeat the flow with a sales return order line flagged for intercompany handling to confirm a purchase return order is created the same way.

Related Features

This feature only creates and keeps the purchase/sales document in sync — actually getting that document to the partner company is handled by Sending & Receiving Documents Automatically, which exports the newly created purchase order to the partner's inbox. Handling Returns Between Companies reuses this same creation logic for the return-order variant, so setup here applies to both flows. Dimensions copied at creation time flow through to Cross-Company Invoicing, ensuring the eventual purchase invoice carries the same cost allocation as the original sales order. Setting Up a Partner Company is a prerequisite — a vendor only becomes eligible for auto-creation once it's linked to a configured IC partner.

User Stories

Auto-create a purchase order from a drop-shipped sales order line

As a Sales Company order entry user
I want to have a purchase order created automatically when I release a sales order with a drop-shipped intercompany vendor line
So that I don't have to create and link the purchase order by hand

Setup:

On the sales line, set Buy-from Vendor No. to a vendor linked to an IC partner.
Mark the line Drop Shipment.
Release the sales order.

Note: Only lines with outstanding quantity and a genuine IC vendor are picked up — fully invoiced or already-linked lines are skipped.

Auto-create a purchase order from a special order line

As a Sales Company order entry user
I want to have the same automatic purchase order creation apply to Special Order lines, not only Drop Shipment lines
So that both fulfilment methods benefit from the automation

Setup:

On the sales line, set Buy-from Vendor No. to the IC vendor and mark the line Special Order instead of Drop Shipment.
Release the sales order.

Add a new line to an already-created purchase order

As a Sales Company order entry user
I want to have a new intercompany line added to the existing linked purchase order rather than a duplicate purchase order being created
So that I keep one purchase order per vendor per sales order

Setup:

Add a new drop-shipment/special-order line for the same IC vendor to a sales order that already has a linked, open purchase order.
Release the sales order again.

Note: A new purchase order is only created if none exists yet for that vendor on this sales order; otherwise the existing header is reused.

Route different vendors on the same sales order to separate purchase orders

As a Sales Company order entry user
I want to have lines for different IC vendors on the same sales order split into separate purchase orders
So that each partner company only sees the purchase order relevant to them

Setup:

Add sales lines referencing two different IC vendors to the same sales order.
Release the order.
Confirm two purchase orders are created, one per vendor.

Carry a comment line onto the purchase order

As a Sales Company order entry user
I want to have descriptive comment lines carried onto the auto-created purchase order
So that the Supply Company sees the same context I entered on the sales order

Setup:

Add a comment line (blank type, with a description) among the intercompany lines on the sales order.
Release the order and confirm the comment line appears on the purchase order.

Skip a line that isn't eligible for intercompany creation

As a Sales Company order entry user
I want to have normal, non-intercompany sales lines left completely untouched
So that regular sales orders aren't affected by this automation

Setup:

Add a normal item line without a Buy-from Vendor No. or without Drop Shipment/Special Order marked.
Release the sales order.

Note: Lines are also skipped if the vendor isn't actually linked to an IC partner, or if the line is already linked to an existing purchase line.

Choose the dimension mapping mode for intercompany documents

As an intercompany administrator
I want to control how dimensions are copied from the sales document onto the created purchase document
So that cost reporting is consistent with how the two companies structure their dimensions

Setup:

Open Intercompany Setup.
Set Dimension Mapping to Standard (BC's default mapping rules) or 1-1 (header dimensions copied directly across).
Optionally enable Enable Legacy Dim. Mapping to keep the older header-propagation behaviour on top of Standard mode.

Keep dimensions in sync after the purchase order is created

As a Sales Company user
I want to have dimension changes I make on the sales order after release reflected on the still-open, linked purchase order
So that I don't have to manually re-align dimensions on both documents

Setup:

Reopen a sales order that already has a linked purchase order.
Change a shortcut dimension on the header or a line.
Release the sales order again.

Note: Header dimensions only refresh automatically in 1-1 mapping mode, or in Standard mode with legacy mapping enabled. Only purchase orders still in Open status are updated.

Refresh line-level dimensions independently of header mode

As a Sales Company user
I want to have line-level dimension changes propagate to the linked purchase line regardless of the header dimension mapping mode
So that line-level cost tracking stays accurate even when header dimensions aren't auto-propagated

Setup:

Change a dimension on a single sales line already linked to a purchase line.
Release the sales order again and confirm the purchase line reflects the change.

Auto-create a purchase return order from a flagged sales return

As a Sales Company user managing a customer return
I want to have a purchase return order created automatically for the intercompany vendor
So that the Supply Company can accept the goods back without me creating the return manually

Setup:

On the sales return order line, use a Return Reason Code marked for intercompany handling.
Release the sales return order.

Note: This reuses the same header/line creation logic as regular orders — see [[Handling Returns Between Companies]] for what happens after creation.

Carry a blanket order reference through to the created purchase line

As a Sales Company purchasing planner
I want to have the blanket order number and line number carried onto the auto-created purchase line
So that the Supply Company can match the call-off to the correct blanket agreement

Setup:

Create a sales line that calls off from a blanket sales order, with the IC vendor set.
Release the order and confirm the linked purchase line carries the blanket order reference.

Prevent duplicate lines when re-releasing a sales order

As a Sales Company user
I want to be able to reopen and re-release a sales order multiple times without duplicate purchase lines being created each time
So that the purchase order stays accurate no matter how many times I amend the sales order

Setup:

Release, reopen, and release a sales order with intercompany lines multiple times.
Confirm each already-linked line is recognised and not duplicated on the purchase order.

See which sales order a purchase order was created from

As a Sales Company purchasing user
I want to see the originating sales order number and line number on the auto-created purchase order
So that I can trace any purchase order back to the sales order that generated it

Setup:

Open an auto-created purchase order.
Review the Sales Order No. (sales) field on the header and lines.

Understand when a G/L Account line is included

As a Sales Company user using non-item charges on an intercompany sales order
I want to know that a G/L Account line is only carried across if it's genuinely tied to the intercompany vendor and not already linked
So that I don't expect every G/L line to automatically appear on the purchase order

Setup:

Add a G/L Account line with a Buy-from Vendor No. set to the IC vendor.
Release the sales order and confirm the line appears on the purchase order only if not already linked to a purchase line.

Confirm normal (non-drop-ship) sales orders are unaffected

As a Sales Company user processing a standard, non-intercompany sales order
I want to be certain this automation does nothing on orders that don't involve an IC vendor
So that I can trust regular order processing is unchanged

Setup:

Release a sales order with no drop-shipment/special-order lines and no IC vendor references.
Confirm no purchase order is created.

Field Reference

Field name	Where to find it	What it does	Default value
Buy-from Vendor No.	Sales Order/Sales Return Order line	Identifies the intercompany vendor whose lines are picked up for automatic purchase order creation.	(blank)
Drop Shipment	Sales Order line	Marks a line as fulfilled directly by the vendor; eligible for auto purchase order creation.	No
Special Order	Sales Order line	Alternative fulfilment flag that also makes a line eligible for auto purchase order creation.	No
Return Reason Code	Sales Return Order line	When flagged for intercompany handling, triggers automatic purchase return order creation.	(blank)
Dimension Mapping	Intercompany Setup	Controls whether dimensions are copied using Standard BC rules or directly 1-1 from the sales document to the purchase document.	Standard
Enable Legacy Dim. Mapping	Intercompany Setup	Keeps the older header-level dimension propagation active even when Dimension Mapping is set to Standard.	No
Sales Order No. (sales)	Purchase Order header/line	Shows which sales order and line the purchase document was created from.	(system-populated)