Buying Settings

Buying Settings holds the rules ERPNext applies to every Purchase Order, Purchase Invoice and Material Request — defaults, validations, behaviour.

Buying Settings in the Awesome Bar. Single-record settings page.

Field	What it does
Default Supplier Group	Group new suppliers fall into if none picked
Default Buying Price List	Price List used for PO and Material Request if none set on supplier
Supplier Naming By	Use the Supplier's Name field, or auto-generate a code
Purchase Order Required for Purchase Invoice	If Yes, you cannot create a Purchase Invoice without a preceding PO — strict procurement
Purchase Receipt Required for Purchase Invoice	If Yes, you cannot bill until goods received
Maintain Same Rate Throughout Purchase Cycle	If Yes, rates can't change between PO → Receipt → Invoice — three-way match
Allow Item to be Added Multiple Times	If No, the same item can only appear once per document
Subcontract	Subcontracting flow on/off
Backflush Raw Materials	For subcontracting — auto-consume raw materials when finished goods are received

Situation	Setting
Strict 3-way match required (audit / compliance)	PO Required for PI = Yes + Maintain Same Rate = Yes
Supplier invoices may differ from PO (you accept the difference)	Both above = No
Always receive before paying	Purchase Receipt Required for PI = Yes
Subcontracted manufacturing	Subcontract = Yes, configure Subcontracting Settings

If you want managers to approve POs above a threshold instead of locking the rate:

Authorization Rule → New:

The PO can't be submitted until someone with the role approves.

Settings apply to new documents. Existing POs, Invoices, Material Requests keep their original rules.