❗This article is related to New Assortment Plan. If you are on the old Assortment Plan and would like to migrate to the new Assortment Plan, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager
Overview
PO Numbering Rules let you control how Toolio assigns PO numbers to line items in a Recommended Purchase Order. When you apply a rule during RPO creation, Toolio groups your line items by the attributes defined in that rule — for example, by Vendor and Season — and generates a unique PO number for each group. Items that share the same combination of attribute values are placed on the same PO number; items that differ get their own.
Destination Location is always included as a grouping attribute in every rule and cannot be removed. This ensures PO numbers remain distinct across delivery destinations.
Setting Up PO Numbering Rules
PO Numbering Rules are managed in Settings > Configuration > Module Settings > Assortment Plan.
Creating a Rule
Navigate to Settings > Configuration > Module Settings > Assortment Plan and open the PO Numbering Rules section.
Click ADD to open the rule creation form.
Enter a Rule Name.
Select the attributes you want to use for grouping. Common examples include Vendor, Style, Class, Season, and Department. Add as many as needed and arrange them in the order that makes sense for your workflow.
Destination Location is included by default and cannot be unchecked.
Save the rule. It will be available immediately when creating a new RPO.
Editing a Rule
In the PO Numbering Rules list, right-click the rule you want to change.
Select Edit from the context menu.
Update the rule name or attribute list as needed.
Save your changes.
Editing a rule does not retroactively renumber POs on historical RPOs that used it. Only new RPOs created after the edit will reflect the updated rule.
Deleting a Rule
Right-click a rule in the list and select Delete. Rules that are in use by existing historical RPOs cannot be deleted — you will need to retire the rule by leaving it unused rather than removing it.
Applying a PO Numbering Rule
When creating a new RPO, you can select a PO Numbering Rule as part of the creation flow.
On the Create Purchase Order form, locate the PO Numbering Rule selector.
Choose the rule you want to apply.
Before proceeding to the next step, you can preview how the rule will group your line items and what PO numbers will be generated. Use this preview to confirm the groupings look correct before committing.
Click Next Step to apply the rule and proceed to the review screen.
PO numbers are generated based on the attribute combinations in each line item group. Items missing a value for one of the rule's attributes are grouped together under an Unknown bucket for that attribute.
Changing or Re-running a PO Numbering Rule
If you need to change the numbering rule on an RPO that has already been created, you can do so from any step in the RPO workflow:
Right-click any row on the RPO step you are on.
Select Change/Re-run PO Numbering Rule from the context menu.
Choose a different rule (or re-run the same one) and confirm.
The system will re-group the line items and regenerate PO numbers according to the new rule.
FAQs
What happens to existing POs if I edit a rule?
Existing RPOs that used the rule are not affected. Historical PO numbers remain as they were when those RPOs were created. Only new RPOs created after the edit will use the updated rule logic.
What happens when a line item is missing an attribute value?
If a line item has no value for one of the rule's grouping attributes, it is placed into an Unknown group for that attribute. Unknown items are grouped together and assigned a shared PO number — they are not excluded from the RPO.
Why can't I delete a rule?
A rule cannot be deleted if it is referenced by one or more historical RPOs. This preserves the integrity of past PO records. If a rule is no longer needed, stop using it on new RPOs and leave it in the list.
Can I use the same rule across multiple RPOs?
Yes. Rules are shared and reusable. Any rule you create in Settings is available to all users when creating a new RPO.