# Service orders

How a Service Order differs from a Purchase Order, and the Service Pick document that moves items to the vendor.

Source: https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/purchasing/reference/service-orders/
Updated: 2026-10-29

A **Service Order** sends tools to a vendor for refurbishment, regrinding, or repair. It is not a separate model — it's a [Purchase Order](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/purchasing/reference/purchase-orders/) with its `Service Order` flag set. Every field, status, and command on the Purchase Orders reference page applies here; this page covers only what's different.

## What's different from a regular purchase order

- **Line items** are drawn from items with Service Info configured (Service Vendor, Service Order Code, Service Price), rather than Purchase Information.
- **Confirming can build the pick for you.** With the **Automatic creating Service Pick** preference on (the default), confirming a Service Order creates its **Service Pick** in the background — see [Set up automatic service pick](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/purchasing/guides/set-up-automatic-service-pick/). You can also create one manually with the **New Service Pick** command, which appears once the order is Confirmed or Active and has a line with Quantity greater than Sent.
- **Getting items back uses a Purchase Receipt, not a "return" action.** There's no separate command for recording a vendor's return shipment. When serviced items come back, open **New Receipt** on the Service Order the same way you would for an ordinary delivery — see [Purchase Receipts — What validating a receipt does](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/purchasing/reference/purchase-receipts/#what-validating-a-receipt-does) for what that receipt does differently for a Service Order.
- **Reversing a return** — rejecting a bad regrind after it's already back in inventory — uses **New Purchase Return** against the Service Order, the same command used for ordinary goods returns. See [Purchase returns](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/purchasing/reference/purchase-returns/).

## Service pick

A **Service Pick** guides collecting a Service Order's items from wherever they're stored and moving them to the vendor's service staging location. Created automatically when the order is confirmed (if the preference is on), or manually with **New Service Pick** from the order.

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| **Number** | Auto-generated identifier. |
| **Purchase Order** | The Service Order this pick is linked to. |
| **Pick From** | The Warehouse Access Point where the picking work happens. |
| **Scheduled Date** | Defaults to the order's Expected Arrival date. |
| **Weight** | Total weight of the pick's lines; calculated, editable. |
| **Status** | Draft, Waiting, Ready, Done, or Cancelled — see [Purchase Receipts — Status Flow](https://support.toolingmetrics.com/en/purchasing/reference/purchase-receipts/#status-flow) for what each status means; the flow is identical. |

Line fields: **Item**, the storage location to pick from (selected by the operator), **UoM**, **Available Quantity**, and **Quantity to Pick**.

Validating a Service Pick decreases the item's `physical_quantity` and increases its `service_quantity` by the picked amount, sets any serialized items involved to **Under service**, and updates the order's Sent total.