Edit an inbound document

An inbound document is a customer order or purchase order that Bulk has captured — either extracted automatically from an uploaded PDF or entered by hand — so your plant can turn it into production work. After a document exists, its details rarely stay perfect: a customer sends a corrected PO number, a required date moves, a line quantity is wrong, or a part was matched to the wrong process. Editing lets you fix those details in place instead of starting over.

This page covers editing a document that is still being processed. It explains the two things you can change — the document's own details and its line items — when editing is allowed, and what happens when a document is locked.

Before you startCopy Anchor Link

You can edit an inbound document only when both of these are true:

• You have the right permission. Changing a document's details needs the update inbound documents permission (inbound_documents.update); changing its line items needs the update inbound items permission (inbound_items.update). In the default roles, both are granted to Operator, Manager, Entity admin, and Super user. If you do not have them, you can still open and read the document, but the edit controls are hidden or disabled.
• The document is in an editable state. Bulk only allows edits while a document is a draft or in progress. Once it moves further along the workflow — pending approval, approved, in production, completed, cancelled, or on hold — it is read-only until it returns to an editable state.

Open the documentCopy Anchor Link

1. Go to Inbound and open the Inbound Documents list.
2. Select the document you want to change. An in-progress document opens in the current workspace, with document fields followed by services and the Document items grid.

Edit the document detailsCopy Anchor Link

The document's own details are edited directly in General info, Dates, Notes, and Custom fields.

• PO Number and Customer Reference — edit the text and leave the field to commit it.
• Assigned Contact — select an existing contact or add one for the document's customer.
• Priority — select Standard, High, or Urgent.
• Date received, Date required, and custom dates — select or clear a date.
• Notes — edit the text and @mention teammates when needed.
• Custom fields — edit any fields configured for the selected customer.

The customer and document identifiers are read-only in this workspace. Changes save automatically; the sync indicator beside the document number shows saving, saved, or error state.

Edit the line itemsCopy Anchor Link

Each line item is one unit of work on the order — a part, the process and routing that make it, a quantity, and a price. Edit items directly in the Document items grid.

Select a cell and change Part, Process, Routing, Quantity, Unit Price, Total Price, Required, Notes, services, or custom fields. Leave the cell or move to another cell to commit the value. You do not need a separate save step: changes save automatically, and the sync indicator beside the document number reports the current state.

When editing is lockedCopy Anchor Link

If a document has moved past the editable stage, its document fields and item cells become read-only. This happens when it is pending approval, approved, in production, completed, cancelled, on hold, or temporarily locked by another workflow action.

To make a document editable again, move it back to an editable state through the normal workflow. For example, cancel a pending approval request to return the document to in progress (see Submit or cancel inbound approval), or release a document from hold (see Put inbound work on hold). Approved, in-production, and completed documents cannot be edited — they must follow their own workflow.

Correct the PO number or customer reference on a locked documentCopy Anchor Link

A wrong PO number or customer reference can still be fixed after a document is locked, including on completed documents. This is an audited correction. It does not unlock the document.

You need Approve inbound documents (inbound_documents.approve).

1. Open the document, then open Actions and choose Correct references.
2. Change PO number, Customer reference, or both.
3. Enter a Reason. You cannot save without one.
4. Leave Also update linked orders and jobs that still use the old value ticked to carry the fix to the production order and jobs made from this document. Untick it to change only the document.
5. Check What will change. It lists the document change and how many orders and jobs will be updated.
6. Select Save correction.

The document keeps its status, lock and history. Activity shows who made the correction, the old and new values, the reason, and how many linked records were updated. Linked orders and jobs are only updated where they still hold the old value. A value someone already changed on an order or job is left as it is. Updating linked records also needs Edit production orders and Edit production jobs.

Example: correcting a Granite Peak orderCopy Anchor Link

Granite Peak Manufacturing's Leeds Fabrication Plant is processing an in-progress inbound document for its customer Pennine Rail Components. The customer emails two corrections: the purchase-order number was mistyped, and they need the parts a week later than first stated. One line was also entered as 40 units instead of 60.

An operator opens the document and updates PO Number, Date required, and Priority directly in the document fields. They add a Note — "@Dana PO corrected per customer email 12 Jul" — and leave the field to save it.

In the Document items grid, the operator changes Quantity from 40 to 60. The sync indicator confirms the save — no separate save is needed. The document now reflects the customer's corrections and is ready to continue toward approval.

Expected resultCopy Anchor Link

• Document-field and line-item changes save automatically and remain visible in the workspace.
• The sync indicator confirms whether a change is saving, saved, or failed.
• Every saved change is recorded against the document — including which fields changed and who changed them — so the edit history stays auditable.

TroubleshootingCopy Anchor Link

The sync indicator shows an error. The latest automatic save failed. Check your connection, refresh to load the current value, and apply the change again.

The fields or cells are read-only. The document is not in an editable state. See When editing is locked above. To fix only the PO number or customer reference, use Correct references.

You cannot see the edit controls at all. Your role is missing the update inbound documents or update inbound items permission. Ask an administrator to grant the appropriate permission or role.

Feature state and limitsCopy Anchor Link

Editing inbound documents is generally available. Keep these limits in mind:

• Editing is restricted to draft and in progress documents. There is no way to edit a document once it is approved, in production, completed, cancelled, or on hold without first returning it to an editable state through the workflow. The exception is the PO number and customer reference, which Correct references can fix on a locked document.
• Free-text fields are bounded: PO number and customer reference are limited to 100 characters, and notes to 1,000 characters.
• Inline single-field edits are last-write-wins. If two people change the same field at nearly the same time, the last saved value is kept.

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• Create an inbound document
• Review an inbound document
• Work with the inbound grid
• Manage inbound services and items
• Update inbound custom fields
• Submit or cancel inbound approval
• Put inbound work on hold