The 'Option' field is a Line Item System field in TenderBoard that can be activated for your organisation. It is used to indicate line items that you wish to seek award approval for, but do not immediately wish to award to the supplier immediately in a Purchase Order - e.g. you may choose to create a Contract in TenderBoard and issue the Purchase Order when required later on for an extension.
Activating the Option Field in Form Designer
The Option System field may be added to your organisation's forms using the Form Designer in the Management menu. Select the Line Items tab, then click on the Actions button to "Add System Field"
Add the Option field to your form by checking the box and clicking Confirm.
Note that you'll also have to add it to your purchasing workflows via the Approval Workflow Designer as well.
Using the Option Field in a Purchase Request
When completing the Line Item table in the Purchase Request, check the 'Option' box for the items that you do not wish to award immediately. You may choose to indicate to your supplier that you wish to obtain a unit rate only by indicating a quantity of 1.
When evaluating the purchase, you may increase the quantity to indicate your estimated usage, which will increase the Awarded Value. If your workflow allows, you may also update the Option setting for each line item, if you choose to include or remove a particular item in the Purchase Order / Award
Awarding the Option Item
When awarding the Option item, the option items do not appear in the Purchase Order or the award notification. The supplier only sees the award for the fixed (non-option) items.
Subsequently, it's recommended that you use TenderBoard's Contract Management function to create a contract to issue Purchase Orders for the remaining option items.