Procura

Procura is a procurement manager that replaces costly SaaS solutions such as Fishbowl. It streamlines sales, purchasing, invoicing, file uploads, and vendor communications with real-time updates.

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Procura: A Procurement Management Solution

Inspiration

Procura was inspired by the expensive, oversized SaaS tools, such as Fishbowl, which a company I work for, ZLC Solutions, is using while leveraging only a fraction of its capabilities. They were paying high monthly fees for features they didn’t need.

Procura is a tailored, full-featured order management platform built specifically for ZLC’s workflow, eliminating unnecessary subscription costs, data migration hurdles, and third-party hosting expenses.

This project also builds on my previous success in creating an internal Kanban board with Bolt.new, which replaced a costly SaaS at my company. More broadly, I’m inspired by the fact that tools like Bolt.new and Supabase now empower individuals to build powerful alternatives to traditional SaaS solutions rapidly. What once took months can now take weeks.

What It Does

Procura is a complete web-based solution for managing the entire order lifecycle, from initial sales orders to vendor procurement, fulfillment, invoicing, and customer payment.

It’s built to handle complex order flows, including drop-ship operations where sales orders automatically generate linked purchase orders.

Who It’s For:

  • Small to medium businesses managing product sales and vendors
  • Drop-ship operations needing seamless SO-to-PO conversion
  • Distributors, resellers, and manufacturers
  • Businesses seeking custom, cost-effective order management

How We Built It

I built Procura using Bolt.new, Supabase, React, TypeScript, Resend APIs, and Vite. The app offers:

  • Real-time database synchronization
  • Enterprise-level security with row-level protection
  • Responsive design for mobile and desktop
  • Professional PDF exports
  • Automated email workflows using Supabase Edge Functions

The system connects directly to vendor and customer records, enabling dynamic order tracking and communication from a unified interface.

Challenges We Faced

  • Mastering Supabase Edge Functions and integrating them with real customer and vendor data.
  • Building a seamless workflow where sales orders (SO) auto-generate purchase orders (PO) with real-time data population.
  • Implementing fully functional Send to Vendor features within the purchase order module.

Orchestrating the system's data flow and automation was the most complex and rewarding part.

Accomplishments

Key features successfully implemented:

  • Order Management: Full sales and purchase order lifecycle tracking
  • Smart Automation: Auto-conversion of drop-ship SOs to POs
  • Vendor Integration: Professional PO emails with detailed specs
  • CRM Tools: Comprehensive customer profiles and order histories
  • Product Catalog: Inventory, vendor relations, and auto-reorder alerts
  • Analytics: Real-time dashboards for sales, orders, and revenue trends
  • Invoice Management: Full invoice lifecycle with PDF exports and email sending
  • Sales Order Integration: Seamless invoice generation from completed sales orders
  • CSV Imports: Smart field mapping, validation, and streamlined data import
  • Sales Order File Uploads: Attach supporting documents directly to SOs and POs
  • Save Draft Functionality: Save progress mid-creation of SOs and POs
  • Advanced Notification System: Real-time alerts, notification panel, and status tracking
  • Email Tracking: Status updates for customer and vendor communications
  • UI Enhancements: Mobile responsiveness, intuitive tax calculations, improved loading states
  • Security and Storage: Robust file upload permissions and secure token handling
  • Performance Boosts: Faster backend processes and efficient database operations
  • Improved Onboarding: Faster invitations, better user guidance, and error handling
  • CSV Batch Processing: Processes smaller data batches to prevent UI freezing
  • Timeout Safeguards: Prevents indefinite loading states
  • Improved Error Handling: Enhanced logging and clearer user feedback during import
  • Vendor Flexibility: Supports cases with "no vendor yet" and improves messaging
  • Detailed Import Feedback: Provides clearer, more actionable import results

What We Learned

  • How to use Supabase Edge Functions, API endpoints, and webhooks effectively.
  • Command-line interactions for backend management.
  • Improved fluency in React, Vite, and TypeScript through practical development.
  • Best practices for component-based builds using Bolt.new and refining workflows by iterating with AI tools.
  • The importance of problem-solving and user-centric design over simply replicating existing SaaS offerings.
  • Learned to value methodical experimentation, feedback loops, and the ability to prototype rapidly.

Most importantly, I learned that building better tools is now more accessible than ever.

What’s Next for Procura

Upcoming features:

  • QR/Barcode Scanner for enhanced inventory management
  • Monetization: Unsure how to monetize this SaaS, but developing and testing with a real-world user case as we are now will help clarify this approach.

Procura now delivers a complete order-to-cash workflow, connecting sales, procurement, invoicing, and payments in one streamlined platform.

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