# SunSed: Build a Purchase Order Tracker App by Describing It

> Catch late vendors with a purchase order tracker you describe in plain words. A free SunSed lesson with real screenshots, made-up data and a 7-day free…

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/sunsed-build-purchase-order-tracker-app · Updated 2026-10-16 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

## Practice it step by step

[Start the free practice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/sunsed-po-tracker-app)

[Take the free module: why it matters, practice and a quick check →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ai-apps-worth-knowing/18)

You do every step yourself in a practice copy of SunSed. It checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, about 12 minutes, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Open full screen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/sunsed-po-tracker-app)

Free · Live now · [AI Automation for Operations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/industry/operations) · SunSed · ~12 min · 23 steps · Beginner

Updated October 16, 2026. Built against the tool’s current screens and checked step by step. [How we check this lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about#how-we-check)

A small office usually tracks [purchase orders](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/purchase-order) in [email threads](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/email-thread) and one shared spreadsheet, so a vendor that runs late is found out after the deadline. SunSed (sunsed.com) is a website where you describe an app in plain words and it builds the pages, the database and the logins. In this free business-case lesson you use a practice copy built from real SunSed screenshots, captured October 2026, to price what chasing orders costs a made-up office, describe a purchase order tracker, answer three quick choices, watch it build, add made-up sample orders, filter to what is overdue and check who can get in. This is my own lesson, not an official SunSed course. SunSed will not build the same app twice, so your screens and credit counts will differ from ours.

## At a glance

| Question | Answer |
| --- | --- |
| What you build | A business case for small offices that track purchase orders in email and spreadsheets: price the cost of a missed late vendor, then describe a purchase order tracker to SunSed in plain words, add made-up sample orders, filter to what is overdue and check who can get in. |
| Tools | SunSed |
| Time | About 12 minutes, 23 steps in 7 parts |
| Level | Beginner, no coding needed |
| Cost | Free |
| Ways to learn it | [Practice it step by step](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/sunsed-po-tracker-app) |

### The 7 parts, in short

1. The cost of tracking orders in email: Read the vendor email, Put a price on it, Meet SunSed.
2. Describe the app in plain words: Describe the tracker, Continue, Name it and create it.
3. Answer three quick choices: Answer the questions.
4. Watch it build, then add sample data: Watch it work, Look at the first build, Ask for fake sample data, Check the table.
5. Use the tracker: Spot the late vendors, Open the Status filter, Show only overdue, Add an order, and 2 more steps.
6. Check it before you share it: Open the Team page, Check who is on the list, Test it as a stranger, See what a stranger gets.
7. Try it for real: What this saves you, Try SunSed for real.

**Part of:** [AI for Operations Teams](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/paths/ai-for-operations) (step 25 of 25)

**Part of:** [AI Apps Worth Knowing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/paths/partner-tools-ai-apps) (step 26 of 27)

## The business case: what tracking orders in email costs

Picture Dana Whitfield, who runs the office at Riverbend Office Services, a made-up company. Purchase orders live in email threads and one shared spreadsheet. A vendor replies that the paper is delayed, someone updates the sheet, someone forgets to. Last month a print vendor ran nine days late, and nobody noticed until the newsletter missed its mailing date.

Here is the arithmetic, using example numbers you should replace with your own. Say that checking email and the sheet for who is late takes about 3 hours a week. At $35 an hour that is about $450 a month, and a late vendor still slips through. What Dana needs is one list where every order has a status and a due date, and the overdue ones jump out.

## Who this is for, and what you need

Office managers, operations people and small business owners who want a simple internal tool and do not write code. To follow along you need nothing: the lesson is a practice copy. To build your own you need a SunSed account. Builder is $30 a month after a 7-day free trial, card required. Current pricing is at [sunsed.com/pricing](https://sunsed.com/pricing), and each build uses [credits](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-credits).

A note on screens: the AI will not build the same app twice. Your pages, wording and credit count will differ from the screenshots, which show our build only.

## Step 1: describe the app in plain words

A new app starts at "What do you want to build?". Describe it the way you would to a friend. Ours read: a vendor purchase-order tracker for a small office, where each purchase order has a PO number, vendor name, description, amount, status (Draft, Sent, Confirmed, Received, Overdue) and a due date, shown in a table you can filter by status with a highlight on overdue ones, a form to add or edit an order, and a login so only your team can see it.

SunSed then suggests an app name (PO Tracker) and an included web address. You can change the app name later, but the address that ends in .sunsed.app cannot be changed after you click Create app. The address in our screenshots, potracker.sunsed.app, is Robert's own app, so yours will be different. Click Create app.

## Step 2: answer three quick choices

SunSed asks three questions so the first version matches your idea: how overdue orders are handled (we chose Highlight only), who can add or edit purchase orders (Admins only), and what the table shows by default (Overdue first). You can skip the questions and change anything later by chatting.

## Step 3: watch it build, then add made-up data

Your description and answers appear in a chat on the left. A steps list shows what SunSed is doing, such as thinking, reading its knowledge base, reading docs and writing pages. Ours took about four minutes and used some of our credits (your count will differ). The preview on the right then showed a home page headed "Every vendor purchase order, in one place" with Create an account and Sign in buttons.

An empty tracker is hard to judge, so ask for eight fake orders with made-up vendors, a mix of all five statuses and two past due. SunSed opened its database table with PO-2041 to PO-2048. Never put real vendor or customer data in while you are still testing.

## Step 4: use the tracker

The Purchase orders page lists each order with its vendor, description, amount and due date, and a status label. Past-due orders carry a red Overdue label and sit at the top. Open the Status filter, which offers All, Draft, Sent, Confirmed, Received and Overdue, and choose Overdue to see only the late orders: in ours, PO-2041 and PO-2042.

Add order opens a New purchase order form with PO number and Vendor (both required), Description, Amount, Status and Due date. These are the fields you described.

## Step 5: check who can get in before you share it

Because we asked for a login, SunSed built a Team page, "who can open the tracker, and who can edit orders". Until an admin email is on the list, the app shows a "not on the team" note and nobody can add or edit anything, so put your own work email on it first. The email in our Team page screenshot is replaced with a made-up address.

Then open the app signed out, the way an outsider would. You see the public home page, and a sign-in that asks for an email and password. Our test app was not published, and publishing is a separate step. Test with fake data first, and clear the sample orders before you enter real ones.

## Step 6: try it for real

To build your own, use my link, [sunsed.com/?via=stepthrough](https://sunsed.com/?via=stepthrough) (partner link, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you), and the code STEPTHROUGH. Builder is $30 a month after a 7-day free trial, card required. Using the code STEPTHROUGH gives you 1,000 AI credits with your first payment. Current pricing is at [sunsed.com/pricing](https://sunsed.com/pricing).

## Mistakes to avoid

- Putting real vendor or customer data into a test app before you have checked who can sign in.
- Forgetting to add your own email as the first admin, then seeing only the "not on the team" note.
- Expecting your screens to match ours. The AI does not build the same app twice.
- Publishing before you have tested the app signed out with fake data.
- Treating our credit counts as typical. They were for our build only; judge yours against what you described.

## Links

- [SunSed](https://sunsed.com/?via=stepthrough) (affiliate link): the app builder this lesson teaches. Builder is $30 a month after a 7-day free trial, card required. Pricing is at [sunsed.com/pricing](https://sunsed.com/pricing). Partner code STEPTHROUGH (partner link, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you). Using the code STEPTHROUGH gives you 1,000 AI credits with your first payment.

Disclosure: links marked "affiliate link" are partner links. If you sign up through one, Stepthrough may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The lesson is free either way and does not depend on it.

## Try it yourself, free

Reading the steps is a start. Doing them is how it sticks. The interactive module walks you through every click in a practice copy of SunSed, checks each step, and never touches your real accounts.

[Start “SunSed: Build a Purchase Order Tracker App by Describing It”](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/sunsed-po-tracker-app)

## Step by step: SunSed: Build a Purchase Order Tracker App by Describing It

All 23 steps of the interactive module, in order. In the module you watch each one, then do it yourself in a practice copy that checks your work.

### 1. The cost of tracking orders in email

1. **Read the vendor email.** Dana Whitfield runs the office at Riverbend Office Services (made up). Purchase orders live in email threads and one shared spreadsheet. Last month a print vendor ran nine days late, and nobody noticed until the newsletter missed its mailing date. Click the **email**.
2. **Put a price on it.** Chasing "did that order ship?" through email and a spreadsheet takes about **3 hours a week**. At $35 an hour, that is **about $450** a month, and a late vendor still slips through. These are example numbers, so swap in your own. Click the **total**.
3. **Meet SunSed.** SunSed is a website where you describe an app in chat and it builds it: pages, a database and logins. You do not write code. This lesson uses real SunSed screenshots, captured October 2026, because SunSed cannot be shown inside another page. Click the **SunSed** card.

### 2. Describe the app in plain words

4. **Describe the tracker.** On sunsed.com, a new app starts at **What do you want to build?** Describe it the way you would to a friend: who it is for, what each order holds, and what it should do. Paste the description below. Your wording does not have to match.
   ```text
   A vendor purchase-order tracker for a small office. Each purchase order has a PO number, vendor name, description, amount, status (Draft, Sent, Confirmed, Received, Overdue) and a due date. Show all orders in a table I can filter by status, with a highlight on overdue ones, and a form to add or edit an order. Require a login so only my team can see it.
   ```
5. **Continue.** Your words are in the box. Click **Continue**.
6. **Name it and create it.** SunSed suggests a name (**PO Tracker**) and an included web address (**potracker.sunsed.app**). That address is my own app. Your app address will be different from ours, and it cannot be changed after you click **Create app**, so choose with care. The app name can be changed later. Click **Create app**.

### 3. Answer three quick choices

7. **Answer the questions.** SunSed asks **three quick choices** so the first version matches your idea. The first is how overdue orders are handled: click **Highlight only**. We then picked **Admins only** for who can add or edit, and **Overdue first** for the default view, and clicked **Start building**. You can skip the questions and change anything later.

### 4. Watch it build, then add sample data

8. **Watch it work.** Your description and answers appear in the chat on the left, and a **steps so far** list shows what SunSed is doing: thinking, reading its knowledge base, reading docs, then writing pages. Ours took about four minutes. Click the **steps list**.
9. **Look at the first build.** The preview now shows a home page: **Every vendor purchase order, in one place**, with **Create an account** and **Sign in**. The AI will not build the same app twice, so your screens, wording and credit count will differ from ours. Click the **headline**.
10. **Ask for fake sample data.** An empty tracker is hard to judge. In the chat box, ask for **made-up** orders only. Never put real vendor or customer data in while you are still testing. Paste the request below and press **Enter**.
    ```text
    Add 8 fake sample purchase orders so the table has data. Use made-up vendors only (for example Harbor Office Supply, Bluegrass Printing, Summit IT Services) with realistic amounts, a mix of all five statuses, and due dates around late October 2026, with two of them past due.
    ```
11. **Check the table.** SunSed opened the app's database table: **8 rows**, PO-2041 to PO-2048, with a vendor, description, amount, status and due date. Two are past due. Click the **rows**.

### 5. Use the tracker

12. **Spot the late vendors.** This is the **Purchase orders** page of the app, in the preview. Past-due orders carry a red **Overdue** label, and SunSed sorted them to the top, as you chose. Click the **two overdue orders**.
13. **Open the Status filter.** Click **Status**.
14. **Show only overdue.** The filter lists **All, Draft, Sent, Confirmed, Received** and **Overdue**. Click **Overdue**.
15. **Add an order.** Only the two late orders are left, PO-2041 and PO-2042. That is the list Dana chases each morning. Click **Add order**.
16. **Look at the form.** The **New purchase order** form has **PO number** and **Vendor** (required), **Description**, **Amount**, **Status** and **Due date**. These are the fields you described. Click the **form**.
17. **Close the form.** You do not need to add one now. Click the **X** to close the form.

### 6. Check it before you share it

18. **Open the Team page.** Click **Team**. Because you asked for a login, SunSed built a team list: **who can open the tracker, and who can edit orders.**
19. **Check who is on the list.** The team list holds one **admin** (a made-up email here). Until an admin email is on the list, the app shows a "not on the team" note and nobody can add or edit anything. Use your own work email for the first admin, and add colleagues one by one. Click the **admin row**.
20. **Test it as a stranger.** Before you share the link, open it **signed out**, the way an outsider would. You see the public home page. Click **Sign in**.
21. **See what a stranger gets.** A stranger only gets an **email and password** sign-in, and the orders stay behind it. Even a signed-in account that is not on the Team list sees only a short note. Test with fake data first, and publish only when you are happy. Click the **sign-in box**.

### 7. Try it for real

22. **What this saves you.** Click **What this saves you**.
23. **Try SunSed for real.** **Builder is $30 a month after a 7-day free trial, card required.** See [sunsed.com/pricing](https://sunsed.com/pricing) for current pricing. To build your own, use my link, [sunsed.com/?via=stepthrough](https://sunsed.com/?via=stepthrough) (partner link, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you), and the code **STEPTHROUGH**. Using the code STEPTHROUGH gives you 1,000 AI credits with your first payment. Click the **SunSed** card.

## Frequently asked questions

**Is this an official SunSed course?**

No. This is my own lesson. SunSed is a separate, third-party product from sunsed.com, and the screens are real SunSed screenshots captured October 2026.

**What does SunSed cost?**

Builder is $30 a month after a 7-day free trial, card required. Check [sunsed.com/pricing](https://sunsed.com/pricing) for current pricing before you start. To sign up, use my link, [sunsed.com/?via=stepthrough](https://sunsed.com/?via=stepthrough) (partner link, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you), and the code STEPTHROUGH, which gives you 1,000 AI credits with your first payment.

**Will my app look like the one in the lesson?**

No. The AI will not build the same app twice, so your pages, wording and credit count will differ. The credits shown in our screenshots were for our build only.

**Do I need to write code?**

No. You describe the app in chat and SunSed builds the pages, the database and the logins. You still decide who is allowed in, and you should test it with fake data before real data.

**Who can see the app I build?**

In our build the whole tracker was behind a sign-in, and a signed-in account that was not on the Team list saw only a short note. Check the Team page and open the app signed out before you share a link.

[Start this module free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/sunsed-po-tracker-app)

## Terms in this lesson

Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.

[Purchase order](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/purchase-order) · [Email thread](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/email-thread) · [AI credits](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/ai-credits) · [PO number](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/purchase-order-number) · [Knowledge base](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/knowledge-base) · [Test data](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/test-data)

[The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)

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