Buy a sample without changing a material's cost

A sample of a new wax or glaze is bought to be tried, not to be made into product. If it arrived as ordinary stock, its price would pull the material’s cost and a production run could use it by accident. Marking the line as a sample prevents both.

Order the sample

Create the purchase order as usual. See Create a purchase order.
On the sample’s line, tick Sample.
Receive it as usual. See Receive goods.

The receipt is held: no production run can consume it, and it does not count as available. Its price stays out of the average cost, so it cannot shift what the material normally costs. In the stock matrix it shows as not available yet.

You can tick or untick Sample while the order is still planned, requested or confirmed. Only the order decides it: whoever receives the delivery cannot change it.

Track the evaluation

Separately from the stock, each material records where it stands in your evaluation. On the material card, set Sample status:

Candidate: you are interested; nothing has been tried.
Testing: a sample is here and being judged.
Approved: cleared for use in specifications.
Rejected and Discontinued record the outcome.

Every change is kept in the history. Materials you already use are Approved by default, so turning this on reclassifies nothing.