Suppliers still confirm orders by fax, and the buyer has to send the order out, wait for each confirmation, key the ship dates into a sheet and notice who has gone quiet. With Claude or ChatGPT connected to Fax.Plus through MCP, that becomes a routine: one word sends the order to your supplier list after you review it, another reads the confirmations into rows, and a third shows who has not confirmed. Below is the process, how to set it up once, and example results with simulated documents and fictional parties.
Everything here is an example. Change the prompts, the order and the times to fit how you work; nothing is set in stone.
Before you start
- Use an active Fax.Plus Basic plan or higher and an existing authorized Fax.Plus MCP connection.
- MCP is unavailable for accounts with Advanced Security Controls, including HIPAA and PHIPA configurations.
- Keep your supplier list with fax numbers ready. For the late-supplier check, note the PO number on each order.
- Use PO numbers and supplier codes in prompts and comments.
Not connected yet? Start at the Fax.Plus MCP setup hub.
The process
Faxing is one step in a longer process. The steps marked Fax.Plus MCP are what the Fax.Plus connector does. The steps marked Optional are examples of other connectors you may already use: any connector you have set up in Claude or ChatGPT can be a step in your process, and the Fax.Plus connector is simply one part of it. The connectors do not talk to each other and Fax.Plus does not pass data to them: the assistant carries the information from one step to the next inside the same chat, because you told it to, and it asks for your OK before it changes anything. Whether an optional step works depends on your AI client and that connector.
- Fax.Plus MCP: you attach a purchase order and the assistant shows you the full list of suppliers, the sending line and the page count; nothing goes out until you approve.
- Fax.Plus MCP: the order goes to each supplier, and the delivery status of every send is checked.
- Fax.Plus MCP: confirmations arrive and are read into rows: PO number, supplier, ship date, quantity and expected arrival, exactly as written.
- Optional, for example Google Sheets: the rows go into your shipment sheet, after your OK.
- Fax.Plus MCP: your sent orders are compared with the confirmations that arrived, and suppliers who have not confirmed are listed.
- Optional, for example Slack: a short note on late suppliers is drafted for the buyers; you review it before it goes out.
Set it up once
Instead of pasting the rules into every chat, keep them where every chat can use them, so that one word starts a routine. The prompts are the same in Claude and ChatGPT; the setup steps differ a little.
- Connect Fax.Plus. In Claude, add it under Settings → Connectors. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP app: turn on Developer mode, then go to Plugins → Browse plugins, select +, then Create app → Create MCP App, and sign in with your Fax.Plus account. Step by step: Claude and ChatGPT. Connect any other connectors you use the same way.
- Keep the instructions in a Project. Create a Project in Claude or ChatGPT, name it after the desk, for example "Purchasing desk", and paste the instructions below into the project's instructions, filling in the parts in [brackets]. If a connector does not show up inside a project chat in your client, open a regular chat instead and paste the instructions as your first message.
- Start a chat, make sure Fax.Plus is selected for it (in ChatGPT, choose FaxPlus from the apps or type @), and type a routine name. The assistant runs the steps and stops at every change for your OK.
- Edit the instructions whenever the routine should change.
Interface labels and plan availability differ between clients, so check the current screens in yours.
Purchasing desk instructions
You are my purchasing desk for my Fax.Plus account. Rules: 1) Refer to orders by PO number and to suppliers by their supplier code where I have given one. 2) Before you change anything, such as a comment, show me exactly what will change and wait for my OK. 3) Read dates, quantities and PO numbers exactly as written on the page and say so if one is missing. Never decide whether a confirmation is acceptable; I decide that. 4) Leave out fax numbers in summaries unless I ask. 5) Send a fax only when I ask for it in that message, and before any send show me the full list of recipient numbers, the sending line and the page count and wait for my OK; never send to a list I have not reviewed. 6) If something fails, tell me what failed and check the outbox and sent faxes before trying again. Routines, run one when I type its name. PO [PO number]: send the purchase order I attach to the suppliers on my list, after I have reviewed the full recipient list and approved; then check the status of each send and list any that did not succeed. CONFIRM: read the supplier confirmations among my newest received faxes into one table: PO number, supplier, ship date, quantity, expected arrival; flag any difference from the quantity I give you; change nothing. LATE [list of POs sent]: compare my sent faxes with the confirmations received; list the suppliers with no confirmation yet and the date I sent to them. FAILED: list my sent faxes from the last 24 hours that failed, with the reason, or say there are none; do not resend anything.
PO: send the order to your supplier list
Type PO with the order attached. The assistant shows you the whole recipient list, the sending line and the page count, and waits for your OK before anything is sent. Review the list line by line: a purchase order sent to the wrong supplier cannot be taken back. Guide: Fax a signed document covers the send flow.
Send the order to a list
I am attaching purchase order [PO number]. Send it to these suppliers: [supplier and fax number], [supplier and fax number]. Show me the full list of numbers, the sending line and the page count, and wait for my OK before sending to any of them. Afterwards check the status of each send and list any that did not succeed.
CONFIRM: confirmations into rows
Type CONFIRM. Example result for two simulated confirmations: PO 4471 from Northwind Supply (fictional), ship date October 20, 2026, quantity 120, expected arrival October 27, 2026; PO 4472 from Harbor Print (fictional), ship date October 22, 2026, quantity 80 of the 100 ordered, so the assistant flags the difference. It reports what the page says; whether a partial shipment is acceptable is your call.
Confirmations into rows
Read the supplier confirmations among my newest received faxes into one table: PO number, supplier, ship date, quantity and expected arrival, exactly as written. Say so if a field is missing. Compare each quantity with what I ordered: [PO number and quantity, PO number and quantity] and flag any difference. Do not change anything.
LATE: who has gone quiet
Type LATE with the list of orders you sent. The assistant compares your sent faxes with the confirmations that arrived and lists suppliers with none yet, with the date you sent to each. It can only see confirmations that came in as faxes through Fax.Plus.
Late suppliers
I sent purchase orders [PO number], [PO number] and [PO number]. Compare my sent faxes with the confirmations in my received faxes. List each supplier that has not confirmed yet and the date I sent the order. Say what each page shows; do not guess.
FAILED: catch a send that did not go through
A failed send looks like silence from a supplier. Type FAILED; the assistant lists failed faxes with the reason, or says there are none. Guide: Resend a failed fax covers what to do next.
Failed-fax check
Show my sent faxes from the last 24 hours that failed, with the reason. If there are none, say so. If the check itself fails, say that instead. Do not resend anything.
Keep it safe
- Review the full recipient list before any send. The assistant must show it to you and wait for your OK.
- Do not leave a recurring task that sends or resends orders running without a person approving each send.
- The assistant reads what a confirmation says. Whether a date or a partial quantity is acceptable is your decision.
- Never act on a change of supplier bank details that arrives by fax without confirming it by phone, using a number you already have.
- Documents you open are read by your AI assistant under that client's terms. Check your company's policy on supplier and customer data first.
- If a reply looks wrong, do not assume nothing was sent. Check the outbox and sent faxes before you send again.
Related guides
Fax a signed document, check fax delivery, find and read a received fax and resend a failed fax cover the steps above. More prompts are in Fax Prompts with AI, recurring checks in Fax Automation with AI.
