A purchase order your supplier can confirm in a tap

A purchase order is your written order to a supplier: what you want, at what price, delivered where and by when. Because it's numbered, everyone can track it from order to delivery to invoice. The supplier can confirm it on the page and give an expected delivery date, or you can print it.

When to use it

• You're ordering parts for a specific job and want them tied to its reference.
• A supplier's own terms say they need a PO before dispatch.
• A price was agreed by phone and you want it written down.
• Your bookkeeper needs a way to check invoices against what you ordered.

What a good one includes

• A PO number, for the supplier to quote on their delivery note and invoice.
• Each item with the supplier's own product code. A wrong size often comes from a vague description.
• Quantity and unit price, which set the price you expect to be billed.
• Delivery address and date, including site contacts or a loading bay.
• Payment terms, such as Net 30, if you've agreed them.
• A job reference, so costs land on the right job.

Make one by saying what you need

Text it, type it or say it, the way you'd tell a colleague:

PO to Dale Timber Yard from Ashgrove Carpentry: 20 lengths of 2x4 at $6.50, 5 sheets of ply at $38, deliver to the Green Street site by Thursday, Net 30.

Questions

Is a purchase order legally binding?

It's normally an offer to buy, and it can become a contract once the supplier accepts. Terms and local law decide the details, including whose standard terms apply.

What's the difference between a purchase order and an invoice?

The buyer issues a PO to order goods, and the seller issues an invoice to bill for them.

What does the supplier see?

The full order and a Confirm button. They give their name, an optional delivery date and a note, and that comes back to you.