Purchase Orders
A Purchase Order (PO) is a formal request you send to a supplier for goods or services. It captures what you are ordering, from whom, and at what price — independently of the supplier invoice that eventually arrives.
When to use a purchase order
Section titled “When to use a purchase order”Use a PO when you want a written record of an order before the supplier bills you. POs are optional — you can also record supplier activity by uploading a Supplier Invoice directly. Raise a PO when any of the following apply:
- The supplier requires a PO number on their invoice.
- Multiple staff place orders and you need approval before the spend happens.
- You want to track commitments (raised but not yet billed) separately from incurred expense.
Status lifecycle
Section titled “Status lifecycle”| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
draft | Being prepared internally. |
pending | Awaiting internal approval. |
sent | Issued to the supplier. |
approved | Confirmed by the supplier. |
cancelled | Withdrawn before fulfilment. |
A purchase order is a working document. The PO itself does not affect your accounts or change your Accounts Payable balance — those movements happen when the matching Supplier Invoice is recorded.
Line items
Section titled “Line items”PO line items use the same contract as the rest of the sales module — item, description, quantity, unit price, per-line discount, tax code. Catalog Discount and Surcharge items are supported, although they are more commonly used on customer-facing documents than on supplier POs. See Finance → Line Items.
From PO to Supplier Invoice
Section titled “From PO to Supplier Invoice”When the supplier’s invoice arrives, record it under Supplier Invoices and reference the PO number in the notes so the two records remain traceable for audit.