Free purchase order form

About this document

A purchase order tells a vendor exactly what you're buying: items, quantities, prices, and where it should all land. Numbering it gives both sides one reference — the same PO number follows the goods onto the packing slip and into the receiving check.

When to use it

• Ordering stock or materials and wanting it on record instead of in a text thread.
• Repeat orders where "same as last time" has burned you before.
• Anything where the delivery will be checked against what was ordered.

Getting it right

• Always number it — the PO number is the thread tying order, shipment and receiving together.
• Specify units (case, sleeve, each). Most receiving disputes are unit confusion, not dishonesty.
• Put the delivery window in the notes; a date is a claim, a window is a plan.

It's your order request — what a vendor's acceptance makes of it depends on your terms with them, which this form doesn't write.

Part of Keep the store stocked — the whole situation, connected.

Common questions

PO vs invoice?

Opposite directions: you send a PO to buy; they send an invoice to be paid. The numbers should reference each other.

Can I convert it onward?

Yes — "Check the delivery against this order" pre-fills the receiving log with what you ordered, so the check is a comparison, not a retype.

Prices changed after I sent it?

That's a conversation with the vendor, then a corrected PO under a new number — don't silently edit the one they already have.