What is a purchase order?

A document a buyer sends to a supplier listing the items, quantities, prices, delivery date and terms of an order. When the supplier accepts it, it is the agreed record of what was ordered.

What should a purchase order include?

A unique PO number, the date, the supplier and ship-to details, who requested it, the payment terms, and for each line the item or part number, description, unit, quantity and unit price. Add the required delivery date, the total, and an approval signature.

What is the difference between a purchase order and an invoice?

The buyer writes the purchase order before the goods are delivered, to say what is wanted. The supplier writes the invoice after, to ask for payment. Check the invoice against the PO and the goods received note before you pay it.

What is a purchase requisition?

An internal request to buy something, often from a department to purchasing. Once approved it becomes a purchase order. A small site may skip it and have the requester fill in the PO.

Does tax go on a purchase order?

Often, but it depends on what you buy, who you buy from and where. Some purchases are exempt, and freight may or may not be taxed. The rate on this sheet is a setting you can change. Ask your finance team or tax adviser what applies to you.

Free template

Updated November 6, 2026

Purchase order template

A purchase order (PO) is the document a buyer sends a supplier to say what to deliver, how many, at what price and by when. Once the supplier accepts it, it is the reference the goods received note and the invoice are checked against. This template has a one-page PO to print or fill in, and an Excel version that works out each line total, the subtotal, tax, shipping and the order total, flags an order above your approval limit, and has a received column that shows what is still open and what it is worth. Terms and tax rules vary by company and by state or country, so check yours before you use it.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the purchase order — PO number and datesSupplier and ship-toTen linesSubtotal, tax, shipping, totalApproval checkReceived and open by lineTerms and signatures

Filled-in Purchase order template: five lines, two still open after the first delivery — The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 2 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a purchase order template

Whenever you buy something and want the price, quantity and date written down before it arrives.
When a small site buys with spreadsheets and email and has no purchasing system.
When you want to check an invoice against what was ordered and what was received.
When an order over a set value needs a second signature before it goes out.
Where a system already creates your POs, use this as a model for what a PO should hold, or as a back-up form.

How to fill it in

1
Number it and date it
Give every PO a unique number in sequence, with the date and the date you need the goods. The supplier and the receiving dock will both quote the number.
2
Fill in who, where and how
Supplier name and address, who requested it, where to ship, how it ships and the payment terms you agreed. Put the supplier's quote number in the notes if there was one.
3
List one line per item
Item or part number, a plain description, the unit, quantity and unit price. Use the same unit the supplier sells in: a box of 100 is a box, not 100.
4
Add up the order
In Excel the line totals, subtotal, tax and total fill in. On paper, add them and write the working in the margin.
5
Get the approval before it goes out
Set the approval limit once on the Excel sheet. An order above it shows 'Second approval needed'. Sign, date and send.
6
Fill in the received column as goods arrive
Copy the accepted quantity from the goods received note. The sheet shows what is still open and its value, and flags a line as Over when more has arrived than was ordered.

The document trail

Where the purchase order sits in a purchase

A purchase goes through the same documents each time. The PO is the first, and the others are checked against it.

Step	Document	Written by	Checked against
1. Order	Purchase order	The buyer	The quote and the approval limit.
2. Delivery	Goods received note	The receiving team	The PO quantities.
3. Bill	Invoice	The supplier	The PO price and the goods received note quantity.
4. Pay	Payment	Accounts payable	A three-way match of PO, goods received note and invoice.

1. Order
Document
Purchase order
Written by
The buyer
Checked against
The quote and the approval limit.
2. Delivery
Document
Goods received note
Written by
The receiving team
Checked against
The PO quantities.
3. Bill
Document
Invoice
Written by
The supplier
Checked against
The PO price and the goods received note quantity.
4. Pay
Document
Payment
Written by
Accounts payable
Checked against
A three-way match of PO, goods received note and invoice.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): PO-4412 to a made-up fasteners supplier, dated 30 October 2026, with the received column as at 3 November. Prices are made up.

Five lines. Line totals: brackets 500 × $1.85 = $925.00, bolts 20 × $14.20 = $284.00, washers 20 × $6.50 = $130.00, covers 100 × $3.40 = $340.00, label rolls 10 × $22.00 = $220.00.
Subtotal $1,899.00. Tax at 6% of the subtotal is $113.94. Shipping is $45.00. Total $2,057.94, which is under the $5,000 approval limit, so the check reads Within limit.
Goods received as at 3 November: brackets 480 of 500 and bolts 18 of 20, so both lines are Partial, with 20 brackets ($37.00) and 2 boxes of bolts ($28.40) still open. Washers and label rolls are Closed.
The covers show Over: 110 arrived against 100 ordered. The 10 extra are held until the buyer decides to keep or return them.
Open value is $37.00 + $28.40 = $65.40, and received value is $1,899.00 - $65.40 = $1,833.60. Two of five lines are still open.

The buyer sees what has not arrived and what it is worth, and the over-delivery is flagged before the invoice is paid.

Common mistakes

Ordering by email or phone with no PO
The price, quantity and date then live in someone's inbox. When the invoice differs, you have nothing to check it against.
Vague descriptions
'Brackets' is not an order. Use the part number, the revision if there is one, and the unit the supplier sells in.
Changing the order without changing the PO
If the quantity or date changes, issue a revised PO and say so. Otherwise the receiver counts against the wrong number.
Approving after the order has gone
Get the signature first. An approval after the goods arrive is a signature on a bill, not a control.
Never closing the order
A PO that stays open after the last delivery keeps showing up as money owed. Close it when the received quantity matches, or cancel what will not come.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite, when an inspector flags a defect the batch is quarantined and a SCAR with photos goes to Quality and Procurement, and the SCAR's lifecycle, including the days the supplier took to respond, feeds the supplier's scorecard.

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