Free Purchase Order Template

A purchase order is the buyer's numbered, written order to a vendor: quantity × unit price per line, less any discount, plus sales tax and shipping. The filled sample below totals $6,612.00 for 1,440 units on 3 lines.

PO total $6,612.00 3 lines · 1,440 units · USD

PO numberPO-2026-00048

Deliver byOct 16, 2026

ApprovalWithin limit, $888.00 left

PO prefix

Sequence

Approval limit ($)

Start from

The total updates from the document below as you type. Jump to the document.

Live template

Edit the sample purchase order

Every field feeds the document. Replace the sample with your own vendor, items and terms.

The document is built in your browser. Drafts save on this device only.

Sample restock order shown. Overwrite it, or use Clear draft to start blank.

Fields marked are required for a complete document. Everything else is optional.

Currency Formatting only; amounts are not converted.

PO number Unique and never reused. The number builder above fills it.

PO date

Deliver by (optional)

Vendor quote / reference (optional)

Buyer company

Buyer contact (optional)

Bill-to address (optional)

Vendor / supplier

Vendor contact (optional)

Vendor address (optional)

Ship-to address

Shipping method (optional)

Payment terms (optional)

Delivery terms (optional)

Line items

One row per SKU or service. Amount = quantity × unit price, rounded once per line.

SKU / item #	Description	Qty	Unit	Unit price	Amount	Action

Discount, tax and charges

Discount amount Fixed amount, taken off the subtotal.

Tax input mode

Sales tax rate %

Sales tax amount

Shipping / freight

Handling

Notes and approval

Notes or special instructions (optional)

Approved by (optional)

Title (optional)

Approval date (optional)

Currency changes the symbol and formatting only; it does not convert amounts.

How to

How to Write a Purchase Order in 7 Steps

Give it a PO number and date. Unique, sequential and never reused. Add the date you issue it and the date you need the goods.
Name both companies. Your legal name, bill-to address and buying contact, then the vendor's name, address and order desk.
Say where it goes. A ship-to address with the dock door or store, plus receiving hours if they matter.
List every item. SKU, a plain description, quantity, unit and the agreed unit price. Keep sub-cent prices as quoted.
Add the charges. Discount off the subtotal, then sales tax if the vendor will charge it, then shipping and handling.
State the terms. Payment terms, shipping method and delivery terms, plus the vendor quote it is based on.
Approve and send. Get sign-off within your approval limit, save as PDF, and email it with the PO number in the subject.

The formula: PO total = Σ(quantity × unit price) − discount + sales tax + shipping + handling. Each line is rounded to the cent once. Tax applies after the discount and before shipping in this template.

Purchase order format

The Purchase Order Format, Part by Part

These 8 blocks are what a vendor, a receiving team and accounts payable look for. The template above has a field for each.

Part	Fields	Why it matters
Header	The words "Purchase Order", PO number, PO date, deliver-by date	The number is the key every later document is matched on.
Buyer and bill-to	Legal name, accounts payable address, buying contact	Tells the vendor who owes the money and where the invoice goes.
Vendor	Supplier name, address, order desk email and phone	Confirms which supplier and which account the order is for.
Ship-to	Warehouse or store address, dock door, receiving hours	Often differs from bill-to. Mixing them up sends freight to the office.
Line items	SKU, description, quantity, unit, unit price, amount	What receiving counts against and what the invoice must match.
Totals	Subtotal, discount, sales tax, shipping, handling, PO total	Shows how the approved spend is built, line by line.
Terms	Payment terms, shipping method, delivery terms, quote reference	Sets when payment is due and who arranges and pays freight.
Approval	Notes, approver name, title, approval date	Shows the spend was authorized before the vendor ships.

Worked example

Worked Example: Restocking a Columbus, Ohio Brand

Northstar Commerce LLC in Columbus, OH orders three drinkware lines from a Denver, CO wholesaler, delivered to its warehouse in Groveport, OH. This is the sample that loads in the template.

SKU	Unit	Qty	Unit price	Amount
BTL-20-SLTInsulated steel water bottle, 20 oz, slate	pcs	480	$6.85	$3,288.00
TMB-30-SNDInsulated tumbler with lid, 30 oz, sand	pcs	360	$7.40	$2,664.00
STR-CRB-BLKBottle carry strap with carabiner, black	pcs	600	$0.875	$525.00
Subtotal				$6,477.00
Volume discount (fixed, example)				−$150.00
Sales tax (0: bought for resale, certificate on file)				$0.00
LTL freight to Groveport, OH (example)				$285.00
PO total				$6,612.00

$6,612.00PO total, delivered to Groveport

1,440Units across 3 lines

$888.00Left under a $7,500 approval limit

$1,612.00Over a $5,000 limit (example)

The strap line is priced at $0.875, a fraction of a cent. The template keeps it and rounds once per line, so 600 straps come to $525.00.

The Packaging supplies sample is for in-house use, so it carries an example 7.5% sales tax: $41.38 on $551.70, for a total of $650.08.

Document flow

Purchase Order vs Quote, Invoice and Goods Receipt

Four documents follow one order. The PO is the one the buyer writes, and its number links the other three.

	Vendor quote	Purchase order	Vendor invoice	Goods receipt
Sent by	Vendor	Buyer	Vendor	Buyer's warehouse
When	Before the buyer decides	When the buyer commits to buy	After shipment or delivery	When goods arrive
Shows prices?	Yes, as an offer	Yes, as agreed	Yes, as billed	Usually not; counts only
Asks for payment?	No	No	Yes	No
Main reference	Quote number	PO number	Invoice number plus PO number	PO number

The three-way match, worked

Ordered Purchase order

480 × BTL-20-SLT at $6.85 = $3,288.00.

Received Goods receipt

Receiving counts 468 units, 12 short. Accepted value $3,205.80.

Billed Vendor invoice

The invoice bills all 480 units, $3,288.00. That is $82.20 more than was received.

The result: accounts payable holds the invoice, and the vendor issues a credit or ships the 12 missing units. Without a PO, there is nothing to compare the invoice against.

PO types

Types of Purchase Orders

One order Standard PO

Known items, quantities, prices and a delivery date. Most inventory restocks and supply orders. This template is built for it.

Ongoing Blanket PO

Covers repeat buying from one vendor over a period, with agreed prices and a spend cap. Releases draw against it.

Forecast Planned PO

Items and prices are set, but delivery dates are released later as demand firms up.

Framework Contract PO

Records agreed terms with a vendor. Separate standard POs then order the actual goods under it.

A service PO uses the same layout. Describe the scope and the rate, with hours or milestones as the quantity. The vendor's quotation or proforma invoice is usually the source of the prices.

PO numbering

How to Number Purchase Orders

The number builder above uses prefix, year and a 5-digit sequence. The padding keeps numbers in order when a list is sorted as text.

Number (example)	Used for
`PO-2026-00048`	New PO sent to the vendor
`PO-2026-00048-R1`	Revision after a quantity or price change; the vendor confirms R1
`PO-2026-00049`	Next order. Never reuse 00048, even if it was cancelled
`WH2-2026-00001`	Separate prefix per entity or warehouse, if your team keeps to it

Before you send

Purchase Order Checklist Before It Goes to the Vendor

The PO number is new, and it is on the document, the file name and the email subject.
Bill-to and ship-to are both right, with the dock door and receiving hours.
Every line has a SKU the vendor recognizes, a quantity, a unit and the quoted unit price.
Sales tax is only on the PO if the vendor will charge it.
Payment terms and delivery terms match the vendor's quote.
The total is within the approver's limit, or a second approver has signed.
You have asked the vendor to confirm price, quantity and ship date in writing.

Importing the goods?

The Import order, FOB sample totals $3,565.00 with no freight line, because the buyer books ocean freight under FOB. Its 30% deposit is $1,069.50, leaving $2,495.50. Add duty and freight with the landed cost calculator.

When the goods arrive

Receiving counts against the PO and records what arrived. A delivery note from the vendor should carry the same PO number.

Common mistakes

6 Purchase Order Mistakes to Avoid

Reusing a PO number

A cancelled number stays cancelled. Reuse it and the next invoice matches the wrong order.

Vague descriptions

"Bottles" is not a line. Give size, color and pack size, so receiving can count it.

Rounding unit prices early

10,000 swing tags at $0.0425 is $425.00. Round the price to $0.04 first and it becomes $400.00.

Raising the PO after delivery

A PO approves spend before it happens. Written after the goods arrive, it only records it.

One address for everything

Invoices belong at accounts payable; freight belongs at the dock. Fill in bill-to and ship-to separately.

Sending without confirmation

Until the vendor confirms price, quantity and date, any of them can change on the invoice.

Word, Excel or PDF

Purchase Order Template in Word, Excel or PDF?

Most purchase order templates online are static files. Each format has a trade-off.

Word (.docx)

Easy to edit, but tables wrap across pages and totals are typed by hand, so they drift.

Excel (.xlsx)

Formulas add up, but they break when rows are copied, and print areas shift.

Fillable PDF

Looks tidy, but a PDF form may not add up the total, and adding a line needs the source file.

This browser template

Math is built in, the preview is exactly what prints, and Save as PDF gives you the file.

To get a file, press Print / Save as PDF and choose "Save as PDF" as the printer. Name the file after the PO number, such as PO-2026-00048.pdf.

Tools for the Rest of the Order

Reorder point calculatorKnow when stock is low enough to raise the next PO.EOQ calculatorSize each order to balance ordering and holding cost.Quotation generatorThe vendor-side quote a PO is usually based on.Landed cost calculatorAdd freight, duty and fees to an import PO.

All free toolsCalculators and templates for ecommerce operations.WarehousingReceiving, storage and inventory for the stock you order.FulfillmentPicking, packing and delivery once stock lands.

FAQ

Purchase Order Template Questions

Yes. This page is one. The template loads with a filled sample, adds up every line as you type and prints or saves as a PDF. There are 3 samples: an inventory restock, a packaging order and an import order.

Overwrite the sample with your vendor, items and terms, set a PO number with the number builder, then press Print / Save as PDF and choose Save as PDF. Printing asks for your contact details once.

You do not need an app for a few POs a month. This template runs in any modern browser, including on a phone. If you raise many POs, inventory or accounting software can track open orders and receipts.

This page has no Excel or Word file. The template works in the browser with the math built in, and Print / Save as PDF produces a PDF of the exact preview.

A PO number and date, a deliver-by date, the buyer and bill-to, the vendor, the ship-to, line items with SKU, quantity and unit price, the totals, payment and delivery terms, and who approved it.

Number and date it, name both companies and the ship-to, list each item with quantity and unit price, add discount, tax and shipping, state the terms, then approve and send it. The how-to above has the 7 steps.

The buyer sends the purchase order before the goods ship, to commit to the order. The vendor sends the invoice afterwards, to ask for payment. Ask vendors to quote your PO number on every invoice.

Use one sequence that never repeats, such as PO-2026-00048: a prefix, the year and a padded number. Add -R1 for a revision. Keep cancelled numbers void rather than reusing them.

Before paying, accounts payable checks three records against each other: the purchase order, the goods receipt and the vendor invoice. If the count, the price or the total differ, the PO number ties the question to one order.

Add it only if the vendor will charge it. Many US states let a reseller buy inventory for resale without sales tax using a resale certificate. Your state's rules decide. The template takes a rate or a fixed amount.

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