What is a purchase order?
A purchase order, or PO, is the document you send a supplier to order stock. It lists the products, how many you want, the price per unit and when you'll pay. Order 200 T-shirts at $8 each and the PO is your record of a $1,600 deal.
What goes on a purchase order?
Most purchase order templates and forms ask for the same fields. A PO number, used once, so both sides can find the order. The order date and expected delivery date. Your store and delivery address, then the supplier's name and contact. One line per product: the supplier's code, quantity, unit cost and line total. Then tax, shipping, the total and payment terms, such as 30 days after delivery. Size each order with economic order quantity, since extra stock adds to your inventory carrying cost.
Purchase order vs invoice
You send the PO first. The supplier sends the invoice after delivery, asking for payment, as Adobe's guide sets out. Check both against what arrived. If 190 shirts turn up and the invoice still says $1,600, the PO's agreed $8 puts the bill at $1,520.
Is a purchase order a contract?
Shopify's guide says a PO becomes legally binding once the supplier accepts it. A standard PO covers one order, and a blanket PO covers repeat buying from one supplier when you can't promise exact quantities.
How do purchase orders work in Shopify?
Open Products, then Purchase orders, and click "Create purchase order". Pick the supplier, add products with a quantity and cost, and save a draft. "Export PDF" under More actions gives you a PDF copy to send your supplier. Once they confirm, "Mark as ordered" records the order as placed, which can't be undone.
Since June 2026, you receive each delivery on a transfer linked to the PO, under Products, then Transfers, with freight and customs duties as cost adjustments. Shopify's older Stocky app is no longer available after August 31, 2026, and Shopify points you to the admin's inventory tools. On Basic through Plus, Shopify B2B lets a wholesale buyer add their own PO number to an order.
Sold-out products shoppers still want, with Sledge
Sledge does not write purchase orders or receive stock. On Accelerate and up, Sledge Back in Stock takes sign-ups for a sold-out product, and the Signals tab in Sledge Analytics lists "Shoppers waiting for a restock" once five or more wait for it. A Sledge pre-order keeps that product selling while stock is on its way. On any paid plan, Growth Intelligence adds up its suggested fixes as one figure in your store's currency, labeled "Est. potential": a sales estimate, not a stock count.
