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POPurchase Order Notes

How small businesses raise and track purchase orders

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  1. What a purchase order is and what goes on it

    A purchase order (PO) is a buyer's written order to a supplier. See what it states, what fields to fill in, and what software adds to it.

  2. From request to payment: the steps of a purchase order

    The usual order of events when a business buys with a PO, from internal request and approval to receiving goods, the supplier bill and payment.

  3. Purchase order or invoice: how they differ

    A PO comes from the buyer before the goods move. An invoice comes from the seller after. Here's who sends which and how the two get compared.

  4. Numbering purchase orders

    How to number POs so you can find them later, with prefixes, year markers and running counters, plus how software series settings handle it.

  5. Approval limits and who signs off

    How approval limits work on purchase orders, what you need to set one up, and how two kinds of business software describe approval rules in their manuals.

  6. Receiving goods against a purchase order

    How to check a delivery against its PO, record what actually arrived, handle short or partial deliveries, and what receiving screens in software record.

  7. Three-way matching: PO, receipt and supplier bill

    Three-way matching compares the PO, the delivery record and the supplier's invoice before you pay. See what's checked and how software handles it.