A purchase order is the buyer’s side of the paperwork: a numbered, dated commitment to buy specific items at specific prices from a vendor. This generator produces a PO with your company as the buyer, the vendor block, itemized order lines, an expected delivery date and your commercial terms.
The PO number is the thread that ties the transaction together — the vendor quotes it on the delivery note and the invoice, and your bookkeeper matches all three at payment time. The generator numbers documents PO-0001 onward and advances automatically.
What a purchase order must contain
A workable PO has: buyer details (you), vendor details, a unique PO number and issue date, an expected delivery date, itemized lines with quantities and agreed unit prices, delivery address if different from your billing address, and payment terms. Reference the vendor’s quotation number in a line description or the notes to anchor the pricing.
The three-way match — PO, delivery note, invoice — is the standard control against over-billing. It only works if quantities and descriptions are written identically across documents, so copy the vendor’s own catalog wording onto the PO lines rather than paraphrasing.
When a small business should bother with POs
The moment more than one person can order on the company’s behalf, or any single order exceeds petty-cash territory, POs pay for themselves. They cap spend at an agreed price before the vendor ships, and they turn “I thought we ordered 10” conversations into a document lookup.
Vendors take numbered POs as a signal of an organized buyer — invoices referencing your PO number get processed faster on both sides, and disputes about price or quantity resolve from the paper rather than memory.
Download this document in an editable format
Use the generator above, then choose Word or Excel in the download menu. The file is created locally from the current document.
Frequently asked questions
Is a purchase order a contract?
A PO is an offer to buy; it generally becomes binding when the vendor accepts it (by confirmation or by shipping). Your terms on the PO — inspection window, payment terms — become part of that contract, which is why they belong on the document.
What is the difference between a PO and an invoice?
The buyer issues the PO before delivery; the seller issues the invoice after. The invoice should quote the PO number so both sides can match order, delivery and bill.
Should a PO show tax?
Common practice is to state prices exclusive of tax and let the vendor apply tax on the invoice. If you prefer the PO to show the full landed cost, set the tax rate and it appears as its own line.
How should I number purchase orders?
One continuous sequence (PO-0001, PO-0002…) across the whole business, never per-vendor. The generator advances the number automatically each time you start a new PO.