Template
Purchase order template
A one page order form to print, fill in and send to a supplier.
Worked out at https://storestandards.com/tools/purchase-order-template/
What is on the form
One page, twelve lines, and nothing you will not fill in.
The top holds the order number, the date, your details and the supplier’s. The middle is twelve item lines with SKU, description, quantity, unit price and total. The foot holds the delivery date, the delivery address, the freight terms and a signature.
There is a separate box for the freight cost, which most order forms leave out. That figure is what turns an invoice price into a real cost per unit, and it is agreed at order time and forgotten by the time the invoice lands.
How to use it
Fill it in before you phone. A supplier who is reading the same numbers you are will not send the wrong quantity, and a written order is what you check the delivery against when they do.
Give it a number and never reuse one. The order number is the thread that ties the order, the delivery note and the invoice together. Without it, a part delivery three weeks later is very hard to match to anything.
Send it, then keep your copy where the person receiving the goods can find it. An order that lives in the buyer’s inbox is no use at all to somebody standing next to a pallet.
What happens next
When the delivery arrives, check it against this form rather than against the supplier’s delivery note. The note says what they think they sent. The goods in checklist covers the order to work through.
Once the freight bill is known, put the order and the freight through the landed cost calculator to get the true cost per unit. That is the figure that belongs in Shopify, not the one on the invoice.
The full method for booking a delivery in is in the article on receiving a purchase order.
Questions people ask
Do I need a purchase order at all?
You need one the first time a supplier sends the wrong quantity. Without a written order there is nothing to check the delivery against, and the argument comes down to who remembers the phone call.
What has to be on it?
A number, a date, who it is from, what you want, how many, at what price and when you need it. Everything else on this form is there to save an email later.
Why is there a line for freight?
Because freight decides your real cost per unit and it is always agreed at order time and forgotten by the time the invoice lands. Writing it on the order keeps it with the numbers it affects.
Can I use this instead of Shopify purchase orders?
Shopify has no purchase orders built in. You either use an app, a spreadsheet, or paper. This is the paper version, and it is a fine place to start.
What numbering should I use?
Something short, sequential and never reused. The year and a running count works well. The number matters because it is what ties the order, the delivery and the invoice together.
Words used on this page
Try one of these next
Goods in checklist
The order to work through when a delivery lands on the dock.
Landed cost calculator
See what a unit really costs once freight and duty are added.