Facts about the Purchase Order template

Contents

What is a Purchase Order?

Purchase orders are business documents that request delivery of specific products. Buyers fill out a purchase order form and send it to sellers. In this form, you put down what products you want to buy and how many of each item you need. The order form also contains details related to shipping, pricing, discounts and payment methods. A standard purchase order is commonly called a PO.

POs replace the need to call suppliers on the telephone to place a sales order. Of course, some businesses are happy to fill out POs for their clients as well. Most of the time, however, the buyer puts together a purchase order after checking available inventory. This helps both buyers and sellers to ensure the accuracy of orders, and it can accelerate the delivery and po process.

Purchase orders adapt well to businesses that buy many different items periodically. If you have a car dealership/repair shop and need to request different amounts of cleaning supplies, motor oil, transmission fluid, car parts, tools and other items, POs can help immensely. When you receive your order, you can check it against the PO to make sure everything arrived correctly.

What is a Purchase Order used for?

A purchase order is used to request products from a seller. This document is helpful for inventory management of items you’ve ordered and making sure that all invoices received are accurate. This is one of the most common forms used in business, especially if your company has a business account with several sellers.

Why should you use a Purchase Order?

There are many benefits to using purchase orders in business. They help your company with accounting by making it easier to see how much you’re paying for products and where each item comes from. You can track the status of orders and manage inventory levels more smoothly.
If you try to order products over the phone instead of using a purchase order, it can cause a lot of errors and problems with the order details. The supplier may misunderstand the purchase request, how many items you want, or forgets to give you the right discount. This may lead to angry suppliers, angry buyers, poor business relationships, lawsuits, and damage to your company's credit score.

How to write a Purchase Order?

Purchase orders are similar to other business forms, with lines and boxes that make it easy to list different products. Here are some details you should include:

  • Customer code:

    The supplier’s ID number for your business.

  • Buyer information:

    Your name or business name, billing address, and phone number.

  • PO number:

    A unique number to help you keep track of each purchase order. This is for your company’s financial records.

  • PO date:

    The date you’re requesting products.

  • Seller information:

    The name of company you’re buying from and its mailing address.

  • Shipping information:

    The address where you want products delivered.

  • Shipping date:

    The date you would like products to ship by.

  • Item description:

    The name of product and/or supplier’s product number.

  • Units:

    The number of total units you want to buy.

  • Price

    The individual unit price and the total quantity price.

  • Sales tax:

    The amount of estimated tax for your order. Calculate this based on the state where your business operates. If your organization is tax exempt, put N/A and write your tax ID number.

  • Discount:

    Your estimated discount.

  • Other costs:

    Things such as shipping costs, handling fees and other costs. Only include these if your business is responsible for paying them and you know how much the amount is.

  • Buyer signature:

    Your name and signature.

  • Seller signature:

    A space for sellers to sign once they process your purchase order.

  • Curre

    U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, pounds, euros, etc.

  • Payment method:

    The way you plan on paying for the order. Some common options are credit card, cash on delivery (COD), check and PayPal. You can also use business credit if you have an account.

  • Payment terms:

    The amount of time you have to submit payment for an order. Sometimes payment is due upon receipt of goods, and other times you have 30 or 60 days.

  • Transportation method desired:

    Your preferred shipping method. Depending on the options provided by the seller, you may opt for direct delivery, distribution center pickup, freight carrier, standard shipping (UPS or FedEx), priority mail and similar options.

  • Conditions:

    Any terms you and the seller have agreed to. This may include legal details about who is responsible if goods arrive damaged or what happens if ordered products aren’t delivered within a certain amount of time.

  • Special instructions:

    Additional requests to the seller. For example, you may ask the seller to contact you immediately if products aren’t in st

How to fill out a Purchase Order with PDFSimpli in five steps?

  • 1. Prepare:

    Before you fill out a purchase order for your business, make sure you know which products you need and how many you want to purchase. It can also help to know how much you’ve paid for the products in the past and what discounts you qualify for.

  • 2. Choose Software:

    Some businesses prefer to create a customized PO from scratch. Others start with a purchase order template and make just a few changes. Either way, you need a PDF editor with a number of tools. With PDFSimpli, your business can fill in purchase orders, edit details, add text, change forms and convert Excel to PDF. If you want to add your business’s logo to a PO template, PDFSimpli can make it happen in minutes.

  • 3. Fill Out or Edit Purchase Order:

    Once you have a custom purchase order for your business or purchase order template you like, it’s easy to fill in the document with PDFSimpli. To add text to the form, click the Add Text Button and type. Move to different boxes in the PO by clicking with your mouse or pressing the touchscreen. To put your company logo on the document, use the Add Image Button, click on the screen and select your logo in the pop-up menu.

  • 4. Review:

    Check the items, item numbers, and order quantities to make sure everything is accurate. When the form is complete, add your digital signature with PDFSimpli’s Add Signature Tool.

  • 5. Save, Download, Print or Send for Signature:

    Next, click “Save” to save a copy of your purchase order. You can use this document again as many times as you want. Click “Download” if you want to send the PDF file to your supplier by email. “Print” works for mailing a physical form. Use the Send-for-Signature Button to request an e-signature right away from your supplier.

Purchase Order frequently asked questions

The idea behind a purchase order and purchasing agreement is similar: buying products for your business. However, a purchase agreement is a binding contract that needs to be signed by both parties. This type of agreement is usually more detailed, containing specific quantities of goods that must be purchased at a pre-negotiated price. On the other hand, a purchase order is closer to a simple ordering request.

If you want customers to have the freedom to adjust their orders every month, sticking to purchase orders makes sense. POs allow clients to order what they need, when they need. Your company can send products if you have them in stock or put them on back order. Purchasing agreements don’t provide this same flexibility for buyer or seller.

A purchase order is a document the buyer sends to the seller, a request for products or goods. An invoice is the opposite. It’s a bill the seller gives to the buyer after the items have been shipped. Of course, both forms are important. An invoice will often have the related PO number written on it for easier recordkeeping.

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