Free Purchase Order Template (Fillable PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the purchase order template

PO number

Your number, in your series. It is the key that links the vendor's packing slip and invoice back to what you agreed to buy. Insist that it appears on both.

Vendor and ship-to

Who you are buying from and where it goes, including a contact name at the dock. Bill-to is your business unless you state otherwise.

Required-by date, ship via, FOB / Incoterms

When you need it, how it travels, and the point at which responsibility for the goods passes to you. "FOB origin" means you own it once it leaves the vendor.

Item lines

Part number, description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, amount. Use the vendor's part numbers from their quote so nothing is mis-picked.

Shipping, tax, PO total

The total the vendor may invoice. If the invoice is higher, the PO is your evidence.

Receiving columns (receiving design)

Quantity received, date, condition and notes. Three-way matching (PO, receipt, invoice) starts here.

Not-to-exceed and release log (blanket design)

The spending ceiling for the period and the running record of what has been called off against it.

Authorization

The person allowed to commit the business to the purchase signs. For blanket orders, the vendor signs too.

What a purchase order does

A purchase order turns a conversation into a documented order. The buyer issues it; the vendor accepts it (by confirming, shipping, or signing); from that moment both sides have a contract with the quantities, prices and terms on the paper. It is the buyer's side of the chain that runs quote, PO, packing slip, invoice, payment. Without one, the invoice is the first written record of the deal, and it's written by the seller.

POs also control spending. If a business requires a PO for any purchase above a limit, nobody can commit money without an authorized signature, and accounts payable can refuse any invoice that doesn't quote a PO number. That's why the standard design carries the line asking the vendor to put the PO number on everything.

Which design to use

• Standard PO: one-off orders. Parts, stock, equipment, services with a defined deliverable.
• PO with receiving check: the same order on a landscape sheet with columns for what actually arrived. The dock fills it in; accounts uses it to approve the invoice.
• Blanket PO: repeat purchases from one vendor over a period at agreed prices. Each call-off is a release logged against the not-to-exceed amount. Janitorial supplies, packaging, fasteners, print, catering.

How to fill it in

1. Number the PO from your own sequence and date it.
2. Copy the vendor's part numbers, descriptions and prices from their quote; put the quote number in the reference box.
3. Give the ship-to address with a contact and delivery hours. Wrong-address deliveries are the most common PO failure.
4. State payment terms, ship method and FOB or Incoterms.
5. Add shipping and tax so the PO total is the amount you expect to be invoiced.
6. Get it signed by someone with authority, send it to the vendor and keep a copy with the quote.
7. When goods arrive, record what was received (the receiving design has the columns) before approving the invoice.

Mistakes that cost money

• Verbal orders followed by an invoice you can't check.
• Prices on the PO that differ from the quote which the vendor then argues about.
• No required-by date, so "in stock" turns into "three weeks".
• Approving an invoice without checking it against the PO and the delivery. The receiving design exists to make that check a thirty-second job.
• Blanket orders with no release log, so nobody knows the limit has been passed until the invoices arrive.

PO, packing slip, invoice: the three-way match

Accounts payable in most organizations approves an invoice only when three documents agree: the PO (what was ordered), the packing slip or delivery note (what arrived), and the vendor's invoice (what is being charged). Quantities and prices must match on all three or the invoice is queried. The receiving design puts the first two on one sheet so the match is done at the dock.

Editing the Word and Excel versions

Excel calculates line amounts, subtotal, tax and PO total; on the blanket design it sums releases and shows the remaining limit. Put your company as the default buyer, your standard terms in the instructions box and your authorizer names, and save a master. The receiving design is landscape in all formats so the receiving columns fit. In Word, delete the receiving columns if you print the standard design for a vendor and keep the receiving copy internal.

Questions

Is a purchase order a contract?

Once the vendor accepts it, yes. The PO is the offer; shipping the goods, confirming in writing or signing is the acceptance. Terms on the PO then govern unless the vendor objected before accepting.

What is the difference between a PO and an invoice?

The buyer issues the PO before the purchase to say what they want to buy. The seller issues the invoice after delivery to ask for payment. The invoice should quote the PO number.

Do I need a PO for every purchase?

Most businesses set a threshold (for example anything over $250) and require a PO above it. Below that, a receipt is enough. Blanket POs cover repeat small purchases without a new PO each time.

What does FOB mean on a PO?

"Free on board" marks where ownership and risk pass from seller to buyer. FOB origin: at the vendor's dock, so the buyer bears transit risk. FOB destination: at your dock, so the vendor does. For international orders use Incoterms (EXW, DAP, DDP and so on).

Does the PDF calculate totals?

No. The fillable PDF is for typing and printing. The Excel version calculates line amounts, totals and the blanket order remaining balance.