How do you create a purchase order?
Written by Shivangi Singh, Senior Content Writer · October 17, 2026
What a PO must contain
- PO number and date, and the requisition or contract it is based on.
- Buyer and supplier legal names, addresses and tax identifiers.
- Line items: description, part or SKU, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, taxes, total.
- Delivery address, required date and shipping terms.
- Payment terms and currency.
- Reference to the governing terms and conditions or contract.
- Buyer contact and the authorised approver.
Steps
- Start from an approved requisition or a contract call-off so the need and budget are already confirmed.
- Pick the supplier and price from the contract or the sourcing result. Do not retype prices.
- Fill the line items and terms above. Check quantities against demand and the delivery date against lead time.
- Route for approval according to value limits.
- Send to the supplier and request acknowledgement. The acknowledged PO is what receiving and accounts payable will match against.
- Record it in your system so receipts and invoices can be matched three ways.
A procurement system does most of this automatically from the requisition and contract. For occasional use, Procol's free Purchase Order Generator produces a clean PO with your terms and numbering.
Shivangi is a Senior Content Marketer specializing in B2B SaaS, procurement, and enterprise technology. She creates research-driven content that helps procurement leaders and business decision-makers navigate AI, digital transformation, sourcing, and spend management. Her work focuses on turning complex industry developments into clear, practical, and actionable insights.