Think of a purchase order like a recipe. Skip an ingredient or forget a step, and the whole dish falls apart. The same goes for buying inventory: when the details aren't written down clearly, orders go sideways, and your stock levels pay the price.
A purchase order template is a reusable form for ordering from suppliers, so every PO has the same fields in the same place. That's exactly why a solid sample purchase order matters, and why we've put together five free templates you can grab below.
Below, you'll find a template for every kind of business, a quick format comparison, and a walk-through of what a completed example actually looks like. Let's dig in!
A purchase order is a document the buyer sends to a vendor to officially request goods or services. It lays out what you want, how many, at what price, and when you need it, so there's no guessing on either side.
Once the vendor accepts it, that PO becomes a binding agreement. It's also one piece of the wider procurement process that keeps your buying organized end to end.
Here's a quick way to keep the paperwork straight. A purchase order starts with you, the buyer, before the sale. A sales order is the seller's confirmation of that request.
An invoice comes from the seller after the goods ship, asking to get paid. Same transaction, three different jobs.
You need a PO any time you buy from a supplier and want a clear record of what you both agreed to. That covers repeat inventory orders, big-ticket purchases, new vendor relationships, and anything that needs approval before money changes hands.
So who creates it? The buyer does. That's usually your purchasing team, though at a smaller business it might be the owner or ops manager wearing yet another hat.
Not sure which type of PO fits the job? Our guide on how to know when and which type of purchase order to use breaks it down.
Every purchase order needs a PO number, order date, buyer and vendor details, addresses, line items, prices, totals, a delivery date, terms, and a signature. Here's what each field means, with an example.
| Field | What It Is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| PO number | A unique reference both sides use to track the order | PO-2026-0417 |
| Order date | The date you issue the PO | April 17, 2026 |
| Buyer details | Your business name, address, and contact person | Maple & Oak Home Goods, 118 Market Street, Austin, TX 78701 |
| Vendor details | The supplier's name, address, and contact info | Northwind Ceramics Co., 42 Kiln Road, Portland, OR 97209 |
| Ship-to and bill-to addresses | Where the goods go and where the invoice goes, if they differ | Ship to and bill to: 118 Market Street, Austin, TX 78701 |
| Line items | Each product you're ordering, with a description and SKU | Matte Stoneware Mug, 12 oz (SKU MUG-12-MT) |
| Quantity and unit price | How many of each item and the agreed price per unit | 200 mugs at $4.25 each |
| Totals and tax | Subtotal, tax, and any shipping or discounts | $1,870.00 subtotal, plus applicable tax |
| Delivery date | When you need the goods to arrive | May 8, 2026 |
| Payment and shipping terms | When you'll pay and who's responsible for the goods in transit | Net 30, FOB destination |
| Authorized signature | Sign-off from someone allowed to approve the purchase | Signed by your purchasing manager |
Best for: Simple, one-off orders and businesses that are new to POs.
A standard purchase order is the go-to format when you just need to buy something and keep a clean record of it. It covers the essentials without any industry-specific extras, so it's a great starting point.
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Best for: Stores that reorder the same products regularly and track them by SKU.
A retail purchase order adds room for product codes and variant details. That way, nothing gets lost between the shelf and the stockroom.
Cleaning up how you track products first? Our guide to SKU rationalization is a helpful companion read.
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Best for: Online sellers buying stock for multiple sales channels and warehouses.
An e-commerce purchase order helps you keep purchasing in sync across every channel you sell on. That way, what you promise online matches what's actually in stock.
Want to see how this connects to the bigger picture? Take a look at how Cin7 handles inventory management across channels.
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Best for: Manufacturers buying raw materials and components against a bill of materials.
A manufacturing purchase order gives you space to tie each ordered part back to the finished product it helps build. No more guessing which screws belong to which widget.
New to BOMs, or cutting down on scrap? Our reads on what a bill of materials is and reducing manufacturing waste pair nicely with this template.
Running production in-house? See how Cin7 supports manufacturing businesses from raw materials to finished goods.
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Best for: High-volume buyers working with bulk quantities and tiered pricing.
A wholesale purchase order keeps large orders organized. Your margins stay clear even when the numbers get big.
Thinking bigger picture? See why a PO system pays off as you scale, and how Cin7 works for wholesale and distribution businesses.
Selling to big-box retailers? They'll often send EDI purchase orders instead of spreadsheets, so it helps to have a system that speaks their language.
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PDF | Excel | Google Sheets
The best format depends on whether you need formulas, teamwork, or a locked final copy. Here's how the four most common options stack up.
| Format | Best For | Auto-Calculations | Collaboration | Editing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excel | Businesses that want formulas and offline access | Yes, formulas total line items and tax | Possible with shared files, but versions can pile up | Fully editable |
| Google Sheets | Teams that share and update POs together | Yes, formulas work much like Excel | Strong, with real-time editing and comments | Fully editable in any browser |
| Sending a final, locked PO to a vendor | No, totals are fixed once exported | Easy to email, not built for co-editing | Hard to change without a PDF editor | |
| Word | Text-heavy POs with custom branding | Basic table formulas only | Shared files and tracked changes | Easy for text and layout, clunky for math |
Our take? Fill in your PO in Excel or Google Sheets so the math does itself, then save a PDF to send.
Downloading a template is one thing, but seeing a filled-in example makes it click. Here's a completed sample purchase order, field by field, so you know exactly what goes where.
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| PO number | PO-2026-0417 (a unique reference so both sides can track the order) |
| Order date | April 17, 2026 |
| Buyer | Maple & Oak Home Goods, 118 Market Street, Austin, TX 78701 |
| Vendor | Northwind Ceramics Co., 42 Kiln Road, Portland, OR 97209 |
| Line item 1 | Matte Stoneware Mug, 12 oz (SKU MUG-12-MT) |
| Line item 2 | Speckled Dinner Plate, 10 in (SKU PLT-10-SP) |
| Quantities | 200 mugs; 150 plates |
| Unit price | $4.25 per mug; $6.80 per plate |
| Totals | $850.00 (mugs) + $1,020.00 (plates) = $1,870.00 subtotal, plus applicable tax |
| Ship date | Requested delivery by May 8, 2026 |
| Terms | Net 30, FOB destination |
That's the whole picture. Fill in those same fields on any of the templates above, and you've got a professional, audit-ready purchase order in minutes.
Building your own purchase order form is easier than it sounds. Follow these five steps and you'll have a reusable template you can rely on. If you'd like the full walk-through, here's how to create a purchase order step by step.
Start with a blank document in your tool of choice, then add your logo, business name, and colors up top. It looks professional and makes sure vendors know exactly who the order is coming from.
Create labeled fields for the supplier's details and the order specifics: line items, quantities, unit prices, and totals. Leaving these as placeholders means you can reuse the form for every new order.
Fill in your own contact and shipping details, along with a spot for the PO number and payment terms. This is the info that stays the same order to order, so lock it in now.
Save a clean, blank master copy you never edit directly. If you need a PDF version, you can convert your document using a tool like Adobe's Word-to-PDF converter.
Revisit your template every so often to update pricing, supplier details, or branding. A little upkeep keeps your purchase orders accurate and saves you from fixing the same mistake twice.
Yes, once the vendor accepts it. At that point, the PO turns into a legally binding contract that protects both the buyer and the seller. Clear terms today can save you a serious headache down the road.
To make sure your purchase order holds up, include a unique PO number, a clear description of the goods or services, agreed pricing, delivery dates, and payment terms. Both parties should acknowledge and accept the order in writing. Get those pieces right, and everyone knows exactly what they signed up for.
Creating POs by hand works fine until the volume picks up. Then the copy-pasting, the double entry, and the "wait, did we already order that?" moments start eating your day. That's where automation earns its keep, and it's a big part of why purchase order management matters as you grow.
With Cin7, your POs don't just sit in a folder somewhere. Because Cin7 is an inventory management system (IMS), your POs feed straight into real-time inventory. Hit a reorder point and Cin7 can trigger the right PO to the right supplier automatically.
Add demand forecasting, and you'll know what to order before the shelves start looking bare. Purchasing, supplier management, and stock levels all live in one connected place, which makes moving off spreadsheets a whole lot easier.
Cin7 also syncs the money side. Our purchase order software connects with your accounting tools, so invoices and payments stay accurate.
Pair that with connected order management, and you get fewer errors, less busywork, and a whole lot more visibility.
Take Meghan Fabulous, a California fashion company that once ran on printed Excel spreadsheets edited with pen and paper. With Cin7, the team automated its purchase orders and production jobs. CEO Steve Dunlap says that if they had to do those manually, "I don't even know how many people it would take. It would crush us."
In 2020, the business grew 69 percent. Read how Meghan Fabulous automated its purchase orders for the full story.
Ready to see it in action? Start a free trial and put your purchase orders on autopilot.
A purchase order is sent by the buyer to request goods or services before the sale, while an invoice is sent by the seller after the goods ship to request payment. The PO kicks off the transaction; the invoice closes it out.
A purchase order comes from the buyer and states what they want to buy. A sales order comes from the seller and confirms they can fulfill that request. They're two sides of the same transaction.
Yes. You can build a purchase order in Microsoft Word using a table for your line items, or start from one of our templates above and adjust the formatting to fit your brand.
Excel offers built-in templates, and it's a great choice for POs because formulas can calculate totals and taxes automatically. All of our downloadable templates above work in Excel and Google Sheets.
Fill out your purchase order in Word, Excel, or Google Sheets, then export or save it as a PDF. You can also convert an existing document with a free tool like Adobe's Word-to-PDF converter.
A PO format is the standard layout a purchase order follows, along with the fields it always includes. That means a PO number, buyer and vendor details, line items, quantities, prices, and totals, plus the ship date and terms. Keep that format consistent and both sides know exactly where to look for every detail.
The most common types are standard, retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, and wholesale, each suited to how that business buys. A standard PO handles simple one-off orders, while the others add fields for SKUs, sales channels, bills of materials, or bulk pricing. You'll find a free template for all five above, so you can pick the one that fits your setup.
Yes, a purchase order can be canceled if both parties agree, or if the PO includes cancellation terms you both accepted up front. Since an accepted PO is a binding contract, it's best to cancel in writing and to do it before the vendor fulfills the order. Clear communication here saves everyone a headache.
Purchase orders create a clear record of what's on order, so you can plan your stock, avoid over- and under-ordering, and see what's coming before it lands. With an IMS like Cin7, those POs feed straight into real-time inventory and reorder points. That means your buying and your stock levels stay in sync without the manual guesswork.
Google's template gallery in Docs and Sheets leans toward invoice-style options, so you'd need to adapt one for purchasing. The easier route? Grab one of our free Google Sheets templates above, make a copy, and you're ready to fill it in.
Yes! Many businesses approve and accept POs with e-signatures instead of pen and paper. Just make sure the acceptance from both you and your vendor is recorded, so there's a clear trail if questions come up later.
Yes. A service PO works the same way as one for goods, but it lists the scope of work, timeline, and rates instead of SKUs and quantities. That keeps everyone clear on what's being delivered and what it costs.
Save your PO as a PDF so prices and quantities can't be edited, then email it with the PO number in the subject line. Ask your supplier to confirm the price and delivery date in writing. That confirmation is your proof that you're both on the same page.
A purchase requisition is an internal request asking for approval to buy something. Once it's approved, you create a purchase order, which is the external document you send to the vendor. Think of the requisition as asking permission and the PO as placing the order, both part of your wider procurement process.
Pick one consistent sequence and stick with it, like the PO-2026-0417 format in our sample. Never reuse a number, even for a canceled order. That way, duplicates and gaps are easy to spot when you're matching POs to invoices.