Free purchase order template
A purchase order is the paper you send a supplier when you are the one buying: what you want, how many, at what price, and where and when it has to turn up. Fill one in here and send it as a PDF or a link — free, with no account and no watermark.
What goes on a purchase order
- Your business name and contact details — the supplier ships to and invoices whoever is on top.
- A PO number of its own (this one starts at PO-101), so the supplier can quote it back on the invoice and the delivery note.
- The vendor: the supplier’s name, and your account number with them if you have one.
- Deliver to: the job-site address, not your office, if that is where the materials have to land.
- A deliver-by date, so a late delivery is late against something written down.
- One line per item — part number or a description the counter staff will recognize, the quantity and the agreed unit price.
- Sales tax, if the supplier charges it to you, and the order total.
- Who authorized the order, signed and dated — the line a supplier’s accounts desk looks for before it releases goods on credit.
A worked example
A framing contractor ordering lumber for a garage addition. The order goes to the yard, the delivery goes to the site, and the date is the day the framing crew is booked.
| Line | Qty | Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2×6×16 SPF lumber | 40 | $11.85 | $474.00 |
| 1/2 in. CDX plywood, 4×8 | 24 | $38.50 | $924.00 |
| 16d framing nails, 50 lb box | 2 | $89.00 | $178.00 |
| Delivery to site | 1 | $75.00 | $75.00 |
| Subtotal | $1,651.00 | ||
| Sales tax 7% | $115.57 | ||
| Order total | $1,766.57 |
The prices are illustrative, not a survey of what lumber costs this week — put in the figures from your supplier’s quote or counter price. Nothing on the paper is fixed: add lines, change the tax rate, or switch it off if the supplier does not charge you sales tax.
Purchase order or invoice?
A purchase order
Is written by the buyer, before anything is delivered. It says what you are ordering and what you have agreed to pay. On this site, that buyer is you and the paper goes to your supplier.
An invoice
Is written by the seller, after the goods or the work are delivered. It asks to be paid. Your supplier sends you one against your PO; you send your customer one for the job the materials went into.
The two are meant to match. When the supplier’s invoice arrives, check it against the PO line by line — quantity, unit price, and anything that turned up on the invoice that you never ordered. That check is most of what a PO is for.
How to send it
Most supply houses and lumber yards take orders by email, and plenty of counter staff will take one by text. Send the PO as a PDF or as a link the supplier opens in any browser, without installing anything.
Keep your copy. When the delivery arrives, tick it off against the PO before the driver leaves, and when the invoice arrives, match it to the same paper. A PO number on both is what makes that a two-minute job instead of an afternoon.
What you get
A PDF you can download, print or attach, and a link the vendor can open on any phone. There is no Word or Excel version — PDF only, for now. The six looks and your logo or initials work on this paper exactly as they do on an invoice; see the looks.
Questions about purchase orders
Do small contractors really need purchase orders?
Not for every box of screws. They earn their keep on the bigger orders — a load of lumber, a run of special-order fixtures, anything delivered to a site you will not be standing on. A written order with a price and a date is what you point to when the delivery is short, late or invoiced at a different price.
Is a purchase order a legally binding contract?
Often, once the supplier accepts it — by confirming it or by shipping the goods. But whether it binds, and on whose terms, depends on what each side sent and on your state’s law, and many suppliers have their own terms of sale. If a large order matters, read the supplier’s terms or ask a lawyer; this page is not legal advice.
How should I number my purchase orders?
In one unbroken series of their own, kept apart from your invoices. This generator starts them at PO-101 and counts up, so a supplier quoting your PO number back can never be confused with an invoice number of yours.
Should sales tax go on a purchase order?
Only if the supplier will charge it to you. Whether a contractor pays sales tax on materials, or buys them tax-exempt for resale, depends on the state and on how your contracts are set up. Check with your state’s revenue department or your accountant; the tax line here can be set to any rate, or switched off.
More on how JobPaperwork works, including what it stores and what it does not do.