Purchase orders

A purchase order records what you asked a vendor to send, and what is still open. It is a request, not a bill.

A purchase order never posts to your books. Stock and what you owe arrive when you Save & post the vendor's bill.

Create one

Open All pages in the left sidebar, then click Purchases and Purchase orders.
Click New purchase order.
Choose the Vendor, the Order date, and Expected.
Add a line for each thing you are ordering: a product, or Use a category instead for freight.
In Unit, type how you count the quantity, such as lb or case. It prints on the PDF. Leave it blank and the saved order shows Not set.
Click Save purchase order.

The list filters are All, Open, Partially billed, Closed, and Cancelled. Still open is what you are waiting on.

Open the order and click Create bill. The button is gone on a Closed or Cancelled order.
New bill opens with each still-open line, and Qty set to what is left. Ordered 1,200 lb and 756.40 lb arrived? Change Qty to 756.40. After you save, the next Create bill offers the rest.
A stocked product shows Adds to stock. Leave New lot from this Bill, or pick a lot. Vendor lot number (optional) is the packer's code.
Click Save & post.

Save draft already counts that quantity on the purchase order, so the next Create bill skips it.

The rate copies only when it already fits four decimal places. If it needs more, Create bill stops, and you enter the vendor bill from Bills.

Still open on a purchase order, with Create bill

The next bill, with the remaining 443.6 in Qty, Adds to stock, and Vendor lot number

A tracked product can add to On hand when you post. A category line does not. See "Track stock quantities".
While costing is on, a stocked line may carry Tax. Tax the business cannot reclaim is added to the stock's cost. Tax it can reclaim goes to the Input tax recoverable account and never into stock. A freight or other landed charge carries the tax it cannot reclaim with it. See "Receive inventory on Bills".
To turn costing on, see "Set up inventory costing".

Status	What it means
Open	Nothing billed yet.
Partially billed	Some billed, something still open.
Closed	Fully billed, or you closed the rest.
Cancelled	It should never have been placed.

The status follows the bills, including a draft. Voiding a bill puts that quantity back on the order.

Click Close line on that line, or Close on the whole order, when the rest is not coming. Bills you already saved stay.
Reopen undoes Close. Reopen line undoes Close line.
Cancel order means nothing was ordered. Use it only before any bill. Keep order leaves it. A cancelled order cannot be reopened, so start a new one if you still need it.

Cancel order PO-1001, with Keep order and Cancel order

Once a bill exists, even a draft, click Close. The bills stay, and the rest stops counting as on order.

The first number is PO-1001, separate from invoices.
A purchase order in a closed period is fine. The bill is what Period close checks.
A saved purchase order has no edit.
Stock quantities take up to four decimal places. See "Track stock quantities".

Updated on: 08/10/2026

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