FREE TOOL
Purchase order generator
A purchase order tells a supplier what you want to buy, at what price, delivered where and by when. Fill in the buyer, vendor and ship-to, add the lines, and the generator works out each amount, the tax, shipping and the total to the cent while the preview updates. Download it as a PDF, Word or Excel purchase order, or print a blank PO form. Morsa drafts each PO from the reorder need and follows the supplier until the date is confirmed.
Updated November 3, 2026
What is a purchase order?
A purchase order (PO) is the document a buyer sends a supplier to order goods or services. It names both companies, says what is being bought, how many, at what unit price, where to deliver it, by what date and on what payment terms. It is an offer to buy; once the supplier accepts it, it is the agreement both sides work to.
It is also the record every later document is checked against. The supplier’s acknowledgement confirms the price and date, the packing slip carries the PO number, and accounts payable matches the invoice to the PO and the receipt before paying.
What to include on a purchase order
These are the fields the generator above prints.
| Field | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| PO number and date | How every later document finds the order | PO-24-1031, Nov 2 |
| Buyer, with contact and email | Who is ordering and where to confirm | Sample plant, purchasing@yourplant.com |
| Vendor | Who the order goes to | Sample metals supplier |
| Ship to | Where to deliver, with dock and hours | Dock 2, 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM |
| Required by | The date you plan against | Nov 16 |
| Payment and shipping terms | When you pay, who owns goods in transit | Net 30, FOB destination |
| Item, description, quantity, unit | Exactly what is being bought | 316-RD-200, 40 BAR |
| Unit price and amount | The agreed price, and quantity times price | 186.75, 7,470.00 |
| Subtotal, tax, shipping, total | What the invoice should come to | 8,812.88 USD |
| Notes and terms and conditions | Certs, labeling, confirmation deadline | Send mill test reports |
| Authorized by and vendor acceptance | Who approved it and that the supplier agreed | Signed by the plant manager |
How to write a purchase order
Give it the next PO number and today’s date. Never reuse a number.
Enter your company as the buyer, with the email the supplier should confirm to. The tool keeps it for the next PO.
Enter the vendor and the ship-to. Tick “Same as the buyer address” when it ships to you.
Add the lines: item number, description, quantity, unit and unit price. Paste lines from your reorder list or Excel; each becomes a row with its amount.
Set the tax rate and shipping. Leave the rate empty if the purchase is tax exempt, and tick shipping as taxable only where it is.
Add the required-by date and the terms, including how fast the supplier must confirm.
Send it and get the date confirmed. A PO without a confirmed ship date is only a request.
How the totals are worked out
| Line | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Quantity x unit price, rounded to the cent, half a cent up | 50 x 12.875 = 643.75 |
| Subtotal | Sum of the rounded line amounts | 7,470.00 + 643.75 + 45.00 = 8,158.75 |
| Tax | Subtotal (plus shipping if taxable) x rate, rounded once | 8,158.75 x 5.75% = 469.13 |
| Total | Subtotal + tax + shipping | 8,158.75 + 469.13 + 185.00 = 8,812.88 |
The page, the PDF and the Excel file all round the same way, so they agree to the cent, including half-cent ties, zero quantities and discount lines.
Purchase order example
The example in the tool is from a sample machine shop ordering for a production run: 40 bars of 316 stainless at 186.75, 50 chip breaker inserts at 12.875 and a saw cutting charge, with 5.75 percent tax and 185.00 shipping, for 8,812.88 USD. The terms ask the supplier to confirm the price and ship date within 2 business days and to send mill test reports with the bar. Press “Start from this example” to load it and change it into your own.
Spreadsheet, ERP, purchasing software or Morsa
A spreadsheet PO works for a few orders a week. An ERP or purchasing system keeps every PO in one place, but someone still decides what to order, types it in, sends it and then chases the supplier for a ship date, usually by email, one PO at a time.
An AI system like Morsa can do the drafting and the chasing. Morsa drafts each PO from the reorder need in your ERP, with the usual supplier, price and lead time, and sends it from the buyer’s own mailbox once the buyer approves. It reads the supplier’s acknowledgement and catches a price or date that does not match. It updates the ERP and follows up, in the supplier’s own language, until the date is confirmed. It works in email, Teams, WhatsApp or whatever your team already runs on.
Mistakes that make purchase orders go wrong
No required-by date. The supplier ships when it suits them, and you find out at the shortage.
No confirmation asked for. An unconfirmed PO looks the same as a confirmed one until it is late.
Vague descriptions. “Bar stock” gets the wrong grade; give the part number, grade and size.
Rounding each step differently. If the PO, the sheet and the invoice round differently, the three-way match (PO, receipt and invoice) flags pennies for days.
Tax on exempt purchases. Raw material for manufacturing is often exempt, depending on the state; leave the rate empty and keep the exemption certificate on file with the supplier.
Changes by phone. A price or quantity agreed by phone but not on the PO starts the invoice dispute.
Frequently asked questions
Is a purchase order a legal contract?
A PO is an offer to buy. Under UCC 2-206 an order for prompt shipment invites acceptance by a prompt promise to ship or by shipping the goods, and once the supplier accepts, the PO’s terms bind both sides. UCC 2-201 says a contract for the sale of goods for $500 or more needs a signed writing to be enforced, which is one reason companies put every order on a PO.
How are the line amounts and the total worked out?
Each line is quantity times unit price, rounded to the cent (half a cent rounds up). The subtotal adds the rounded lines, tax is the tax rate times the subtotal (plus shipping if you tick that it is taxable), rounded once, and the total adds subtotal, tax and shipping. The math is exact decimal, so 3 x 0.335 is 1.01, not 1.00. The Excel file uses the same ROUND formulas.
What is the difference between a purchase order and an invoice?
The buyer sends the purchase order before delivery to say what it wants at what price. The supplier sends the invoice after shipping to ask to be paid. Accounts payable matches the two, plus the packing slip or receipt, before paying: the three-way match.
What are common payment terms on a PO?
Net 30 (pay within 30 days of the invoice) is the most common. Others are Net 45 or Net 60, 2/10 Net 30 (a 2 percent discount if paid within 10 days), due on receipt, and payment in advance for a new supplier.
What does FOB mean on a purchase order?
FOB (free on board) says where ownership and the risk of loss move from the supplier to the buyer. FOB origin means at the supplier’s dock, so the buyer owns goods in transit; FOB destination means at the buyer’s dock. For international orders use an Incoterm (the international shipping-terms codes), such as FCA or DAP, instead.
How should purchase orders be numbered?
One running sequence that never repeats, often with a prefix and the year, such as PO-24-1031. Suppliers print it on the packing slip and invoice, so it is how every later document finds the order. The New PO button above moves the number up by one.
Is there a purchase order template in Excel?
Yes. The Excel download keeps quantities and prices as numbers with ROUND formulas for each line, a SUM subtotal, the tax formula and the total, so the sheet recalculates if you change a line. A blank PO form also comes as Excel and Word.
Related tools
WHERE MORSA FITS
Stop chasing suppliers for ship dates.
Morsa drafts each PO from the reorder need, sends it from the buyer’s own mailbox and follows the supplier until the date is confirmed. It works in email, Teams, WhatsApp or whatever your plant already runs on, next to your ERP.
