Purchase order vs Delivery note: what each one is for
Purchase order versus delivery note: one comes from the buyer, the other from the seller; one sits at stage 3 of the flow, the other at stage 5. Below is the comparison table, the deciding difference, where each sits in the sequence and what goes wrong when they are confused.
Side by side
| Purchase order | Delivery note | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | the buyer | the seller |
| Sent to | the seller | the buyer |
| Stage in the flow | 3 — commitment | 5 — proof of delivery |
| What it does | commits the buyer to purchase specific goods or services at agreed prices and terms | lists the goods in the shipment so the buyer can check them in and sign for them |
| Commitment | binding once accepted | evidential |
| Requests payment? | no | no |
| Proves delivery? | no | yes |
| In the accounts | a commitment, recorded as an open PO, not yet a liability | the goods-received record that lets accounts payable approve the invoice |
| Lifetime | stands until fulfilled, cancelled or its delivery date passes | a record of one shipment; it does not expire |
| Make one with | Purchase Order Generator | Purchase Order Generator |
The deciding difference
The PO says what the buyer ordered; the delivery note says what the seller shipped. Comparing the two is the first half of the three-way match that protects a buyer from paying for goods that never arrived. The PO comes from the buyer before shipment; the delivery note comes from the seller with the shipment.
If you remember one thing, remember the sender and the stage. The purchase order is the buyer's document at stage 3 (commitment); the delivery note is the seller's document at stage 5 (proof of delivery). Everything else in the table follows from those two facts.
Where each one sits in the flow
The purchase order is issued at stage 3 and the delivery note at stage 5 of the eight-step order-to-cash sequence. The steps between them, if any, are the documents that normally connect the two:
- 3. Purchase order (this page) — The buyer's formal order: what, how many, at what price, delivered where and when.
- 4. Proforma invoice — A preliminary invoice sent before delivery, used for prepayment and customs, not for the books.
- 5. Delivery note (this page) — What was in the box, signed for by whoever received it.
Steps before the purchase order and after the delivery note are on the business documents hub, which shows the full eight-step sequence with a checklist for every document.
Worked scenario
Harbour Café's PO-2026-0142 lists twelve worktops. Delivery note DN-5570 lists twelve shipped, but the signed copy says eleven received. The PO tells accounts what was authorised, the delivery note tells them what turned up, and the invoice will be approved for eleven only. Each document does one job; none replaces another.
Can one replace the other?
You cannot use a purchase order as a delivery note or the reverse: they are addressed to different questions. The purchase order answers "what exactly did the buyer authorise?"; the delivery note answers "what physically arrived?". A document that tries to answer both usually answers neither clearly.
Numbering and matching
Both carry their own number. Purchase order: The buyer's number; suppliers are expected to quote it on the delivery note and the invoice so accounts payable can match the three documents. Delivery note: Numbered and cross-referenced to the PO and the invoice so a three-way match (ordered, received, billed) is possible. The reference from one to the other is what lets an accounts team match documents without phoning anyone.
Common mistakes
Two habits cause most of the trouble. First, paying an invoice that has no matching purchase order, which is how duplicate and unauthorised spend slips through. Second, shipping without one, which leaves no independent proof of what was delivered when a short delivery is disputed. Each is avoidable with a template that carries the right fields and a rule about which document comes first.
Checklists: what to include in a purchase order and what to include in a delivery note.