What to include in a purchase order
The purchase order is the buyer's document at the commitment stage: it commits the buyer to purchase specific goods or services at agreed prices and terms. This checklist covers the 10 fields it must carry, why each one is there, and an example of how it should read.
The 10-point checklist
The fields are not bureaucracy. A purchase order is once the seller accepts it, the PO is a contract to buy the listed goods at the listed prices; it is not itself a demand for money. The document only carries that weight if the parties, the items, the amounts and the dates are unambiguous.
- PO number. The reference the supplier must repeat on the delivery note and invoice so your accounts team can match all three. Example: PO-2026-0142
- Issue date. Starts the clock for validity, delivery and payment terms; for invoices it usually sets the tax point. Example: 18 September 2026
- Buyer name, address and contact. Identifies who is ordering or paying; on invoices the legal entity name matters for tax. Example: Harbour Café Ltd, 3 Quay Street, Bristol BS1 6XN
- Seller name, address and contact. Identifies who is supplying and who to contact about the document. Example: Northgate Joinery Ltd, 14 Mill Lane, Leeds LS1 4AB, accounts@northgatejoinery.co.uk
- Line items. Description, quantity, unit price and line total for each item, so both sides can check the arithmetic. Example: 12 × oak worktop 3 m @ $185.00 = $2,220.00
- Subtotal, tax and total. Shows the tax separately so the buyer can reclaim it and the seller can report it. Example: Subtotal $2,220.00, VAT 20% $444.00, total $2,664.00
- Delivery date. The date the buyer is relying on; missing it is the most common cause of disputes. Example: Deliver by 30 September 2026
- Ship-to address. Often different from the billing address; the delivery note and PO must agree on it. Example: Deliver to: Unit 7, Riverside Industrial Estate, Bristol BS2 0QT
- Payment terms. States when and how payment is expected; on quotes and POs it sets expectations, on invoices it is enforceable. Example: 50% deposit on order, balance within 14 days of delivery
- Authorised by. Shows the order was approved by someone entitled to commit the buyer's money. Example: Approved: R. Okafor, Operations Manager
Numbering
On numbering: 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. Never reuse a number, and never renumber after the document has been sent.
What it does in the accounts
What the purchase order does to the books: it is a commitment, recorded as an open PO, not yet a liability. Get the date and the totals right on the document itself; correcting them later means issuing another document, not editing this one.
The mistake to avoid
If you take one warning from this page: avoid paying an invoice that has no matching purchase order, which is how duplicate and unauthorised spend slips through. Everything else on the list is easy to add; that one is easy to get wrong.
Make a purchase order now with the Purchase Order Generator; it carries every one of the 10 fields on this list and runs in your browser.
Compare it with the documents it is most often confused with: Quote vs purchase order, Sales order vs purchase order, Purchase order vs proforma invoice, Purchase order vs delivery note.