Purchase Order

A purchase order is a financial document which lists what a customer would like to order from a supplier. A purchase order is a source document.

Important things to note about a purchase order:

• Each one has a unique reference number, this is so that the purchase order can be referenced to by other documents like an invoice to verify a purchase is authorised.
• The catalogue or product number of the item wishing to be ordered to verify you are referring to the same product.
• The quantity of each product needed.
• The description of the goods in full.
• Price isn't essential but most will have it for reference.
• The purchase order will be signed (possibly electronically) by the person responsible for authorising the purchase.

Some suppliers won't supply without purchase orders, however not all organisations use them.