Purchase Order Generator
Raise a numbered purchase order for a supplier with line items, delivery details and terms.
A purchase order is a numbered document you send to a supplier to order goods or services at an agreed price before they invoice you. It shows your details, the supplier’s, a PO number, the date, each item with quantity and unit price, delivery address and date, payment terms and the total, with VAT at 20% shown separately.
Your details
Saved in this browser and reused across all five document tools.
Only if you are VAT registered.
Limited companies must show this.
Resized to 400px wide and kept under 150 KB. Stored in this browser only; not included in share links.
Supplier details
The last five are remembered when you download, so you can pick them next time.
Document details
Auto-increments when you download. Next new document: INV-0001.
Leave blank to deliver to your business address.
Line items
Prices are net of VAT. Choose the VAT rate per line; 0% also covers exempt items and businesses that are not VAT registered.
- £
Line total £0.00
Discount
Applied across every line before VAT, so each VAT rate is charged on the discounted amount.
Notes and terms
Template
- Subtotal
- £0.00
- VAT @ 20%
- £0.00
- Total
- £0.00
Free, no signup. Everything stays in your browser.
Source: GOV.UK: Invoicing and taking payment from customers. Last updated .
How to use the purchase order generator
Why use a purchase order?
A purchase order turns a phone call or email into a written agreement. The supplier knows exactly what to send and at what price, you can check their invoice against it line by line, and your bookkeeper can match the three documents (order, delivery note, invoice) before paying. Larger customers often insist that your invoice quotes their PO number, so expect to receive them as well as send them.
What should a purchase order include?
- A unique PO number in its own sequence, for example PO-0001
- The date of the order
- Your business name, address and contact details, and company number if a limited company
- The supplier’s name and address
- Each item or service with description, quantity, unit price and VAT rate
- Delivery address, requested delivery date and any delivery charge
- Payment terms you expect to be invoiced on
- Subtotal, VAT and total
A purchase order is not an invoice and does not create a tax point for VAT. The supplier’s invoice does that, which is why the PO shows the VAT you expect rather than VAT you are charging.
What does a worked example look like?
A café orders 20 units of packaging at £12.50 each, with a £15.00 delivery charge, from a VAT-registered supplier:
| Description | Qty | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft takeaway boxes, 500 per case | 20 | £12.50 | £250.00 |
| Delivery | 1 | £15.00 | £15.00 |
| Subtotal excluding VAT | £265.00 | ||
| VAT at 20% | £53.00 | ||
| Total | £318.00 |
When the supplier’s invoice arrives it should read £318.00 and quote PO-0007. If it does not match, query it before paying.
How do I use the purchase order generator?
- Enter your details and the supplier’s; your own details are saved for next time.
- Add the lines, quantities and prices from the supplier’s quote.
- Set the delivery address and date and the payment terms you expect.
- Choose a template, download the PDF and email it to the supplier.
Suppliers who quote first should use the quote generator; the PO is your acceptance of their quote. Once the goods arrive and the invoice is paid, keep the PO, the invoice and the receipt together.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a purchase order legally binding?
- Once the supplier accepts it, yes: it forms a contract on the stated price and terms. Until then either side can withdraw. Keep the wording precise, because the PO plus the supplier’s acceptance is what a court would read if there is a dispute.
- Do sole traders need purchase orders?
- Only when it helps. If you buy materials from the same supplier every week a PO is overkill, but for a one-off order worth hundreds of pounds it fixes the price and quantity in writing. Some suppliers will not accept credit terms without one.
- Should the PO include VAT?
- Show the VAT you expect at 20% as a separate line if the supplier is VAT-registered, so the total matches the invoice you will receive. If the supplier is not registered, leave VAT off. The PO itself is not a VAT document.
- What is the difference between a purchase order and an invoice?
- The buyer sends the purchase order to request goods; the seller sends the invoice to request payment. The invoice should quote the PO number so the two can be matched. A PO never asks for money.
- Can I cancel a purchase order?
- Before the supplier accepts it, yes, without consequence. After acceptance it is a contract, so cancelling may leave you liable for costs the supplier has already incurred. Agree any cancellation in writing and ask the supplier to confirm it.
Related tools
- Invoice generatorBuild a VAT-compliant UK invoice, preview it live and download it as a PDF, free, with no signup.
- Quote generatorSend a professional quote or estimate as a PDF, then convert it to an invoice with one click when the job is done.
- Receipt generatorIssue a dated receipt for a cash, card or bank payment and download it as a PDF.
- VAT calculatorAdd or remove VAT at 20%, 5% or 0%, and see what you would pay on the Flat Rate Scheme for your trade.
- Credit note generatorCorrect or cancel an invoice properly with a numbered credit note that references the original.
- Templates libraryDownload invoice, quote and receipt templates as Word, Excel and Google Sheets files.
Read next
- How to invoice as a sole traderA step by step guide to writing, numbering, sending and chasing invoices as a UK sole trader, with a worked example.
- What must a UK invoice legally include?The details every UK invoice must show, the extra items a VAT invoice needs, and what sole traders and limited companies must add.
Cite this page: “Purchase Order Generator”, SoleKit, https://solekit.co.uk/purchase-order-generator