Free Purchase Order Generator
A purchase order runs in the opposite direction to an invoice: you are the one placing the order, the vendor is the one who will bill you, and the number on this document is what makes those two things match up later. This page raises one as a PDF — vendor details, a delivery date, ship-to instructions, priced lines and tax. No account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Details
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.00 | ||||
| $0.00 |
Totals
- Subtotal
- $0.00
- Total
- $0.00
Still missing: your business name, who the document is for, at least one line item. The PDF will still download — this is a note, not a wall.
A purchase order is issued by the buyer, which is why the parties on this page are the other way round from an invoice: you are ordering, and the vendor bills you against this number afterwards. The tool draws the document; it does not send it, approve it, or track receipt, and it is not procurement software or legal advice. If your organisation has an approval workflow, this produces the paper, not the approval.
Documents your suppliers take seriously
A PO is the paperwork. Moda makes the brief, the spec sheet and the deck that go with it look like the same company sent them.
Try Moda free →The parties are the other way round, and that is the whole point
On an invoice, the seller writes it and the buyer owes money. A purchase order is issued by the BUYER before anything is delivered: it is you telling a supplier, in writing, exactly what you want, at what price, by when, and where to send it. That reversal is why this page labels the sender “buyer (you)” and the recipient “vendor”, and it is the mistake to watch for if you have only ever filled in invoices — a PO with the parties swapped reads as an invoice from your supplier to you and will be filed as one. Everything downstream depends on getting it the right way round: the vendor quotes your PO number on their invoice, and your accounts team matches the two.
The PO number is the thread everything else hangs on
Three documents describe one purchase — the order, the delivery note, and the invoice — and the PO number is the only thing common to all three. That is what makes “three-way matching” possible: accounts payable checks that what was ordered, what arrived, and what was billed agree before anyone pays. It is also why many companies will not pay an invoice that does not quote a PO number, and why a supplier who cannot produce one gets stuck. Keep the numbers unique and sequential — the “next number” button increments yours while preserving the prefix and the zero padding, so PO-0042 becomes PO-0043 — and put “quote this PO number on your invoice” in the terms, which is the single most useful sentence on the page.
Delivery date and ship-to instructions do the real work
The date that matters on a purchase order is when you need the goods, not when money moves, which is why the second date here is “deliver by”. The ship-to block is for the practical detail that decides whether a delivery succeeds: the address if it is not the billing one, which entrance or loading dock, the hours somebody is there to receive it, and a name and phone number for the driver. A pallet that arrives at a closed door on a Friday afternoon costs more than it saved. Line descriptions deserve the same care — part numbers, sizes, finishes, and the vendor’s own SKU where you have it, because the person picking the order is not the person who read your email.
What a PO does and does not commit you to
A purchase order is generally an offer to buy on the terms it states, and it typically becomes a binding contract when the vendor accepts it — by confirming, or often simply by shipping. That makes the price, quantity and delivery date on it commitments rather than suggestions, and it is worth reading yours as a supplier would before sending it. What this tool does not do is anything beyond producing the paper: it does not send the PO, route it for approval, hold a budget against it, or reconcile it with an invoice later. If your organisation has a procurement process, this is the document that goes into it, not a replacement for it — and none of this is legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a purchase order and an invoice?
Direction and timing. The buyer issues a PO before delivery to say what they want; the seller issues an invoice after delivery to ask for payment. They usually carry the same line items and the same total, and the PO number on the invoice is what connects them. If you are the one selling, the invoice generator is the page you want.
Do I need a purchase order at all?
For a one-off small purchase, usually not. They earn their keep once more than one person can spend money, once you buy the same things repeatedly, or once a supplier asks for one — which many do, because a PO is their evidence that an authorised person actually ordered the goods. It also gives you a paper record of the agreed price before an invoice arrives with a different one.
Should a PO include tax?
Include it if you know the rate — it makes the total you are committing to explicit and gives the vendor less room to invoice differently. Set the tax name to whatever applies where you are, and choose whether the prices you have entered already contain it. If the tax treatment is genuinely uncertain, say so in the notes rather than guessing at a rate.
Can I send this PO to my supplier from here?
No. The page has no email field and no account by design — it builds the PDF in your browser and your browser saves it. Attach it to your own email, which also keeps the sent record where your team can find it.
Is there a watermark or a limit?
No watermark, no signup, no cap on how many you raise. The most recent PO is remembered in this browser so the next one starts from it; nothing is stored anywhere else.