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Start free trialShopify doesn't have purchase orders. That's a problem.#
A purchase order is a document you send to a supplier saying "I want to buy X units of Y at Z price, delivered by this date." It's the foundation of inventory management.
Shopify has no PO system. When you need to restock, you email your supplier, maybe attach a spreadsheet, and hope you both remember the details. There's no way to track what you ordered, when it's arriving, what it cost, or whether you received everything.
For a store doing $10K/month in sales, this might be manageable. At $50K+, it's chaos.
What purchase orders actually do#
1. Track what you ordered
A PO records exactly what you ordered from which supplier: items, quantities, prices, expected delivery date. No more "did I order the red ones or the blue ones?"
2. Know what's coming
Open POs show you what inventory is in transit. This helps you make better decisions: "I have 5 units left, but 50 are arriving Thursday. I don't need to rush-order."
3. Verify deliveries
When a shipment arrives, you check it against the PO. Did you receive everything? Were the quantities right? Any damaged items? This catches supplier errors before they become your problem.
4. Track costs
POs record what you paid. Over time, this builds a cost history: "Last order was $12/unit, this time they want $14. Time to negotiate or find a new supplier." A good tool also keeps a weighted average cost per item, updated on every receive, so your margins are calculated against what you actually paid — not your retail price. And if you're in Australia, NZ, the UK or the EU, look for GST/VAT on the PO itself: enter ex-tax costs, set the tax rate, and the PO total matches your supplier's tax-inclusive invoice line for line.
5. Create an audit trail
Every purchase is documented. Your accountant loves this. Tax season is easier. Inventory valuations are accurate.
How Shopify sellers handle POs today#
The email method
- Check what's low
- Email supplier: "Hey, need 100 units of SKU-123"
- Supplier confirms
- Shipment arrives, you manually update Shopify quantities
- Forget what you paid, forget the timeline, repeat
The spreadsheet method
- Maintain a spreadsheet of all orders
- Manually update when shipments arrive
- Cross-reference with Shopify inventory
- Spend hours reconciling discrepancies
- Realize the spreadsheet is 3 weeks out of date
The right method
- See low stock alert
- Create PO in inventory software with one click
- PO auto-populates with items, quantities, and supplier details
- Send PO to supplier via email (PDF attached)
- When shipment arrives, mark as received
- Shopify inventory updates automatically
- Cost history tracked, audit trail complete
Setting up purchase orders for your Shopify store#
Since Shopify doesn't have POs natively, you need a third-party tool. Here's what to look for:
Must-have features
- Supplier management — store contact info, lead times, price lists
- PO creation — select items, quantities, expected delivery
- Email to supplier — send the PO as PDF directly from the tool
- Receiving workflow — mark items received, including partial receipts so a PO stays open for the backorder and tracks ordered vs received per line
- Shopify sync — received items automatically update Shopify stock
- Cost tracking — last cost and weighted average cost per item, updated on receive
- GST / VAT on POs — tax-inclusive totals that match your supplier invoice (essential for AU/NZ/UK/EU retail)
Nice-to-have features
- Auto-PO generation — auto-drafts a PO when stock hits the reorder point, ready for you to approve and send
- Recurring orders — for items you reorder on a schedule
- Multi-supplier — split an order across multiple suppliers
How InventoryQuick handles Shopify POs#
- Import your catalog — export your products from Shopify admin as a CSV and upload it (new store connections are paused).
- Your products sync automatically — variants, prices, stock levels
- Set up suppliers — add contact info, lead times
- Create a PO — select supplier, add items, set quantities and prices
- Send to supplier — email the PO as PDF
- Receive shipment — mark items as received
- Shopify stock updates automatically (new store connections are paused) — receiving a PO syncs the new quantities back to Shopify, no manual entry
The whole workflow lives in one place. No spreadsheets, no manual Shopify updates, no lost emails.
Start your 7-day free trial — purchase orders included on every paid plan.
Related: Shopify Inventory Management Guide | How to Stop Overselling | Stocky Alternatives | How to evaluate a Shopify inventory app | Migrate off Stocky
Common questions
Can I add GST or VAT to a Shopify purchase order?
Not in Shopify itself, but a PO tool can. In InventoryQuick you enter unit costs ex-tax, set the PO tax rate once (for example 10% Australian GST, and it is remembered for the next PO), and the purchase order shows the ex-tax subtotal, the tax amount, and the tax-inclusive total — so the total matches your supplier invoice exactly. Inventory cost stays ex-tax, and the PO you email your supplier shows the same breakdown.
Can I receive part of a purchase order?
Yes, with partial receipts. When only some of a shipment arrives, you record the quantities that came in; the PO stays open for the backorder and tracks ordered versus received on each line. Each receive updates your average cost, and purchase orders are on every paid plan from $19/mo. Pushing that receipt back to your Shopify stock needs the Shopify connection, which is on Pro ($49/mo) (new store connections are paused).
Does Shopify have purchase orders?
No. Shopify has no native purchase order system — you cannot raise a PO to a supplier, receive against it, or have receiving update your stock. You add purchase orders with an inventory app like InventoryQuick, available on every paid plan from $19/mo. Having a receipt push back to your Shopify stock automatically needs the Shopify connection, which is on Pro ($49/mo) (new store connections are paused).
How do I create a purchase order for my Shopify store?
Add your suppliers with their lead times, create a PO and pick the supplier, add items with quantities and costs, then send it as a PDF. When the shipment arrives you mark items received and the new quantities sync back to Shopify (new store connections are paused) — no spreadsheets or manual entry.
What is the best Shopify purchase order app?
The best PO app for Shopify covers the full workflow — suppliers, purchase orders, receiving, and cost tracking — and updates Shopify stock on receiving, without per-user fees. InventoryQuick includes purchase orders on every paid plan from $19/mo flat, alongside reorder-point alerts. Two-way Shopify sync (new store connections are paused) — so receiving updates your Shopify stock — runs on Pro ($49), and demand forecasting is on Business ($149).
Can I auto-generate purchase orders from reorder points?
Yes — automatic PO drafting is on the Enterprise plan: set a reorder point per item and InventoryQuick drafts a purchase order when stock drops to that level, grouped by supplier. On every plan you get a low-stock alert at the reorder point and can create the PO in one click.
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