Blog/Shopify

Shopify2026-04-045 min read

Shopify Purchase Orders: Why You Need Them and How to Set Them Up

Shopify 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.

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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."

5. Create an audit trail

Every purchase is documented. Your accountant loves this. Tax season is easier. Inventory valuations are accurate.

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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

5. 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

5. Realize the spreadsheet is 3 weeks out of date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)

5. When shipment arrives, mark as received

6. Shopify inventory updates automatically

7. Cost history tracked, audit trail complete

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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 as received, note partial shipments

Shopify sync — received items automatically update Shopify stock

Cost tracking — record what you paid vs. what you sell for

Nice-to-have features

Auto-PO generation — automatically create POs when stock hits reorder point

Recurring orders — for items you reorder on a schedule

Multi-supplier — split an order across multiple suppliers

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How InventoryQuick handles Shopify POs

Connect your Shopify store — the AI assistant walks you through it in 2 minutes

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

5. Send to supplier — email the PO as PDF

6. Receive shipment — mark items as received

7. Shopify updates instantly — stock levels sync in real-time

The whole workflow lives in one place. No spreadsheets, no manual Shopify updates, no lost emails.

[Start your 7-day free trial](/shopify) — purchase orders included on every paid plan.

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