How it works
A purchase order is raised before goods are bought, often after internal approval. The supplier accepts it, delivers, and invoices against it. On receipt, a goods receipt records what arrived. In ERPs, open purchase orders feed cash planning and expected inventory, and purchase orders are the first leg of three-way match.
Example
A manufacturer issues PO 7781 for 2,000 meters of fabric at $3.20. Two deliveries arrive, each recorded against the PO, and the supplier's invoices are matched to them before payment.
In integrations
The Unify ERP API is designed to read and write purchase orders with line items, receipts and approval states in NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Dynamics 365, Acumatica and other ERPs. The Inventory API uses open POs to show incoming stock. POs connect spend to commitments before invoices arrive. Products that read them can forecast cash and spot price changes earlier than products that only see bills.