--- title: Creating a Purchase Order (PO) in QuickBooks Online (QBO) description: Learn how to create, send, and manage purchase orders in QuickBooks Online to streamline your purchasing process and keep your accounts balanced. image: https://toroaccounting.ca/hubfs/image-png-Mar-02-2026-04-19-53-3997-PM.png --- [Skip to content](https://toroaccounting.ca/blog/creating-a-purchase-order-po-in-quickbooks-online-qbo#main-content) [![Toro Financial Inc. dba Toro Accounting](https://toroaccounting.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo-Square%20(500%20x%20200%20px)-1.png?width=450&height=150&name=Logo-Square%20(500%20x%20200%20px)-1.png)](https://toroaccounting.ca/en?hsLang=en) - [Home](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/) - [Taxes](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/tax-filing-services) Show submenu for Taxes - [1st Tax Filing](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/steps-for-filing-t1) - [Bookkeeping](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/bookkeeping) - [Business Plans](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/create-my-business-plan) - [Blog](https://toroaccounting.ca/blog) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Home](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/) - [Taxes](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/tax-filing-services) Show submenu for Taxes - [1st Tax Filing](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/steps-for-filing-t1) - [Bookkeeping](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/bookkeeping) - [Business Plans](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/create-my-business-plan) - [Blog](https://toroaccounting.ca/blog) - [Book a Free Consultation](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/book-consultation) [Book a Free Consultation](https://toroaccounting.ca/en/book-consultation?hsLang=en) Mar 2, 2026, 11:26:30 AM # Creating a Purchase Order (PO) in QuickBooks Online (QBO) [Camilo Toro](https://toroaccounting.ca/blog/author/camilo-toro) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://toroaccounting.ca/blog/creating-a-purchase-order-po-in-quickbooks-online-qbo) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://toroaccounting.ca/blog/creating-a-purchase-order-po-in-quickbooks-online-qbo) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://toroaccounting.ca/blog/creating-a-purchase-order-po-in-quickbooks-online-qbo) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://toroaccounting.ca/blog/creating-a-purchase-order-po-in-quickbooks-online-qbo) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://toroaccounting.ca/blog/creating-a-purchase-order-po-in-quickbooks-online-qbo) Learn how to create purchase orders and send them to vendors. In QuickBooks Online, you have the tools to run all parts of the sales cycle, including purchasing. You can create and email purchase orders (POs) directly to vendors when you're ready to buy more products. Purchase orders tell vendors your intent to make a purchase. On purchase orders, you can enter the specific items you want to buy and the quantity. When your vendor accepts the purchase order and agrees to the given terms, you can quickly add it to an expense or bill transaction in QuickBooks. This keeps all the transactions connected and your accounts balanced. **Note**: You can customize your purchase order to match your needs. Just select the **Settings** ⚙ icon, then select **Custom form styles** to change the default form. Purchase orders are only available in QuickBooks Online Plus and QuickBooks Online Advanced. If you need to, you can [**upgrade your plan**](https://app.qbo.intuit.com/app/login?pagereq=billing/?cid=OHH-CS_SDR-US-QBO-QBOAV-NA-XSLL-EDU-NA-PB-SDR_IAPers_Unknown). ![Untitled design (15)](https://toroaccounting.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(15).png?width=500&height=350&name=Untitled%20design%20(15).png) ## Step 1: Ensure the purchase order (PO) feature is turned on If you haven't already, turn on the purchase order feature: 1. Go to **Settings** ⚙ and select **Account and settings**. 2. Select the **Expenses** tab. 3. In the **Purchase orders** section, select **Edit**. 4. Turn on the **Use purchase orders** switch. 5. If you want, enter up to three custom fields and a default message for vendors. These are optional. 6. Select **Save** and then **Done**. ## Step 2: Create and send a purchase order 1. Select **+ Create**. 2. Select **Purchase order**. ![](https://toroaccounting.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-02-2026-04-19-53-3997-PM.png?width=471&height=417&name=image-png-Mar-02-2026-04-19-53-3997-PM.png) 3. From the **Vendor** ▼ dropdown, select the vendor. 4. Review the **Mailing address**. 5. If you are shipping the products directly to a customer, select the **Ship to** ▼ dropdown and then **Ship Via**. Check the **Shipping address** to make sure it's correct. 6. Enter the **Purchase Order date**. 7. Select **Settings** ⚙ on the **Purchase Order** form, then on the **Choose what you use** panel, select the link to add your own custom fields. 8. In the **Item details** section, enter the products you want to purchase. **Note**: You can only add products or services you marked as "I purchase this product/service from a vendor." Learn more [**about editing products and services**](https://community.intuit.com/oicms/L9yEFWaNM_US_en_US). 9. When you're done, select **Save and close**. Or if you're ready to send it, select **Save and send** ▼dropdown. If you decide to send the purchase order later: Go to **All apps** ![](https://digitalasset.intuit.com/content/dam/intuit/sbsegcs/en_us/quickbooks-online/icons/MyApps_icon_QBO_SBSEG.png), then **Expenses & Bills**, then **Expense transactions** ([**Take me there**](http://c1.qbo.intuit.com/qbo1/login?pagereq=expenses?jobId=expenses)). Find your purchase order and select **Send** in the Action column. ![](https://toroaccounting.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-02-2026-04-25-44-3898-PM.png?width=438&height=317&name=image-png-Mar-02-2026-04-25-44-3898-PM.png) ## Step 3: Update the status of a purchase order and add it to a bill When you create a purchase order, the status is **Open**. Once your vendor accepts the purchase order, you can add it to an expense or bill to make the transaction official. Follow these steps to [**add purchase orders to expenses or bills**](https://community.intuit.com/oicms/L9pRK49uC_US_en_US). QuickBooks automatically changes the status to **Closed**. ## Step 4: See your open purchase orders 1. Go to **Reports** ![](https://digitalasset.intuit.com/content/dam/intuit/sbsegcs/en_us/quickbooks-online/icons/Reports-menu-icon.png), then **Standard reports** ([**Take me there**](https://c1.qbo.intuit.com/qbo1/login?pagereq=standardreports)). ![](https://toroaccounting.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Mar-02-2026-04-26-18-9472-PM.png?width=302&height=340&name=image-png-Mar-02-2026-04-26-18-9472-PM.png) 2. Search for and run an **Open Purchase Order List** report, **Open Purchase Order Detail** report, **Purchases by Product/Service Detail** report, or a **Purchases by Vendor Detail** report. 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