The order that starts the paper trail
A purchase order is the buyer's half of a clean transaction: one numbered page that says what you want, what you will pay, where it ships, and who signed off. The vendor invoices against it, receiving checks the delivery against it, and accounts payable matches all three by the number at the top. Get the PO right and the rest of the paperwork falls in line.
Most search results for this job hand you a spreadsheet template: download it, fix the formulas, fight the formatting, export a PDF. This page skips the file. Type the order on the left and the finished PO builds itself on the right, with every line total, the subtotal, tax, shipping, and the grand total computed as you type. Each line rounds honestly to the cent and the totals are sums of those rounded lines, so the printed page adds up exactly the way accounts payable will check it.
Nothing here leaves this tab. Vendor pricing and order volumes are competitive information; the draft lives in this browser's local storage and the order goes only where you print it.
Questions this tool gets asked
What goes on a purchase order?
A purchase order carries the PO number, the date, who is buying, who is selling, where the goods ship, the line items with quantity and unit price, the subtotal, tax, shipping, the grand total, payment terms, the delivery date, and a signature line. That is the whole checklist, and it is exactly the set of fields this page builds. If a line does not tell the vendor what to deliver or how it gets paid, it does not belong on the order.
How should I number purchase orders?
Pick one pattern and never reuse a number. The common convention is a prefix, the year, and a running count: PO-2026-001, PO-2026-002, and so on. Some offices add a department or vendor code in the middle. The pattern matters less than the discipline: every order gets its own number, numbers only go up, and the same number appears on the invoice and the packing slip so all three documents can be matched.
What is the difference between a purchase order and an invoice?
Direction and timing. A purchase order goes from buyer to seller before anything ships: it says what the buyer wants and what they agree to pay. An invoice goes from seller to buyer afterward: it asks for the money. A well-run order puts the PO number on the invoice too, so accounts payable can match the two and pay without a phone call.
Is a purchase order legally binding?
On its own, usually not. A purchase order is an offer to buy. It generally becomes a binding contract when the vendor accepts it, either by confirming in writing or by going ahead and shipping. The details depend on where you are, what was agreed before, and any terms printed on the order itself, so for large or unusual purchases have a lawyer look at your terms. This page builds the document; it does not give legal advice.
Is anything I type here uploaded?
No. The order is assembled entirely inside this browser tab, the math runs on your machine, and the draft is saved in this browser's local storage. Vendor pricing and order volumes are competitive information; the only server this page ever touches is your printer.
Can I use this instead of an Excel purchase order template?
Yes, that is the point. A template hands you a spreadsheet and leaves the work to you: fix the formulas, fight the formatting, export a PDF. This page is the filled-in template: type the order, watch the totals compute, print the finished page. Nothing to download before and nothing to clean up after.
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