About the Purchase Order Generator
A purchase order (PO) is the buyer’s written commitment to buy specific goods or services at an agreed price. This purchase order generator turns a simple list of items into a complete, correctly totalled PO: enter your company, the vendor, where to ship, a PO number and date, then type one line per item as “Description | quantity | unit price”. It totals every line, applies any negotiated discount, adds sales tax and freight, and sets the required delivery date.
It is meant for small businesses, office managers, contractors and procurement teams who need a clean PO quickly without a purchasing system. The finished purchase order appears as plain text that you can paste into an email to the supplier, and the line-item table and totals display on the page so you can print it or save it as a PDF from your browser.
Tax is charged on the discounted subtotal and freight is added untaxed; if your state taxes delivery charges, add shipping as a line item instead. Many US businesses buying for resale or with an exemption certificate do not pay sales tax to the vendor — set the tax rate to 0 in that case. Nothing you enter is stored on our servers; the Share button puts changed fields in the link itself.
With the default inputs, the po total is $4,541.89. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the purchase order generator
- 1Enter your company, the vendor and the ship-to address.
- 2Give the PO a unique number, set the date, delivery window and payment terms.
- 3List each item on its own line as Description | Qty | Unit price.
- 4Add any discount, the sales tax rate and freight.
- 5Copy the purchase order text into an email or print the page and send it to the vendor.
Formula and method
Each line amount is quantity × unit price and the subtotal is the sum of all lines. A negotiated discount d is applied to the subtotal first, then sales tax at rate t is charged on the discounted amount and rounded to the cent. Freight is added after tax to give the PO total.
The required delivery date is the PO date plus the number of calendar days you allow the vendor. The PO number, terms and delivery date should be repeated on the vendor’s invoice and packing slip so you can match all three documents before paying.
- d
- Negotiated discount rate
- t
- Sales tax rate
Worked examples
Office furniture order with tax and freight
Six chairs ($1,134), six desks ($2,574) and six monitor arms ($387) make a $4,095 subtotal. Sales tax at 7.25% adds $296.89 and freight $150, for a PO total of $4,541.89, with delivery required 14 days later on October 19.
Tax-exempt resale order with a 5% discount
200 T-shirts at $6.40 ($1,280) and 40 hoodies at $18.75 ($750) total $2,030. The 5% discount saves $101.50, no tax applies because the goods are for resale, and $85 freight brings the PO to $2,013.50.
Frequently asked questions
What is a purchase order?+
A purchase order is a document a buyer sends to a supplier listing the items, quantities, agreed prices, delivery date and payment terms. Once the supplier accepts it, it becomes a binding agreement to supply the goods on those terms.
What is the difference between a purchase order and an invoice?+
The buyer issues a purchase order before the sale to request goods. The seller issues an invoice after delivering them to request payment. Accounts payable teams match the PO, packing slip and invoice — a “three-way match” — before paying.
What should a purchase order include?+
Include a unique PO number, the date, buyer and vendor details, ship-to address, a description, quantity and unit price for each item, subtotal, tax, freight, total, delivery date, payment terms and an authorized signature.
Do I pay sales tax on a purchase order?+
It depends. In the US, businesses buying goods for resale, or holding an exemption certificate, usually do not pay sales tax to the vendor. Other purchases are generally taxable where the goods are delivered. Check your state’s rules.
How should I number purchase orders?+
Use a unique, sequential scheme such as PO-2026-0001, PO-2026-0002. Sequential numbers make it easy to spot missing orders, match invoices and pass an audit.