Before you start
Shopify needs three things in place before you can create a purchase order:
- Suppliers. Add each supplier with their contact details, payment terms, and currency.
- Locations. Set up the location where the stock will be received.
- Inventory tracking. Turn it on for every product you want to order.
1. Create the purchase order
- In your Shopify admin, go to Products then Purchase orders, and click Create purchase order.
- Choose a supplier, or create a new one.
- Choose the destination location. You can leave this blank on a draft and add it before you mark the order as ordered.
- Add products by searching, by browsing, with a barcode scanner, or by importing a CSV. Only products that already exist in your store can be added.
- For each product, enter the quantity, and optionally the supplier's SKU, the cost, and the tax rate.
- Optionally add a reference number, a note to the supplier, payment terms, the supplier's currency, and tags.
- Check the cost summary and click Save as draft.
If you've ordered a product from the same supplier before, Shopify fills in the supplier SKU, cost, and tax from your previous purchase orders. You can change any of them.
2. Add products in bulk with a CSV (optional)
For a long order, import a CSV that identifies each variant by SKU, barcode, or both, with the quantity and, optionally, the cost and tax. Shopify provides a sample template. If a variant is already on the order, that row won't import; edit its quantity on the order instead.
3. Send it to your supplier
Open the purchase order, click More actions, then Export PDF. Email the PDF to your supplier yourself, so they can review the products, prices, and terms.
4. Mark it as ordered
Once your supplier confirms, open the draft and click Mark as ordered. This can't be undone, but you can still edit most details afterwards, including products, costs, and supplier.
5. Receive the stock
In Shopify, receiving happens on an inventory transfer linked to the purchase order, not on the purchase order itself.
- On the ordered purchase order, click Create transfer and choose the destination. The supplier and line items carry over.
- When the goods arrive, go to Products then Transfers, open the transfer, and click Receive items.
- For each item, accept, reject, or cancel the units that arrived, or use Accept all. Accepted units become available at that location.
If your supplier ships in several deliveries, receive each shipment as it arrives. The transfer stays in progress until every unit is accounted for, which is how Shopify handles partial receipts.
6. Add shipping, duty, and fees
These costs often turn up after the order. On the linked transfer, edit the shipment, open the cost summary, and add adjustments such as shipping or customs duties. The transfer then shows the agreed cost next to the actual cost. To turn those extras into a cost per unit, see how to calculate landed cost.
Things to know
- Each purchase order can have one linked transfer at a time.
- You can delete a purchase order only while it's a draft. After it's marked as ordered, archive it instead.
- A transfer's origin and destination can't be changed once it reaches Ready to ship.
- Historical purchase orders from Stocky can't be imported into Shopify's purchase orders. See moving from Stocky.
What Shopify's purchase orders don't do
They record and receive orders well, but they don't tell you what to reorder or how much. Shopify's purchase order documentation doesn't include forecasting or reorder suggestions, and you send the PDF to your supplier yourself. To work out quantities by hand, use the reorder point guide.
How Posto helps
Posto works out what to reorder and how much, drafts one purchase order per supplier with quantities rounded to minimums and case packs, emails it with the PDF attached, and spreads freight and duty into a landed cost per unit. Posto keeps its own purchase orders, so choose one place to manage them. Our comparison covers where each fits.
Source
Shopify Help Center pages on creating and managing purchase orders and inventory transfers for purchase orders, checked September 30, 2026. Shopify changes its admin often, so menu names may differ slightly.