How to Use Purchase Orders in QuickBooks

QuickBooks wasn’t built for purchasing — it was built for bookkeeping. And while it does offer basic purchase order functionality, that only goes so far.

If you're the only one placing orders and tracking vendor bills, it might be enough. But as soon as multiple teams start requesting purchases, and finance needs oversight into what’s being spent and why, things get messy. Approval trails live in inboxes. Budget overruns happen silently. And purchase orders become just another admin task to chase.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how purchase orders actually work in QuickBooks, where the friction shows up, and why teams looking for accountability and visibility turn to tools like Zeiv to get it right.

What Is a Purchase Order in QuickBooks?

In QuickBooks, a purchase order is a document you create to formally request goods or services from a vendor. It outlines what you’re buying, in what quantity, at what price, and when you expect delivery, but no money is exchanged at this stage.

It’s a way to track your purchase commitments before you receive a bill or make a payment.

Sales order vs. Purchase order in QuickBooks

A purchase order is a formal document you send to your supplier to request goods or services. A sales order, on the other hand, is a document you issue to your customer as confirmation of a sale you plan to fulfill in the future.

Both help improve inventory control, increase order transparency, and ensure accuracy, but they serve opposite sides of the transaction.

Does QuickBooks support PO?

Not all the versions of the QuickBooks support purchase orders. So here is a quick table to easily check whether your version of the QuickBooks supports it.

Enabling the Purchase Order Feature

To start using purchase orders in QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced, you need to enable the feature in your settings.

Step-by-Step:

1. Go to Settings (⚙️ icon)
2. Click on Account and Settings
3. Select the Expenses tab
4. In the Purchase orders section, click the pencil ✏️ icon to edit
5. Check the box for “Use purchase orders”
6. Add up to three custom fields or a default message for vendors
7. Click Save, then Done

Step-by-step guide on creating POs in QuickBooks

I don’t want to repeat what’s already there in Quickbooks help documents, so here is a simplified and visual guide to creating and sending POs in QB.

To create a purchase order in QuickBooks Online, follow these steps:

1. Set up your vendor list: Before creating a purchase order, ensure you have established your vendor list.
2. Navigate to the purchase order: Once your vendor list is ready, you would then navigate to the purchase order section.
3. Select the vendor: When you open the purchase order, you will select the vendor you intend to purchase from, such as "Time Traders".
4. Add details for products/services or categories:
   • For detailed tracking (with quantities): If you need to track specific inventory items and their quantities (e.g., five items), it is crucial to use the "product and service" drop-down. These items come from your product services list. This method provides richer data, including quantities.
   • For quick and easy entry (without quantities): Alternatively, if you want a simpler purchase order and are not concerned with a detailed product service list, you can use the "category" option. With categories, you only have the ability to add an amount and not quantities.
5. Track costs to a customer or project (Optional): If you wish to track the costs associated with a particular customer, project, or sub-customer, you can select that option here. These costs will then roll into your project profitability when you run your profit and loss report.
6. Create a PO number (Optional): You have the ability to create your own purchase order number if it is important to you. Any number you desire will work.
7. Add attachments and email: If you are sending the purchase order to a vendor, you would enter their email. You can also attach any relevant documents like a contract or specific shipping instructions.
8. Save the purchase order: After filling in the necessary details, save the purchase order.

It's important to remember that a purchase order is non-posting, meaning it will not immediately appear on your financial reports like the Profit and Loss statement. It only becomes active on your financials once you receive an invoice from the vendor and convert the purchase order into a bill in QuickBooks.

PO in QB Pros and Cons

Based on interviewing multiple small business owners using QuickBooks, here is a short summary of what works well, and what doesn’t when it comes to managing PO in QuickBooks.

What works well in QuickBooks?

• Creating and sending POs is easy and fast
• All vendor details, item costs, and PO history are in one place
• You can convert POs into bills, keeping accounting clean and traceable
• For a small team, it avoids the need for multiple tools

What becomes frustrating as you grow?

• No built-in approval workflows — every PO needs to be reviewed manually or by email
• You can’t enforce budgets or block overspending at the PO level
• Tracking who requested what, or whether it was actually received, requires manual work
• Multiple people ordering from the same vendor causes confusion — no easy way to consolidate
• If you delegate purchasing, there’s no control unless you’re checking each PO

Quickbooks vs Procurement Software

QuickBooks gets the job done when you’re small, but once you start ordering more frequently and involving more team members, it becomes hard to stay on top of approvals, budgets, and tracking without extra effort outside the system.

Why Zeiv could be a great alternative to manage purchases?

Zeiv could be a great alternative to QuickBooks for handling purchases, especially for teams that are outgrowing QuickBooks' PO capabilities or need more control, visibility, and collaboration. Here’s why:

Built for Non-Finance Teams

QuickBooks is finance-first. Zeiv is designed so any team — marketing, ops, IT — can raise and track purchases without needing to learn accounting.

• Simple request forms
• Role-based access
• Guided workflows

Streamlined Purchase Requests & Approvals

QuickBooks lacks a true purchase requisition process and flexible approval workflows. Zeiv lets you:

• Start with a request (not just a PO)
• Route approvals based on team, amount, or category
• Auto-notify stakeholders and avoid email back-and-forth

Budget Visibility Before You Buy

QuickBooks doesn’t show budget impact at the time of purchase. Zeiv shows:

• Available budget by team, category, or project
• Alerts if a request exceeds limits
• Real-time budget consumption

Track the Full Procurement Lifecycle

Zeiv handles the full process, not just the PO:

• Requests → Approvals → POs → Receipts → Invoices → Reports
• See where a request is stuck or what’s overdue
• Avoid maverick spend and duplicate orders

Vendor Management

Unlike QuickBooks, Zeiv helps you:

• Store supplier profiles, documents, and contract terms
• Track preferred vendors and negotiated pricing
• Link purchases to active contracts

Works With QuickBooks, Not Against It

Zeiv can integrate with QuickBooks Online, so finance can still manage payments while teams handle purchasing in a more structured, scalable way.

Here’s a clean, contextual conclusion to wrap up the guide:

Final Thoughts

QuickBooks does a decent job at handling purchase orders, as long as your process is simple, and your team is small. But once purchasing becomes collaborative, recurring, or cross-functional, the cracks start to show.

If you're looking for better control over spend, smoother approvals, and real visibility into what your team is buying, you need more than just a PO feature. You need a procurement system that works with you, not around you.

That’s where Zeiv comes in. It fills the operational gaps in QuickBooks so your teams can request, approve, and track purchases with clarity; while finance stays in control.