Shopify purchase orders: create, send and receive (2026)

Short version: Shopify purchase orders live under Products › Purchase orders. You pick a supplier, add products (by search, barcode or CSV), save as a draft, mark it Ordered when the supplier confirms, then click Create transfer and receive the stock on that transfer under Products › Transfers.

Since Stocky shut down, native purchase orders are the default way to record what you've ordered from a supplier in Shopify. They improved a lot during 2026, most importantly when Shopify linked them to transfers in June. This guide walks through the whole cycle as it works in November 2026.

Before you start

Products must already exist. A purchase order can only contain products that are in your store. New lines from a supplier need to be created as products first.
Tracked inventory. Turn on Track quantity for the variants you're buying, or receiving won't change anything.
Locations. Know which location the delivery goes to. You can set the destination later, but it must be set before the order is marked as ordered.

Step 1: Set up the supplier

In your Shopify admin, go to Products › Purchase orders and click Create purchase order.
In the Supplier section, open Select supplier and choose Create new supplier.
Enter the supplier's name, address and contact details, and save.

Payment terms and supplier currency are set on each purchase order, not stored as defaults on the supplier. If you buy from a supplier in another currency, you'll choose it every time. See our guide to foreign-currency invoices for how that affects your costs.

Step 2: Add products

You have three ways to add lines:

Search or browse your catalogue.
Scan barcodes with a barcode scanner.
Import a CSV. Click Import, then Add file, choose your file and click Import products. Shopify provides a sample template. The CSV can include cost and tax for each line. If a variant is already on the purchase order, that row isn't imported and shows as an error.

For each line, enter the quantity, and optionally the supplier SKU, cost and tax percentage. Shopify fills in values you used before: if there's no earlier purchase order for the product, the cost defaults to the variant's Cost per item, and if there's no supplier SKU on file, your own SKU is used.

Tip: if a supplier sends you their order confirmation as a spreadsheet, the CSV import saves a lot of clicking. Map their codes to your SKUs once and keep the mapping.

Step 3: Details, terms and saving

Optional: under Purchase order details, add a reference number (your PO number or the supplier's order number) and a note to the supplier.
Optional: under Purchasing information, set Payment terms and Supplier currency.
Optional: add tags, for example the season or buyer.
Review the Cost summary and click Save as draft.

Send the purchase order to your supplier the way you normally would, then, when they confirm, mark it as Ordered. Drafts are still being prepared; Ordered means the supplier has it.

Step 4: Create the transfer

Receiving doesn't happen on the purchase order itself. It happens on a transfer created from it:

Open the purchase order (it must be marked as ordered) and click Create transfer.
Choose the destination location. The origin (your supplier) and line items are filled in from the purchase order.
Click Save. Optionally process the transfer straight away; Shopify creates a shipment automatically.

On the transfer's shipment you can also record costs such as shipping and duties under Edit shipment › Cost summary › Manage. These show in the transfer's cost summary. If you want those costs inside each product's unit cost, read our landed cost guide.

Step 5: Receive the delivery

Go to Products › Transfers and open the transfer linked to the purchase order.
Click Receive items.
For each line, choose a receive action: Accept (stock becomes available at the destination), Reject (recorded on the transfer but not added to stock, for damaged goods) or Cancel.
Enter the quantity in the Receiving column. For a short delivery, enter less than expected; the rest stays outstanding. Use Accept all when everything arrived.
Add a note to any line if needed, then click Save.

The transfer stays In progress until every quantity is accounted for, then changes to Transferred. Partial deliveries can arrive as separate shipments on the same transfer, and you can receive in Shopify POS too.

Step 6: Check costs against the invoice

This is the step people forget. The purchase order holds what you expected to pay. The supplier's invoice, which usually arrives with or after the goods, holds what you actually pay: price changes, case pricing, discounts and freight. Shopify's help articles on receiving don't describe updating each product's Cost per item from the received purchase order, so compare the invoice with the purchase order and update costs that changed. Our guide to bulk updating cost per item shows the quickest ways.

Common problems

Problem	Fix
Can't find Create transfer	The purchase order is still a draft. Mark it as ordered first.
CSV row shows an error	The product doesn't exist yet, or the variant is already on the order.
Stock didn't change after receiving	The variant doesn't track quantity, or the line was rejected instead of accepted.
Wrong location received	Move the stock with a transfer between locations rather than editing quantities by hand, so history stays clear.

Where Box to Shelf helps

Purchase orders are good at recording what you ordered. Box to Shelf works from the other end: the supplier's invoice or delivery note. Upload it or forward the email, and it reads every line, including scans, photos and invoices in seven languages, matches each to your products, converts case prices to unit costs and shows cost changes with their margin impact. After you approve the lines, it adds the stock at the location you choose and updates Cost per item in one go. Many shops use both: a purchase order to order, Box to Shelf to receive and cost from the invoice.

Questions

Where are purchase orders in Shopify?

In your Shopify admin, go to Products > Purchase orders.

Can I import purchase order lines from a CSV?

Yes. On a purchase order, click Import, add your CSV file and click Import products. Only products that already exist in your store can be added.

How do I receive a purchase order?

Mark the purchase order as Ordered, click Create transfer, then receive the items on that transfer under Products > Transfers.

Sources

Shopify changes its admin often. Steps were checked against the Shopify Help Center in November 2026; if a menu has moved, the help center links above have the current version.