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Purchase Orders

How to request and handle purchase orders on Spendesk

Purchase Orders: create, approve, and manage POs

A Purchase Order request is submitted by an employee to request the purchase of goods or services on behalf of the company. Once the request is reviewed and approved through your company's approval workflow, Spendesk creates the Purchase Order, the formal document used to track the purchase, delivery, invoicing, and payment. These are two separate objects: the request is the input, and the Purchase Order is the output.

For: Requesters, Approvers, Controllers, and Account Owners.

Table of Contents

  • Before you start

  • What's a Purchase Order?

  • Submit a Purchase Order request

  • Find Purchase Order requests to approve

  • Purchase Order status

  • Itemize a Purchase Order request

  • Download a Purchase Order

  • Customize Purchase Orders

  • Send a Purchase Order PDF to a supplier

  • Edit a Purchase Order after approval

  • Cancel a Purchase Order

  • Close a Purchase Order

  • Troubleshooting

Before you start

  • Roles: Account Owners and any member with a Requester role can submit a PO request. Only Controllers and Account Owners can edit an approved PO directly.

  • Plan restriction: Itemizing items and quantities in a PO request is available on Scale+ plans only, in all regions.

  • File requirements: PO supporting documents accept .JPG, .PNG, and .PDF files. You can upload several files at once. Maximum size: 10 MB per file.

  • Prerequisite: Your approval policy (visible in your Profile under personal information) determines whether your PO request is validated automatically or requires an approver.

What's a Purchase Order?

A Purchase Order request informs the relevant approver that an employee wants to make a purchase on behalf of the company. It often includes a supplier quote as an attachment.

Once the request is submitted and passes the approval process, Spendesk creates a Purchase Order. The requester can then share the Purchase Order, including its PO number, with the supplier. When the order ships, the supplier sends an invoice for the goods or services.

The finance team uses the PO number for the 3-way match, comparing the order, the delivery, and the invoice when the invoice arrives.

Submit a Purchase Order request

  1. Click the New request button.

  2. Select Make a Purchase request.

  3. Select Request a Purchase Order.

  4. Upload your supporting document (.JPG, .PNG, or .PDF, max 10 MB, multiple files allowed).

  5. Fill out the required information.

  6. Click Confirm my request.

Your request is either validated automatically or sent to an approver, depending on your approval policy.

Find Purchase Order requests to approve

  • As a requester, go to Requests to view your POs pending approval.

  • As an approver, go to Requests > To approve or Requests > All to review pending POs.

Once approved, Spendesk creates a Purchase Order. Find it here:

  • As a Requester: in the Purchase Orders tab.

  • As a Controller: in the Commitments > Purchase Orders tab.

Purchase Order status

Purchase Orders can display several independent status systems. Do not interpret delivery or 3-way match statuses as billing statuses.

Billing status

Billing status is based on invoices linked to the Purchase Order.

Status

Condition

Waiting for billing

No invoice has been linked to the Purchase Order yet

Late invoice

An invoice is overdue according to the Purchase Order dates

Partially billed

At least one invoice is linked and the billed amount is below the Purchase Order amount

Billed

The billed amount matches the Purchase Order amount

Overbilled

The billed amount exceeds the Purchase Order amount

Delivery status

Delivery status is provided separately by the Delivery Notes feature, when enabled. It reflects whether the ordered items have been received and confirmed through a Delivery Note.

Billing over Delivery status

Billing over Delivery status applies only when Delivery Notes and 3-way matching are enabled. It compares the billed amount with the value of confirmed deliveries.

Status

Meaning

Underbilled

Less has been billed than the value of confirmed deliveries

Fully billed

The billed amount matches the value of confirmed deliveries

Overbilled

More has been billed than the value of confirmed deliveries

None

No delivery is expected, so this status does not apply

Itemize a Purchase Order request

On Scale+ plans, you can list items and quantities in your PO request. This makes the request more readable, reduces errors, and prepares a clear Purchase Order PDF.

Itemization helps you:

  • Avoid delays caused by unclear PO requests.

  • Give Finance the details needed to approve upfront.

  • Let the Budget Owner review individual line items before approving.

🔒 Access: Itemizing items and quantities in PO requests is available on Scale+ plans only, in all regions.

Download a Purchase Order

  1. Select the Purchase Order you want to download.

  2. Click Create a PDF.

The PDF includes your line itemization and is viewable at any time alongside the quote and any linked invoices.

Customize Purchase Orders

Spendesk Procurement lets you customize how your Purchase Orders look.

  1. Navigate to Commitments > Purchase Orders.

  2. Click Settings.

  3. Upload a Company Logo to appear on your PO PDF.

  4. Enter a Footer text to add default comments or instructions to every PO.

All this information pre-fills automatically on any PO PDF. The PO owner can still edit it for specific needs. The Billing Address and Shipping Address on the PO PDF are also customizable, and you can add your Spendesk Billing Contact (inbox email) to the PDF.

The PO PDF includes the following fields:

Field

Source

PO Number

Generated automatically by Spendesk (not currently customizable)

PO Generation Date

Filled automatically when the PO PDF is created

Bill to

Your company name and address (editable)

Supplier section

Supplier name and address (editable, not auto-filled)

Description

Filled from the request (editable, or replaced with an external description)

Shipping Address

Defaults to the Billing Address (editable)

Expected delivery of goods or services

Filled from the PO start and end dates

Comments & specific instructions

Optional field; set a default text in Purchase Orders > Settings

Billing contact

Filled automatically with your Spendesk Inbox email address (not editable)

Send a Purchase Order PDF to a supplier

  1. Select the Purchase Order you want to send.

  2. Check the Send to supplier box on the PO PDF panel.

  3. Click Create PDF.

  4. Enter the supplier contact's email address in the modal.

  5. Customize the email subject and message if needed.

  6. Send the email.

Once sent, the PO displays a Sent to supplier tag.

Edit a Purchase Order after approval

Controllers and Account Owners can edit an approved Purchase Order without deleting and recreating it.

  1. Go to the Purchase Orders section.

  2. Click Edit PO.

  3. Update fields such as amount, dates, cost center, or description.

What you cannot edit:

  • The supplier assigned to the approved Purchase Order cannot be changed, and the original PO number always stays the same. Depending on your permissions, supplier contact and address details shown on the PDF may still be editable.

  • POs that are fully invoiced, closed, or have line items linked to invoices or delivery notes.

  • The total PO amount cannot go below the amount already invoiced.

  • Quantities cannot go below the amount already invoiced or received.

⚠️ Warning: Direct edits by Controllers or Account Owners bypass the approval process. Use this only for minor corrections, not for changes that significantly affect budgets.

Cancel a Purchase Order

The original requester, a Controller, or an Account Owner can cancel a Purchase Order as long as no invoice is attached to it. Open the Purchase Order, select the cancellation action, and confirm.

Close a Purchase Order

You can close a Purchase Order once all attached invoices are paid. You can assign several invoices to one PO, but you cannot assign several POs to one invoice.

  1. Navigate to Commitments > Purchase Orders.

  2. Select the Purchase Order you want to close.

  3. Scroll down the main page.

  4. Click End this purchase order.

You can also close a partially invoiced PO if all its associated invoices are paid, for example when the invoiced amount is lower than the original PO amount.

Troubleshooting

Symptom: The "End this purchase order" button doesn't appear.
​Cause: The button is located further down the main Purchase Orders page, not inside the PO detail panel.
​Resolution: After opening the Purchase Order, scroll down the main page (not the detail panel) to find the End this purchase order button.

Symptom: You can't edit an approved Purchase Order.
​Cause: The PO is fully invoiced, closed, or has line items linked to an invoice or delivery note. Only Controllers and Account Owners can edit approved POs.
​Resolution: Check the PO status. If it's fully billed or closed, editing is not available. Ask a Controller or Account Owner to make the change if you have another role.

Symptom: An invoice linked to an approved PO doesn't skip the approval step.
​Cause: Automatic approval depends on the Purchase Order status, the remaining unbilled amount, and the applicable invoice-to-PO matching rules.
​Resolution: Check that the Purchase Order is still eligible for matching, that the invoice does not exceed the remaining amount, and that the required 2-way or 3-way matching conditions are met. If the invoice still requires approval, it follows your company's standard invoice approval workflow.

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