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A purchase order (PO) number is the reference a retailer gives each order it places with a brand. The brand quotes it on the order confirmation, packing list and invoice, so the retailer can match the goods and the bill to the order it approved.
Este glossário está escrito em inglês.
A PO number is a unique code that a retailer's buying or finance team assigns to an order, such as PO-27-0418. It identifies the order in the retailer's own systems, which is why they ask brands to quote it instead of the brand's order number.
A retailer's accounts payable team pays an invoice only when it can match it to an approved purchase order, and the PO number is how it finds that order. An invoice without one can sit unpaid while someone works out which order it belongs to.
A three-way match is a check many retailers run before paying: the purchase order, the goods received and the invoice must agree on items, quantities and prices. Quoting the PO number on every document makes that match possible.
No. The purchase order comes from the buyer and says what they want to buy, while the invoice comes from the brand and says what they owe for what was shipped.
A department store sends purchase order PO-27-0418 for $3,250 of spring knitwear. The brand prints PO-27-0418 on its confirmation, packing list and invoice INV-1042, so the store can match all three.
Larger retailers issue a PO for every order and expect it on all the paperwork, while many boutiques order without one. When a buyer gives you a PO number, record it on the order as soon as you receive it.
If the buyer changes the order, ask whether they will issue a revised PO or a new one. Quoting a superseded PO number can get an invoice queried just like a missing one.
Quoting your own order number instead
Your order number means nothing to the retailer's finance team. Quote theirs, and add yours alongside it.
Retyping the PO by hand
A mistyped digit stops the match just as a missing number does. Copy the PO exactly as the buyer sent it.
Shipping before the PO arrives
If a retailer requires a PO, shipping without one can leave you with goods delivered and no approved order to invoice against. Check the ship window and cancel date on the PO too.
In ModaFlow buyers can add their PO number when they place an order, and you can add or edit it on the order. It appears on order emails and in the header of the Stripe invoice you send.
If you need a purchase order form today, start with the free purchase order template.
Atualizado em 6 de outubro de 2026
A ship window is the range of dates in which a brand must ship an order, and the cancel date is the day after which the retailer can cancel anything that hasn't shipped.
Net 30 terms mean the buyer must pay the full invoice within 30 days of the invoice date.
Open-to-buy (OTB) is the amount a retailer still has available to spend on new stock for a period, after allowing for planned sales, markdowns, the stock it already holds and the orders it has already placed.
A delivery window is the period in which a season's goods, or one drop within that season, are scheduled to arrive at retailers.
O ModaFlow.ai é um software de atacado para marcas de moda: line sheets, lookbooks com compra, um portal do comprador e gestão de pedidos, com preços, mínimos, packs e datas do pedido sempre juntos. Todo plano começa com 14 dias de teste grátis.