QuickBooks Online purchase order workflow

In QuickBooks Online, the purchase order workflow runs in five steps: turn on purchase orders, find low-stock items, create and send a PO to the vendor, receive the goods with a bill or item receipt, and add the PO to the bill so it closes. Purchase orders need QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced.

These steps follow Intuit's current QuickBooks Online help for the US edition, as published on 2026-10-01. Menu labels move between releases; if a path looks different, search the setting name in Settings.

How do you turn on purchase orders in QuickBooks Online?

Purchase orders are switched off until you enable them in Account and settings. You also need inventory tracking on if you want quantities to update when stock arrives.

Select Settings, then Account and settings.
Open the Expenses tab and select Edit in the Purchase orders section.
Turn on Use purchase orders. Optionally add up to three custom fields and a default message to vendors.
Select Save, then Done.
For inventory, open the Sales tab, edit Products and services, and turn on Track quantity and price/rate and Track inventory quantity on hand.

How do you know what needs ordering?

QuickBooks Online flags items at or below their reorder point. Set a reorder point on each inventory product, then check the low stock and out of stock alerts at the top of Products and services.

Go to All apps > Sales & Get Paid > Products & services and select See all next to Low stock or Out of stock to filter the list. Our reorder point guide covers choosing the number. The alert tells you that an item is low; it does not tell you how many to buy. That part is your call, or a forecast's.

How do you create and send the purchase order?

You can start a PO from the low stock list or from scratch. Either way, one PO goes to one vendor.

From the low stock list, check the items and choose Batch actions > Reorder. Or select + Create > Purchase order.
Choose the Vendor and review the mailing address.
Optionally set a Ship to address and shipping details.
Enter the purchase order date.
Add lines for products marked "I purchase this product/service from a vendor", with quantities.
Select Save and send to email it now, or Save and close to send later from All apps > Expenses & Bills > Expense transactions.

A PO starts with the status Open. Intuit notes that a purchase order by itself does not change inventory; it only records what you asked the vendor for.

How do you receive the goods and close the PO?

Stock goes up when you record what arrived, with either a bill or an item receipt. Adding the PO to that transaction links them and closes the PO once every line is covered.

Use a bill when the invoice comes with the goods, and an item receipt when the goods arrive first.

Situation	What to record	Where
Goods and invoice arrive together	Bill, adding the open PO	+ Create > Bill, choose the vendor, select Add on the PO
Paid on the spot	Expense or check, adding the PO	+ Create > Expense or Check
Goods arrive before the invoice	Item receipt, later converted to a bill	All apps > Inventory > Item Receipts
Only part of the order arrives	Bill or receipt for the received quantities only	Adjust line quantities after adding the PO

Item receipts must be switched on under Account and settings > Sales > Inventory receiving method, and Intuit warns that the switch is permanent. With item receipts, the PO closes only when the bill is created.

How do you track open and late purchase orders?

Run the Open Purchase Order Detail report under Reports > Standard reports. The detail report shows items still on order and quantities received.

For late orders, go to All apps > Inventory > Purchase orders, find POs marked Overdue and Open, and send a reminder from the Action menu. QuickBooks Online Advanced also offers workflows, under Settings > Manage workflows, with templates that cover purchase orders, if you want approvals or reminders automated.

Where does ReorderOwl fit?

ReorderOwl answers the question the low stock alert leaves open: how much of each item to order. It is free to start and works right in ChatGPT.

Export three standard reports from QuickBooks Online (Product/Service List, Sales by Product/Service Detail and, optionally, Open Purchase Order Detail), attach them in ChatGPT, and ReorderOwl returns an Excel workbook with what to order and how much, plus the most urgent products. There is no direct connection to QuickBooks and it does not create POs there; you create them with the steps above. See the ReorderOwl for QuickBooks Online page or how to reorder inventory with ChatGPT.

Frequently asked questions

Which QuickBooks Online plans have purchase orders?

QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced. Intuit says users on other plans must upgrade for purchase orders.

Does creating a purchase order change inventory in QuickBooks Online?

No. Quantity on hand changes when you record the bill, expense, check or item receipt for the goods you received.

How do I close a purchase order in QuickBooks Online?

Add it to a bill, expense or check. QuickBooks closes the PO automatically once all its quantities have been added.

Can I receive part of a purchase order?

Yes. Add the PO to a bill, expense or check and reduce each line to the quantity received. The PO stays open for the rest.

Does QuickBooks Online have purchase order approval?

Intuit lists workflows for QuickBooks Online Advanced and Intuit Enterprise Suite, with templates that include purchase orders. Set them up under Settings, Manage workflows.

Sources

Create and send purchase orders, Intuit QuickBooks, accessed 2026-10-01
Set up low stock alerts, Intuit QuickBooks, accessed 2026-10-01
Set up and track your inventory in QuickBooks Online, Intuit QuickBooks, accessed 2026-10-01
Add purchase orders to expenses, bills, or checks in QuickBooks Online, Intuit QuickBooks, accessed 2026-10-01
Receive inventory with an Item receipt, Intuit QuickBooks, accessed 2026-10-01
Use workflows to automate business processes in QuickBooks, Intuit QuickBooks, accessed 2026-10-01