How do purchase orders work in Shopify?

In Shopify admin, go to Products, then Purchase orders, and create a purchase order with a supplier, destination, products, quantities and costs. Save it as a draft, mark it as ordered, then create a transfer from it. You receive stock on that transfer, and the units show as Incoming on the Inventory page until they arrive.

How do you create a purchase order in Shopify?

1. Go to Products > Purchase orders and click Create purchase order.
2. Choose a supplier, or create one.
3. Choose the destination location. You can leave it blank while the order is a draft.
4. Add products by searching, by CSV or with a barcode scanner, then enter the quantity, cost and tax for each line. A Supplier SKU is optional.
5. Optionally add a reference number and a note to the supplier, Payment terms, Supplier currency and tags.
6. Check the Cost summary and click Save as draft.

To give the supplier a copy, open the order and use More actions > Export PDF. Shopify's help describes the PDF export, not emailing the order from Shopify, so you send the PDF yourself.

What happens when you mark a purchase order as ordered?

Open the draft and click Mark as ordered once the supplier has the order. Shopify notes this cannot be reversed. The order's status moves from Draft to Ordered, and you can now create an inventory transfer from it.

Shopify's purchase order list has two statuses, Draft and Ordered, and you can filter it by status, supplier, destination and date created. Whether the goods have arrived is not tracked on the purchase order itself; partial receipt, completion and closing are tracked on the linked transfer. The purchase order view does show how many items have been received on that transfer.

How do you receive stock against a purchase order?

1. In Products > Purchase orders, open the order and click Create transfer.
2. Pick the destination location. The supplier, lines and quantities are copied from the purchase order. Click Save.
3. When the shipment arrives, go to Products > Transfers, open the transfer and click Receive items.
4. For each line, enter the quantity in the Receiving column and choose Accept, Reject or Cancel, or use Accept all.

Accepted units become available at the destination. Rejected units are recorded on the transfer but are not added to stock anywhere. For a partial delivery, receive what came and leave the rest outstanding; the transfer stays In progress until every unit is accepted, rejected or canceled, and then shows Transferred.

Freight and duties can be added on the transfer's shipment: use the menu on the shipment, choose Edit shipment, then Manage under Cost summary to add amounts such as shipping or customs duties.

Where do you see incoming inventory?

On Products > Inventory, the Incoming column shows units on their way to a location from transfers. Shopify says incoming inventory is not available to sell until it is received and becomes Available.

Check Incoming before you order again. A variant with low Available stock but a large Incoming number usually needs nothing more, unless the shipment is late.

What are the limits of Shopify purchase orders?

• No reorder suggestions on the order itself. You choose the products and quantities. Shopify points to its Sidekick assistant for reorder recommendations and drafted purchase orders.
• Old Stocky orders do not move over. Shopify says historical purchase orders cannot be imported, and Stocky is no longer available as of August 31, 2026.
• Two places to look. Ordering lives on the purchase order and receiving on the transfer, so check both when chasing a supplier.

Can something build the purchase order for you?

ReorderOwl works from three CSV files you export from Shopify admin: products, inventory and orders. Today it works in ChatGPT; Claude setup is coming shortly. It forecasts each product and, when you ask, builds a purchase order per vendor with products, quantities and costs for you to send to your supplier.

Nothing is written to Shopify, so if you use Shopify's purchase orders, enter the order there to track incoming stock. See ReorderOwl for Shopify.

Frequently asked questions

Where are purchase orders in Shopify?

In Shopify admin, under Products, then Purchase orders.

Can Shopify email a purchase order to my supplier?

Shopify's help describes exporting the order as a PDF from More actions. You then send that PDF to the supplier yourself.

How do I receive a partial shipment?

Open the transfer linked to the purchase order, click Receive items, and accept only the quantities that arrived. The transfer stays In progress until the rest is received, rejected or canceled.

Can I undo Mark as ordered?

No. Shopify notes that marking a purchase order as ordered cannot be reversed.

Can I import my old Stocky purchase orders?

No. Shopify says historical purchase orders cannot be imported into Shopify.

Sources

1. Creating purchase orders, Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-01
2. Viewing purchase orders, Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-01
3. Creating inventory transfers for purchase orders, Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-01
4. Inventory states, Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-01
5. Transitioning from Stocky, Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-01