How do purchase orders work in Square?

Square purchase orders come with Square for Retail Plus and Premium, or Square Plus and Premium with advanced inventory added. Go to Items & services, then Inventory management, then Purchase orders, click Create, pick a vendor and items, and send it by email. When the delivery arrives, open the order and receive all or part of it, and Square adds the stock.

Which Square plans include purchase orders?

Square's help article lists Square for Retail Plus and Premium subscribers, Square Plus and Premium subscribers with advanced inventory capabilities added, and sellers with retail mode enabled in the Square Point of Sale app. The user also needs items and inventory permissions.

You can create purchase orders in Square Dashboard or in the Square Retail POS app on iOS. Square notes that creating or editing purchase orders is not available on Square Terminal.

How do you set up vendors?

Vendors can be created three ways in Square Dashboard: under Items & services, then Items, then Vendors with Create Vendor; with Add vendor while creating an item; or on the spot while creating a purchase order.

To give many items a default vendor at once, export the item library (Item library, then Actions, then Export library), fill in the Default Vendor Name column, and import the file back with Actions, then Import library. Square warns that clearing a vendor name in that column removes the vendor from the item.

Each item can also carry a vendor code next to its SKU, so you can match your items to the codes on the vendor's invoices. In the item library, the All Vendors drop-down filters by vendor, and Missing Vendors shows items with none.

How do you create and send a purchase order?

1. In Square Dashboard, go to Items & services, then Inventory management, then Purchase orders, and click Create.
2. Enter the vendor, delivery location and expected date. Start typing to find a vendor, or select Create vendor.
3. Add items with the search bar or the barcode scanner icon, with quantities and unit costs. Select Add tax if needed.
4. Add the vendor's email address and an optional note, and use Preview Email to check it.
5. Optionally choose Send me a copy, Save as PDF or Save as CSV, then click Send or Done.

You can also start an order from the Item Library or the sell-through view: select items, open the actions menu and choose Create purchase order, or Choose existing PO to add them to an open one. In the POS app, tap Inventory, then Purchase orders, then Create purchase order; a Vendor Name only toggle limits the search to that vendor's items.

Once you order from a vendor, Square links each item variation to that vendor and its cost, and the items appear on the vendor's profile.

How do you receive a purchase order?

1. Go to Items & services, then Items, then Inventory management, then Purchase orders, and open the order.
2. Click Receive All, or Receive None.
3. For a partial delivery, click Receive on the product row, enter the quantity and click Save.

If a line is short or damaged, click Update next to it and mark the quantity as Won't fulfill or Damaged. Use Add Fee for shipping or other costs; Square spreads the fee across the order's items in the cost of goods sold report without changing their unit costs. In the POS app, tap Receive items, check off what arrived, and use Receive in Full or Partial Receive.

How do you edit or cancel a purchase order?

Open the order and click Edit Order, then Save. Square does not email the vendor about the change, so click the (•••) next to the order, choose Send as Email and add a note saying what changed. To cancel, click the (•••) next to the order and choose Cancel Order. Selecting an item inside an order shows its history: dates, states, quantities, won't-fulfill amounts and receipts.

Can you import a purchase order from a spreadsheet?

Yes. Square's import article lists Square for Retail Plus and Premium, and Square Premium with advanced inventory added. Under Purchase orders, click Import and drop in a CSV or Excel file. Square recommends its import template, with columns for item name, variation name, SKU or GTIN, vendor code, notes, quantity, unit cost, vendor, ship to and expected date. Vendor and ship-to names must exactly match an active vendor and a location, and each SKU or GTIN must match exactly one item or variation.

What limits should you know about?

• 500 items per order. A single purchase order holds at most 500 unique items.
• Whole numbers only. Purchase orders do not support decimal or fractional quantities.
• No Terminal editing. Create and edit orders in Dashboard or the iOS POS app.
• No suggested quantities. Square's purchase order article does not describe filling in order quantities from sales; you decide how much to order.

Can something decide what goes on the purchase order?

ReorderOwl reads your Square item library and item sales exports in ChatGPT and works out what to order and how much for each item. Claude setup is coming shortly. When you ask, it builds a purchase order per vendor for you to send; nothing is written to Square. If your plan has purchase orders, you can enter or import it under Purchase orders yourself. See ReorderOwl for Square.