> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pluvel.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Purchase Orders
> Create POs to authorize purchases before you receive a bill.
Purchase orders let you formally request goods or services from a vendor before they send you a bill. It's a commitment to buy — and a way to control what gets purchased and by whom.
Not every business needs POs. But if you have multiple people making purchases, or you want a paper trail before money goes out the door, they're useful.
## When to Use Purchase Orders
**Multi-person approval** — Someone requests, someone else approves
**Vendor expectations** — Some vendors require a PO number before they'll ship
**Budget control** — See committed spend before bills arrive
**Matching** — Compare what you ordered to what you were billed
If you're a solo founder buying stuff as needed, you probably don't need this. If you have a team placing orders, you might.
## Creating a Purchase Order
Go to **Finance → Bills → Purchase Orders** and click **New PO**.
Fill in:
* **Vendor** — Who you're ordering from
* **Line items** — What you're buying, quantities, prices
* **Delivery date** (optional) — When you expect it
* **Shipping address** (optional) — Where to send it
* **Notes** — Special instructions for the vendor
Pluvel assigns a PO number automatically. You can customize the format in Settings.
## Sending to Vendors
Once created, you can:
**Email the PO** — Send directly from Pluvel. Vendor gets a PDF they can reference.
**Download PDF** — Send it yourself through your own email.
**Mark as sent** — If you called it in or ordered through their portal, just mark it sent for your records.
The vendor fulfills the order and eventually sends you a bill.
## PO Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
| --------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Draft | Not sent yet |
| Sent | Waiting for vendor to fulfill |
| Partial | Some items received, not all |
| Received | Everything delivered |
| Billed | Bill received and matched |
| Closed | Complete, nothing more to do |
| Cancelled | Order cancelled before fulfillment |
Most POs go: Draft → Sent → Received → Billed → Closed.
## Receiving Against a PO
When stuff arrives:
1. Go to the PO
2. Click **Receive**
3. Mark which items arrived (and quantities)
4. Save
If everything arrived, the PO moves to "Received." If only some arrived, it's "Partial" and you can receive the rest later.
## Matching Bills to POs
When the vendor's bill arrives:
1. Create the bill (or it syncs from email)
2. Click **Match to PO**
3. Select the PO
4. Pluvel compares line items
**3-way matching** — PO, received items, and bill all line up. This is the gold standard. You ordered 10 widgets, received 10 widgets, and were billed for 10 widgets.
If something doesn't match:
* Billed for more than you ordered? Flag it.
* Received less than billed? Don't pay the full amount.
* Prices different? Investigate before paying.
3-way matching catches errors and fraud. Vendor bills you for items you never received? The match fails and you investigate before paying.
## Approval Workflows
If you want purchases approved before they go out:
1. Go to **Settings → Bills → Approvals**
2. Enable PO approvals
3. Set thresholds (approve all POs, or only those over \$500, etc.)
4. Assign approvers
When someone creates a PO, it goes into "Pending Approval" status. Approver gets notified, reviews, and approves or rejects.
## Committed Spend
POs represent money you've committed but not yet billed for. This is useful for budgeting.
**Reports → Committed Spend** shows:
* Open PO value (what you've promised to pay)
* Received but not billed (delivered, waiting for invoice)
* Cash flow projection including committed purchases
So if you have $50,000 in the bank and $20,000 in open POs, your actual available cash might be closer to \$30,000.
## When POs Are Overkill
You probably don't need POs for:
* Recurring subscriptions (Slack, AWS, etc.)
* Small, frequent purchases under a threshold
* Expenses you reimburse employees for
Use POs where the formality adds value — larger purchases, vendor relationships with history, situations where you need approval controls.
## Tips
**Set a threshold.** Not everything needs a PO. Maybe only purchases over \$500. Configure what makes sense for your business.
**Don't skip receiving.** The PO → Receive → Bill workflow breaks down if you skip receiving. You lose the ability to catch billing errors.
**Close stale POs.** Old POs that will never be fulfilled should be cancelled. They clutter your reports and overstate committed spend.
Create bills and match them to your POs.
Manage your vendors and their PO history.