Send Your Suppliers a Purchase Order with Xero

Purchase orders in Xero let you manage your supply chain — from ordering stock to converting the order into a bill once goods are received. Here's how to create and manage them.

1. Create a New Purchase Order

Go to Purchases overview, click + New, and select Purchase order.

2. Complete the Header Details

Supplier name — select an existing contact.
Date — the order date.
Delivery date and reference — both optional, but useful for tracking.
Branding theme — select one if you've configured multiple themes.

3. Add Line Items

Select items from your Products and services list, or enter the description directly. For each line:

Enter quantity and unit price.
If you have a discount agreement with the supplier, enter the discount percentage — Xero calculates the amount.
Select the account from your chart of accounts.

Xero displays your organisation's postal address by default. Change the delivery address using the dropdown if needed.

4. Save or Approve

Click Save to keep it as a draft for further editing.
Click Approve if the order is complete and you have the appropriate user role.

5. Send to the Supplier

Once approved, send the purchase order to your supplier. Xero auto-populates the email using your default template.

6. Convert to a Bill or Invoice

To create a bill directly from a purchase order:

Click the breadcrumb to return to the Purchase orders dashboard.
Tick the checkbox next to the purchase order.
Click Copy to and select the transaction type (bill, invoice, etc.).

Bulk conversion rules:

Multiple purchase orders from the same supplier → Xero creates one draft bill with all line items combined.
Multiple purchase orders from different suppliers → Xero creates one draft bill per supplier.

Click the View item link, add a due date if needed, and approve.