Purchase Order Management Software

Most ecommerce platforms either lack a purchase order system entirely or offer one that isn’t connected to the rest of your operation. WooCommerce and Amazon Seller Central have no native PO workflow. Shopify added basic purchase orders in 2026, but requires exporting a PDF to send a PO to your supplier — there’s no direct email, no barcode receiving, and no connection to multichannel inventory sync. Merchants on all these platforms typically end up managing restocking through spreadsheets, separate email threads, or a standalone tool that doesn’t update inventory when stock arrives.

Ordoro is purchase order management software built into the same platform used for inventory and shipping. Create POs, email them to suppliers directly, receive inventory by barcode scan, and watch quantities update automatically across every connected sales channel — without leaving the system. Hundreds of Shopify, Amazon, and WooCommerce sellers use it daily.

When Do You Need Purchase Order Management Software?

A spreadsheet or basic platform PO tool is sufficient if:

• You restock from one or two suppliers occasionally
• You don’t need inventory to update automatically on receipt
• You manually track what’s been received and what’s outstanding

You need dedicated PO software if:

• You restock regularly from multiple suppliers and need to create POs in bulk
• You want inventory to update automatically when stock arrives — without a separate manual adjustment
• You need to receive against POs by barcode scan rather than manual entry
• You want supplier costs from each PO to update your margin tracking automatically
• You sell kits or bundles and need to reorder components connected to your live kit availability
• You want PO history, partial receiving records, and supplier cost data all in one place alongside your orders and inventory

How Purchase Order Management Works in Ordoro

Ordoro’s PO workflow covers the full procurement cycle:

1. Identify what needs reordering. Ordoro tracks inventory levels in real time. Each SKU can have a reorder point set — when available stock falls below that threshold, the SKU surfaces in low-stock reports. You can generate POs directly from these reports without manually specifying which products to include.

2. Create the purchase order. A PO is created against a specific supplier. You add the products and quantities you’re ordering; Ordoro pre-fills cost data from the supplier’s cost record if you’ve set it up. The PO shows the total cost of the order before you send it. Watch: How to Add Products to Purchase Orders in Ordoro

3. Send to the supplier. Send the PO by email directly from Ordoro. If your supplier needs product images for clarity — useful when ordering by SKU code rather than product name — you can include images in the PO preview. See: How do I email a Purchase Order to a supplier?

4. Bulk PO creation. If you’re restocking across multiple suppliers at once, Ordoro supports creating purchase orders in bulk — generating separate POs per supplier from a single workflow. See: Can I create Purchase Orders in bulk in Ordoro?

5. Receive inventory against the open PO. When stock arrives, receive it against the open PO in Ordoro. Inventory quantities update automatically on receipt — no separate adjustment needed. You can receive by manual entry or by scanning barcodes. See: Can I scan in barcodes for PO Goods Receipts?

6. Partial receiving. If a supplier ships in batches, receive each shipment against the same PO. Ordoro tracks which quantities have arrived and which are still outstanding, and keeps the PO open until the full order is received. If you need to cancel and later reinstate a PO, see: How can I restore a canceled Purchase Order?

7. Cost tracking. Supplier costs recorded on each PO update the product’s cost record in Ordoro for margin tracking — no separate accounting entry needed.

Goods Receipts and Barcode Receiving

When a supplier delivery arrives, Ordoro lets you receive inventory against the open PO by scanning product barcodes or entering quantities manually. Each receipt is recorded as a goods receipt tied to the specific PO — so the receiving event is tracked separately from the PO itself.

How barcode receiving works:

1. Navigate to the open PO in Ordoro's purchasing tab
2. Open the goods receipt modal and connect a barcode scanner
3. Scan each product's barcode as you receive it — each scan records one unit (configurable for case quantities)
4. Save the receipt — Ordoro updates Physical On Hand automatically and logs a `po_received` entry in the inventory log with a timestamp and the PO reference

Partial receiving: If a supplier ships in batches, create a goods receipt for the first delivery and leave the PO open. When the remaining items arrive, create a second goods receipt against the same PO. Ordoro tracks what's been received and what's outstanding throughout. The PO closes automatically when fully received.

Barcode labels at receiving: After saving a goods receipt, you can print barcode labels for every received item directly from the receipt screen. Ordoro calculates label quantity as received units × copies per unit — so receiving 50 units and requesting 2 labels each prints 100 labels in one action. See: How do I print barcode labels from a Goods Receipt?

See: Can I scan in barcodes for PO Goods Receipts?

Supplier Management

Ordoro maintains a supplier record for each vendor — contact details, lead times, and a history of all POs placed against that supplier. Each product can be assigned a primary supplier, so POs route to the correct vendor automatically.

For dropship products, supplier assignment drives order routing: when an order containing a dropshipped item arrives from any channel, Ordoro sends it to the assigned supplier automatically — no manual forwarding.

You can track supplier performance over time: which suppliers consistently ship on time, which generate fulfillment errors, and which are creating customer complaints. Watch: How to Assign Suppliers for Restocking in Ordoro

Reorder Points and Low-Stock Alerts

Each SKU in Ordoro can have a reorder point — the inventory level at which you want to be prompted to reorder. When available stock falls below that threshold, the SKU appears in Ordoro’s low-stock report. From that report you can initiate PO creation directly, across all low-stock SKUs in one pass, without reviewing each product individually.

This replaces the spreadsheet-based reorder tracking most merchants maintain alongside their inventory system. Watch: How to Use the Low Inventory Filter in Ordoro

Ordoro and QuickBooks

Ordoro integrates with QuickBooks Online (Plus and Advanced). The integration is a manual sync — you trigger it on demand, not on a schedule.

What syncs from Ordoro to QuickBooks:

• Purchase orders with Sent, Partial, or Received status — vendor info, dates, line items, and totals transfer as Bills in QuickBooks
• Shipped orders — sync as Sales Receipts or Invoices in QuickBooks
• Inventory — products export with their weighted average unit cost (WAC) and current quantity on hand
• POs sync once on initial push and do not resync after that; if a sync fails, Ordoro tags the PO as "Failed QuickBooks Writeback" so you can identify and retry it

Setup: Account Settings > Accounting > Add Integration > QuickBooks. The integration is available on Shipping Premium and higher plans.

QuickBooks does offer native purchase order functionality — available in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced, and in QuickBooks Desktop Pro, Premier, and Enterprise. QuickBooks POs work well for accounting and general procurement. They don’t connect to ecommerce inventory writeback, multichannel stock sync, or Shopify/Amazon order fulfillment. Ordoro handles the procurement and inventory side; QuickBooks handles the accounting. Many merchants run both.

Purchase Orders and Inventory Costing

Every PO received in Ordoro does more than add stock — it updates the product's cost record. Ordoro tracks per-SKU costs using weighted average unit cost (WAC). Each time a PO is received, Ordoro automatically recalculates the weighted average based on the new receipt quantity and the supplier cost recorded on that PO.

This keeps your cost data current as supplier prices change, without manual adjustments. If a supplier raises their price on a reorder, the new WAC reflects the blended cost across all stock on hand — existing inventory at the old cost, new inventory at the new cost. You can run on-demand inventory valuation reports by SKU and warehouse, and schedule periodic cost exports for accounting snapshots.

Supplier costs from POs also feed Ordoro's profit analytics, which calculate gross margin per order and per product based on cost versus selling price.

Purchase Orders for Kit and BOM Products

If you sell product kits or manufactured goods, purchase orders connect directly to your component replenishment workflow.

For kits: Ordoro calculates kit availability from live component inventory. When a component runs low, it surfaces in low-stock reports the same way any other SKU would. From the product detail page, you can select components that need reordering and generate a PO pre-filled with supplier details in one action. See: How do I quickly reorder products needed for Kit or BOM products?

For Bill of Materials products: (See: What is a Bill of Materials (BOM)? for an overview.) Components consumed during manufacturing runs are tracked separately from finished goods. When a production run depletes component stock, the same low-stock reporting and PO creation workflow applies — ensuring your manufacturing pipeline stays connected to your purchasing workflow without manual tracking.

This matters most for businesses where a large portion of the catalog is built from components that customers never see directly — the individual pieces behind each finished product or kit all need to be purchased, received, and tracked before a sale can be fulfilled.

How Blue Sky Bee Supply Manages Purchasing Across 3,000+ Kits

Blue Sky Bee Supply is a beekeeping supply company based in Ravenna, Ohio, that has been selling equipment, honey packaging, and protective gear to beekeepers across the country and internationally since 2004. Their catalog is built almost entirely from product kits — Jamie Morehead estimates roughly 90% of what they sell on Shopify are kits, with many individual components not directly orderable by customers.

With more than 3,000 kits configured in Ordoro, keeping components in stock is fundamental to the business. Blue Sky uses Ordoro's purchase order system to order components and products from their suppliers, connecting the purchasing side of their operation directly to the inventory that supports thousands of sellable kits. Component availability determines how many finished kits are available to sell — which means the purchasing workflow and the inventory workflow can't be disconnected.

Read the full case study: Blue Sky Bee Supply and Ordoro

What to Look for in Purchase Order Management Software

Key questions for ecommerce businesses evaluating options:

1. Is PO management integrated with your inventory system? Standalone PO tools require manual inventory updates after receiving. Software that combines both updates inventory automatically when stock is received.
2. Does it connect to your sales channels? POs created in a system disconnected from Shopify or Amazon won’t trigger inventory writeback when stock arrives.
3. Does it support partial receiving? Suppliers routinely ship in batches. You need a system that tracks outstanding quantities per shipment, not just open vs. closed.
4. Can you create POs in bulk? For businesses with multiple suppliers and frequent restocking cycles, single-PO workflows don’t scale.
5. Does it track supplier costs? Cost data from POs should feed your margin tracking automatically, not require separate entry.

User Permissions for Purchasing and Receiving

Keep purchasing and receiving workflows accessible to the right team members without giving everyone access to your full inventory system or storefront admin.

With Ordoro's user-level permissions, you can give purchasing staff access to create and send POs, receiving staff access to record goods receipts, and warehouse staff access to inventory counts — each scoped to what their role requires. Permissions control who can adjust inventory quantities, view financial information like supplier costs and margins, and manually synchronize inventory with sales channels.

This is particularly useful for growing operations where a purchasing manager handles supplier relationships and restocking, a warehouse team handles receiving and counts, and a separate team handles order fulfillment — all working in the same platform without stepping on each other's access.

Customer Support

Ordoro is run by a small, dedicated team. When you have a question, you reach a real person — by phone, email, or screen share — not a support bot or ticketing queue. Phone support runs Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM CST.

Every new account gets a structured onboarding: five weekly calls with a dedicated onboarding specialist to get your channels, warehouses, suppliers, and PO workflows set up correctly from the start.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is purchase order management software?

Software that handles the full procurement workflow: creating POs, sending them to suppliers, tracking status, receiving inventory against them, and updating inventory records on receipt. For ecommerce, it should be integrated with the system managing your inventory and sales channels — not a separate standalone tool.

Does Ordoro have a purchase order system?

Yes. Ordoro includes a complete PO workflow — create POs against specific suppliers, send by email with optional product images, receive inventory by barcode scan or manual entry, handle partial shipments, and track supplier costs for margin calculations. See: Purchase Orders in Ordoro

Can I create purchase orders in bulk in Ordoro?

Yes. Ordoro supports bulk PO creation across multiple suppliers from a single workflow. See: Can I create Purchase Orders in bulk in Ordoro?

Can I scan barcodes when receiving inventory against a PO?

Yes. When goods arrive, you can scan barcodes to confirm and record each item received against the open PO. See: Can I scan in barcodes for PO Goods Receipts?

Does Ordoro work with QuickBooks?

Yes. Ordoro integrates with QuickBooks Online (Plus and Advanced). Purchase orders sync to QuickBooks as Bills, shipped orders sync as Sales Receipts or Invoices, and inventory exports with WAC and quantity on hand. The integration is a manual sync — you trigger it on demand.

Does QuickBooks have purchase orders?

Yes. QuickBooks offers native POs in Online Plus and Advanced, and in Desktop Pro, Premier, and Enterprise. It works well for accounting and general procurement workflows. For ecommerce merchants who need POs connected to multichannel inventory and Shopify/Amazon fulfillment, Ordoro handles the inventory and procurement side — many merchants run both together.

Can Ordoro handle partial PO receiving?

Yes. If a supplier ships in multiple batches, you receive each shipment against the same open PO. Ordoro tracks what’s arrived and what’s still outstanding, keeping the PO open until the full order is received.

How does Ordoro update inventory when a PO is received?

Receiving inventory against an open PO adds the received quantities to the SKU’s physical on-hand count automatically. No separate inventory adjustment is needed. Updated quantities then write back to connected sales channels on the next sync cycle.

What is the difference between a purchase order and an invoice?

A purchase order is created by the buyer before goods arrive — it documents what’s being ordered, at what price, and when. An invoice is sent by the supplier after delivery and requests payment. The PO comes first; the invoice follows. In Ordoro, receiving inventory against a PO is tracked separately from payment — the PO records what was expected and what arrived, while accounting is handled in QuickBooks or your accounting tool.

Does Shopify have purchase orders?

Yes, Shopify added native purchase orders in 2026. The key difference from Ordoro: Shopify requires exporting a PDF to send a PO to your supplier, while Ordoro emails POs directly to suppliers from within the platform. Ordoro also connects PO receiving to barcode scanning, automatic inventory updates, multichannel sync, and weighted average cost tracking — all in the same system you use for orders and shipping.

How does Ordoro track inventory costs from purchase orders?

Ordoro uses weighted average unit cost (WAC). Each time a PO is received, Ordoro recalculates the weighted average cost for that SKU based on the new receipt quantity and the supplier cost on the PO. This keeps cost data current automatically as supplier prices change — no manual adjustments needed. Supplier costs feed into per-order and per-product margin analytics in Ordoro.

Can I reorder kit components through Ordoro’s PO system?

Yes. Component SKUs surface in low-stock reports the same way standalone products do. From the Product Detail page, you can select which components need replenishment and generate a PO pre-filled with supplier details directly from the BOM or kit tab. See: How do I quickly reorder products needed for Kit or BOM products?

How long does it take to set up purchase order management in Ordoro?

Most merchants are fully operational within a week. Every new account includes five weekly onboarding calls with a dedicated specialist to configure suppliers, reorder points, PO workflows, and channel sync. Schedule a demo to walk through your specific setup before committing.

How do I migrate from spreadsheet-based PO tracking to Ordoro?

Import your product catalog and supplier records into Ordoro, set reorder thresholds per SKU, and start creating POs from Ordoro’s low-stock reports going forward. Historical PO data from your spreadsheets is not migrated — export it for your records before switching. The onboarding team assists with catalog import and supplier configuration during your five onboarding calls.