Free Restaurant Supplies Purchase Order Template & Generator
A weekly foodservice order goes wrong at the pack size. Two cases of tomato is not a quantity until the line says 6/#10, and a case of chicken thigh is a rate rather than a price, because catch-weight protein bills on the pounds that actually land. This purchase order fixes the pack on every line, sets one delivery window with a named receiver, and states which items may be substituted and which should short instead.
PDF downloads cost $4.99 per document, or are included with Unlimited at $9/month.
One-time payment · No subscription
Create & preview free. Watermark-free PDF: $4.99 USD. No subscription required.
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry goods case | 12 | $48.00 | $576.00 |
| Takeout container case | 8 | $62.00 | $496.00 |
| Cleaning supply pack | 4 | $85.00 | $340.00 |
One-time payment · No subscription
Use-case checklist
What to include in a restaurant supplies purchase order
A restaurant order is small, frequent, and almost never reconciled, which is exactly why it leaks. The driver arrives at six, drops the pallet, and leaves before anyone counts it, so a missing case of clamshells becomes a credit you have to prove a week later against a delivery ticket that says everything arrived. Substitution does quieter damage: a different blend of oil moves the fry cost on every plate, and a different tomato changes a sauce your cooks were told to hold steady. And because catch-weight lines bill on actual pounds, the invoice never matches the order to the cent, which trains whoever approves it to stop looking at any of it.
- restaurant, supplier, and PO number
- item, grade, and pack size
- quantity, unit price, and authorized total
- delivery window and receiving contact
- substitution, freshness, and shortage instructions
Example starting lines
| Description | Qty | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Dry goods case | 12 | $48 |
| Takeout container case | 8 | $62 |
| Cleaning supply pack | 4 | $85 |
Complete it cleanly
List item, brand or grade, pack size, quantity, unit price, required delivery window, receiving contact, substitution permission, and temperature or shelf-life expectations where relevant.
How to make a restaurant supplies purchase order in 6 steps
Open the purchase order generator
Start from this page so the purchase order opens with fields and sample lines already set up for restaurants, cafes, and food-service operators. No account is needed to create or preview.
Enter both parties
Add your business name, address and contact details, then the supplier name and address exactly as they should appear on the record.
Add the restaurant supplies lines
Replace each sample line with the real work or goods. Make sure the document shows restaurant, supplier, and PO number, item, grade, and pack size, quantity, unit price, and authorized total.
Check the figures
Totals calculate as you type. Confirm quantities, rates, any tax line and the final total against your own records before you send anything.
Set the reference and dates
Give the purchase order a unique number and the correct date so it can be traced later and matched to related documents.
Review and download the PDF
List item, brand or grade, pack size, quantity, unit price, required delivery window, receiving contact, substitution permission, and temperature or shelf-life expectations where relevant. Preview is free; a PDF download costs $4.99, or is included with Unlimited.
Worked example
A Tuesday broadline order with one case short at the door
Marbled & Rye, a 70-seat bistro, sends its weekly order to Kestrel Foodservice Distribution on Friday, September 11, 2026, for a Tuesday delivery between 6:00 and 9:00 a.m. The sous chef receives and counts at the door; one line arrives short.
- Boneless chicken thigh, catch weight, approx 40 lb case - 3 cases at $2.68/lb, billed on the 121.4 lb actually delivered
- $325.35
- All-purpose flour, 50 lb bag - 8 bags at $23.40
- $187.20
- Whole peeled plum tomato, 6/#10 case - 4 cases at $41.80; substitution pre-approved on this line only
- $167.20
- Blended 90/10 olive oil, 4/1 gal case - 2 cases at $76.50; no substitution, short the line instead
- $153.00
- Kraft clamshell takeout container, 200/case - 5 cases at $52.00
- $260.00
- Degreaser concentrate, 4/1 gal case - 1 case at $58.90
- $58.90
- Order subtotal as written on PO RS-1184
- $1,151.65
- Short at the door: 1 of 5 clamshell cases, written on the delivery ticket and signed by the driver
- -$52.00
- Delivery and fuel surcharge
- $14.50
- Amount payable after the short-ship credit
- $1,114.15
Catch weight is where the arithmetic stops being yours. Three cases at roughly 40 lb prices out near $321.60, and the truck brought 121.4 lb, so the line billed $325.35. Cap it with an approximate case weight and a not-to-exceed pound count, or that line has no ceiling.
When this document is the right choice
Use this purchase order to authorize a purchase before a supplier fulfills it. A purchase order comes from the buyer and authorizes an order. The supplier later sends an invoice that references the PO number for matching and payment.
Frequently asked questions
My protein is priced by the pound but sold by the case. What quantity do I write?
Write the case count, because that is what the picker pulls, then put the pricing basis in the description: "3 cases, approx 40 lb each, $2.68/lb." Catch-weight items bill on the pounds that actually ship, so the invoice will not match your subtotal exactly and should not be expected to. Adding an approximate case weight gives you a range to check the billed pounds against instead of accepting whatever the scale said.
The distributor's cutoff is Friday at noon for a Tuesday drop. What has to be settled by then?
Everything that changes what gets picked: pack sizes, the catch-weight basis, which lines may substitute and which should short, and the quantities themselves. After cutoff the order is already built, so an addition rides in as a separate pick, sometimes at a different price, and lands on the same pallet with nothing tying it to your order. Put the cutoff and the delivery window on the face of the order, and write any late add onto your copy the moment it is phoned in.
Should I let the distributor substitute when an item is out of stock?
Decide it line by line and put the decision on the line. Substitution is fine on commodity items where a different brand of canned tomato will not change a dish your cooks have been told to hold steady, and it is not fine on the oil that sets your fry cost or on anything a guest would notice. For everything else, short the line: a missing case you know about is easier to work around than a surprise on the shelf.
One case never made it off the truck. How do I get the credit without chasing it for a week?
Catch it at the door. Count the cases against the order, write the shortage on the delivery ticket, and have the driver sign it before leaving, then note the credit against the line and the PO number. In the example above that is one clamshell case at $52.00 coming off a $1,151.65 order. A shortage reported after the driver is gone turns into a claim, and claims on small lines are often quietly dropped.
Produce and dairy keep arriving with two days of life left. Can the order do anything about that?
State a minimum remaining shelf life on the short-dated lines, have the code date checked at the door against it, and say what happens when it fails, which is usually refusal at the truck rather than a credit chased afterward. Put it in days so the receiver has a number to test instead of a judgment to make. What your operation has to meet on dating and holding varies by product and by jurisdiction, so set that figure against your own requirements.
More purchase order templates
Start with the closest business workflow and adjust the details.