Free Retail Inventory Purchase Order Template & Generator
A replenishment purchase order has to name the sizes and colors you want pulled from the vendor's next shipment, not just how many units of a style you want. Each variant gets its own line here, so the carton that lands at your back door can be counted against the size curve you actually authorized.
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| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core product case packs | 18 | $145.00 | $2,610.00 |
| Seasonal display inventory | 1 | $1,680.00 | $1,680.00 |
| Freight allowance | 1 | $240.00 | $240.00 |
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Use-case checklist
What to include in a retail inventory purchase order
When a purchase order lumps 60 pieces of one style into a single line, the vendor picks the size curve for you, and you can end up with a rack of smalls in a store that sells mediums and larges. Variant-level lines also give your receiving count something to match against: six Oatmeal smalls missing from the carton gets caught at the back door, not six weeks later when the size is sold out on the floor and the replenishment you thought you placed never actually arrived.
- buyer, vendor, and PO number
- SKU, product, size, color, or variant
- case pack, quantity, and unit cost
- ship window, cancel date, and destination
- freight, labeling, and substitution rules
Example starting lines
| Description | Qty | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Core product case packs | 18 | $145 |
| Seasonal display inventory | 1 | $1,680 |
| Freight allowance | 1 | $240 |
Complete it cleanly
Build the size curve first, then price it. Give every SKU-size-color combination its own row, and print the vendor's style number beside your own SKU, since the vendor picks and invoices against theirs while your receiving count and POS report against yours. Enter the negotiated cost per piece instead of the linesheet price, and write the tier condition out in full — for example, "cost at 60+ pieces ordered" — so a short ship or a smaller reorder later doesn't get repriced without a conversation. Close with a ship window, a cancel date, one ship-to address, freight terms, and an explicit substitution rule: many vendors' terms reserve the right to substitute a comparable size or color to complete a carton, so state in writing whether you accept that or want the balance short-shipped and credited.
Worked example
Ridgeline henley reorder, six pieces short
Harbor & Pine Mercantile, a two-store apparel shop, reorders the Ridgeline waffle henley from Northfield Knitworks after fall sell-through. The linesheet lists the style at $28.00, but the PO is written at the $25.50 tier cost the buyer earned at 60 pieces ordered, ships FOB origin to the Harbor Street store, and the second location is filled afterward by internal transfer.
- Ordered - Ridgeline Henley, Oatmeal (S 12 / M 14 / L 10)
- 36 units
- Ordered - Ridgeline Henley, Slate (S 8 / M 10 / L 6)
- 24 units
- Goods total on the PO, 60 pieces at the $25.50 tier cost (linesheet $28.00)
- $1,530.00
- Freight, FOB origin - buyer pays the carrier, not credited on a short ship
- $62.00
- Counted in at receiving, all variants (Oatmeal S: 6 of 12 arrived)
- 54 units
- Goods actually received, 54 pieces at $25.50
- $1,377.00
- Vendor invoice as presented, 60 pieces plus freight
- $1,592.00
- Corrected amount payable after the $153.00 short-ship credit
- $1,439.00
A purchase order records what you authorized, not what showed up - only the receiving count does that, which is why the tier condition is worth writing against the quantity ordered rather than the quantity shipped, or the vendor has room to argue that 54 pieces never qualified for $25.50. The trap that costs more than the short ship is the silent fill: six extra Oatmeal mediums arrive instead, the unit count and the invoice both reconcile at 60 pieces, and nothing flags that the size you actually sell never came.
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
The vendor shipped 54 of the 60 pieces. Can they reprice the order at the $28.00 linesheet rate?
It depends on how the tier was written and whose terms end up governing. If the purchase order states the tier as a condition of the quantity ordered - "cost at 60+ pieces ordered" - you have a clear basis to hold $25.50 on the 54 that arrived and claim the full $153.00 credit; if the line only says "60 pieces," the vendor can read the shipped quantity as the trigger and bill 54 at $28.00, which is $1,512.00 and leaves you an $18.00 credit instead. That $135.00 swing is why the wording is worth a minute before you send it. Treat your PO term as your starting position rather than the last word: many vendors return an order acknowledgment carrying their own terms, so read the confirmation that comes back before assuming yours control.
Should each line carry my SKU or the vendor's style number?
Put both on the same row. Northfield's warehouse picks and their accounting invoices against their style number, so leaving it off slows the shipment and invites the wrong variant, while your own SKU is what receiving scans and what your POS reports sell-through against. When the two disagree after the carton lands, the pair printed on the purchase order is what settles which item was actually ordered.
Does sending this purchase order put $1,530.00 of inventory on my books?
Generally not on the day you send it - a purchase order is a commitment to buy, and inventory typically lands on the books when the goods are received or when title transfers under your freight terms, which on an FOB origin shipment like this one are usually not the same date. In practice the 54 pieces counted in are generally what gets costed, at $25.50 each plus their share of the $62.00 freight, and it is worth costing them by SKU-size-color rather than by style, because the six Oatmeal smalls that never arrived are also six units of open-to-buy still available for the season. The $153.00 credit normally reduces what you owe on the vendor invoice rather than showing up as income. Confirm with your accountant or bookkeeper how your freight terms and inventory method apply before you close the period.
I reissue POs after every short ship. Does each corrected copy cost me again?
Each PDF download does, at $2.29 per document. Building and previewing is free, though, so you can lay out the whole size curve and check the tier math on screen before anything is charged, and a one-off seasonal order is inexpensive that way. If you are sending replenishment POs to several vendors a month and reissuing revised copies after short ships, Unlimited at $9 per month or $69 per year covers every download.
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