Alexis Kestler
As a business owner or procurement manager, efficient purchasing processes are critical for controlling costs and maintaining smooth operations. Adopting standardized purchase order (PO) templates across your organization is an impactful strategy to drive efficiency. But with so many options to choose from, identifying the ideal templates can be challenging.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore the significance of POs, provide tips for choosing templates, review 15 top-rated options, and offer final recommendations to streamline your procurement workflows. Let‘s dive in!
The Critical Role of Purchase Orders
Before analyzing the leading PO templates, let‘s briefly recap what purchase orders are and why they‘re indispensable.
A purchase order is a formal document issued by a buyer to a supplier, listing the requested items or services along with agreed-upon prices and delivery details. It functions as a legally binding agreement once accepted by the vendor.
Some key benefits offered by POs:
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Clear specifications – POs provide clear communication of order details to prevent misalignments. For example, incorrect shipment quantities can be avoided by stating the precise amount required.
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Cost control – By formalizing the ordering process, POs enable close tracking of expenditures. Approval controls can be instituted to align purchases with budgets.
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Simplify procurement – Standard PO templates establish efficient workflows for repetitive purchasing. Required information is captured upfront to expedite order placement.
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Enhanced compliance – Well-designed POs and approval controls facilitate compliance with financial regulations and procurement policies.
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Supplier relationships – POs formalize the buying arrangement, enabling reliable expectations and strengthening supplier partnerships.
Clearly, as a backbone of procurement operations, POs confer many advantages. Now let‘s explore how to select optimal templates.
Choosing the Best Purchase Order Templates
With a sea of PO template options available, use the following criteria to zero in on the optimal choice:
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Contains relevant fields – Necessary information like dates, quantities, items ordered, and parties involved should be captured. Extraneous fields clutter the form and slow the process.
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Easy to understand – Avoid complex language and excessive sections. Use clear language and group related information together for intuitive completion.
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Visually appealing – While professional-looking templates aren‘t required, they do project a polished image to vendors and employees.
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Customizable – Look for templates allowing easy customization of fields, logos, colors, and other elements to match your branding and needs.
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Right file format – Select Excel, Google Sheets, Word or PDF templates based on which works best with your existing systems and team preferences.
Keeping these criteria in mind, let‘s explore 15 robust PO template options for streamlining your purchasing workflows.
1. Vertex42
Cost: Free and paid options
Formats: Excel, OpenOffice, Google Sheets
Vertex42 offers a straightforward Excel-based PO template with organized sections for vendor, ship-to, and item details. Handy features include:
- Item number and pricing columns to quickly replicate lines
- Formula-driven subtotal, shipping and total fields
- A separate tab for capturing tax rates
- Ability to save custom templates for each supplier
The template‘s simplicity and Excel functionality make Vertex42 a convenient option for businesses with lighter PO needs.
2. TemplateLab
Cost: Free
Formats: Word, Excel, PDF
TemplateLab provides well-designed Word-based PO templates covering all key information in an easy-to-follow layout. Noteworthy aspects include:
- Clean, professional design with ample white space
- Fields for discounts, freight, contact info and other details
- Notes section for customized supplier instructions
- Cover page with a large PO number field
- Term and conditions section to establish ground rules
For companies that frequently issue POs, TemplateLab offers the right mix of thoroughness and simplicity.
3. Nitro
Cost: Free trial, paid plans start at $12 per month
Formats: PDF, Word
Nitro provides a PDF-based PO template as part of its broader document editing toolset. Key features:
- Inline text fields for quick data population
- Item table with columns for SKUs, descriptions, quantity and pricing
- Formula fields for subtotal and total calculation
- Cover page with key supplier, shipping and buyer info
- Support for e-signatures for paperless approval
For teams that need variable, template-driven PO documents, Nitro is worth considering.
4. Invoice Home
Cost: Free/$10 one-time payment for premium
Formats: PDF, Excel, Word
Invoice Home offers a vast library of free and paid PO templates for PDF, Excel and Word. Notable features:
- 100+ free templates with professional designs
- No Invoice Home branding on generated forms
- Premium templates have more customization options
- Options for condensed 1-page POs or detailed multi-page
Given the extensive template selection, Invoice Home is ideal for larger organizations that need PO varieties.
5. Zoho Inventory
Cost: Free plan, paid plans from $39/month
Formats: Zoho spreadsheet
The Zoho Inventory platform features an integrated PO template within its custom spreadsheet tool. Benefits include:
- Automatically populates item data from inventory
- Cover page with supplier, ship-to and buyer fields
- Sales order integration for auto-creation from sales
- Purchase history tracking and reporting
- Purchase workflow management and approvals
For wholesalers and manufactures closely managing inventory, Zoho Inventory offers a unified system with integrated POs.
6. Excel Made Easy
Cost: Free
Formats: Excel
Excel Made Easy offers a streamlined Excel PO template with just core fields needed to order goods and services. Benefits include:
- Lightweight single-page layout
- Only critical fields like dates, vendor, items, quantities and totals
- Custom fiscal year formula for dynamic date population
- Easy-to-follow Excel sheet instructions
Excel Made Easy delivers a no-frills PO template ideal for smaller and newer companies.
7. Smartsheet
Cost: Free 30-day trial, paid plans from $14/month
Formats: Excel
Smartsheet provides a robust Excel PO template as part of its broader work execution platform. Noteworthy features:
- Cover sheet with supplier, shipping and terms info
- Items table with quantity, description, unit price and line total
- Data validation and conditional formatting to prevent errors
- Purchase workflow templates for built-in approvals
- Inventory management integration
For organizations seeking workflow automation around POs, Smartsheet is a leading option.
8. Skynova
Cost: Free
Formats: PDF, Word
Skynova offers a well-designed collection of free PDF and Word PO templates covering one-page orders or multi-page detailed POs. Benefits:
- Includes fields for notes, terms, item codes and other details
- Easy-to-edit form fields and tables
- Cover page with key PO, buyer and supplier details
- Email integration to send orders right from the template
- Option for electronic signatures
For straightforward PO needs, Skynova has professional-looking, easy-to-use templates.
9. FormSwift
Cost: Free/$19 one-time fee for premium
Formats: PDF, Word
FormSwift provides a range of general PO templates for PDF and Word documents. Notable aspects:
- Clean designs with intuitive field placement
- Cover page, terms and conditions, and items table sections
- Formula fields for totals and balance due
- Option for electronic signatures
- Premium templates have more advanced features
For users needing a document-centric PO system, FormSwift offers solid options.
10. Template.Net
Cost: Free
Formats: PDF, Word, Excel
Template.Net delivers a variety of no-frills PO templates for PDF, Word and Excel. Key features:
- Minimalist styles focused on critical data
- Headers for buyer/seller details and shipping info
- Clear items table with columns for SKUs, descriptions, quantity, prices
- Cover page with PO number visual focus
- PDF templates allow online completion via fields
Template.Net offers straightforward, basic PO templates for uncomplicated needs.
11. Hubspot
Cost: Free CRM, forms module from $50/month
Formats: Online web forms
The HubSpot CRM platform provides PO form creation and workflow automation. Benefits include:
- Drag-and-drop online form builder
- Connects POs to contacts and deals in CRM system
- Approval workflow templates for built-in routing
- Email and PDF generation from submitted orders
- Inventory management integrations
For companies using HubSpot CRM, leveraging its native PO functionality streamlines processes.
12. Billdu
Cost: Free
Formats: PDF, Word, Excel
Billdu offers a PDF-based PO template with a straightforward two-column layout. Notable features:
- Full cover page with critical supplier, shipping and buyer info
- Two-column items table with quantity, description, unit price and line total
- Notes section for special instructions
- Header and footer sections on all pages
- Formula fields for subtotal and total calculation
For buyers looking for a clean, well-organized PDF PO template, Billdu hits the mark.
13. Formstack
Cost: Free, paid plans from $39/month
Formats: Online web forms
The Formstack document automation platform allows creation of online PO forms. Benefits include:
- Drag-and-drop form builder with themes and templates
- Connects submitted POs to workflows for approvals
- Conditional logic for field visibility and requirements
- Partial order saving and resume for later
- Dynamic field options from CRM and databases
Organizations with complex PO workflows can leverage Formstack‘s enterprise capabilities.
14. Jotform
Cost: Free, paid plans from $20/month
Formats: PDF, Excel, email
Jotform enables easy creation of PO forms for collecting order details. Handy features:
- Drag-and-drop PDF form builder
- Math fields for quantity * unit price
- Save submitted orders as PDFs or Excel sheets
- Email purchase orders instantly from the platform
- Accept credit card payments
Jotform excels at flexible form building with built-in PO productivity features.
15. Invoice2go
Cost: Free 30-day trial, paid plans from $15/month
Formats: Online platform
The Invoice2go invoicing platform offers PO functionality. Notable aspects:
- Online forms to capture purchase details
- Custom fields for purchase data requirements
- Print or download POs as PDFs
- Send POs via email and SMS
- Mobile app for on-the-go access
For solopreneurs and very small businesses, Invoice2go provides integrated estimates, invoicing and POs.
Recommendations for Improving Your Procurement Processes
After reviewing the leading PO template solutions, a few recommendations emerge:
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Start simple – Implement basic Excel or Word templates initially while optimizing workflows. Add complexity gradually.
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Prioritize usability – The most useful PO templates are intuitive for requisitioners and vendors. Focus on simplifying internal processes before adding fancy features.
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Choose accessible formats – Enable your team to create POs from anywhere securely by using cloud-based formats like Google Sheets.
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Integrate into systems – Eventually, integrate PO templates into your sales order, inventory and accounting systems for efficiency.
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Add workflow – Introduce approval workflows and purchasing policies to govern PO creation, enhancing compliance and cost optimization.
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Analyze PO data – Extract reports on purchases by vendor, product, seasonality, quantities and other dimensions to uncover trends and opportunities.
While PO templates represent just one component of procurement operations, optimizing their design delivers outsized impacts on costs, productivity and visibility. The templates profiled above can serve as a springboard for establishing the digital foundations of an efficient purchasing system.
Now that your PO forms are streamlined, be sure to optimize invoicing and payments for fully digitized procure-to-pay processes!
