Purchase Orders (POs) in ShipStation help you stay on top of inventory by providing a streamlined way to reorder stock directly from your suppliers. Create and track POs with important details like supplier information, item quantities, pricing, and expected delivery dates. These details help you keep your purchasing process organized and efficient.
Subscription Plan Requirement
This feature is not available on all subscription plans. To access this feature, you may need to upgrade your plan. To learn which features are included with your plan, visit Learn About ShipStation Subscription Plans.
To upgrade your plan, go to Settings > Account > Payment & Subscription.
Centralizing your purchasing and inventory workflows in ShipStation helps save your team time, reduce errors, and improve operational efficiency. Here’s how:
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Centralized Workflow: Manage orders, inventory, and supplier relationships all in one platform—no need to switch between systems.
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Inventory Accuracy: Automatically update stock levels when items are received to help prevent stockouts or overstocking.
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Streamlined Receiving: Easily track which items have been received and which are still pending to improve visibility and processing efficiency.
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Intelligent Forecasting: Use ShipStation’s Reorder Assist to forecast restocking needs based on sales history and inventory thresholds.
When purchasing inventory from vendors, your suppliers often use item identifiers and pricing that differ from your store’s internal catalog:
Overview: Supplier Records & Product Details
Before creating a Purchase Order, you must have a Supplier Record created. When you add items to a Purchase Order, ShipStation automatically pulls the Supplier SKU and Cost from the associated supplier record.
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Supplier SKU: The vendor's catalog or part number for the product (may differ from your ShipStation master SKU).
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Cost (Unit Cost): The wholesale price you pay the supplier per unit (distinct from your internal retail price or inventory valuation).
You can set up and maintain your supplier SKUs and costs using any of the following three methods:
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Bulk import via CSV (recommended for initial setup or large catalogs)
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Manually via the Supplier Record (best for adding individual items or making quick adjustments)
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Directly within a Purchase Order (automatically updates the supplier record for future POs)
Once your supplier catalog and unit costs are configured, you can begin to generate purchase orders by any of the three creation methods below.
If you have a large product catalog or your vendor provides a price list spreadsheet, import the details in bulk:
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Go to Products > Suppliers.
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Click Import in the top action bar.
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Download the sample CSV template (if needed) to ensure your column headers match.
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Populate your spreadsheet with the required columns:
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Supplier Name (must match the existing supplier name exactly)
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Product SKU (your ShipStation internal SKU)
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Supplier SKU (the vendor's catalog/part number)
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Cost (the purchase price per unit)
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Upload your file and map the fields accordingly.
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Click Start Import.
Updating Supplier Costs
Re-importing a CSV with updated Cost values will overwrite existing supplier product costs without altering your master product catalog pricing.
To add items individually or adjust an existing vendor item's cost:
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Go to → .
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Click the name of the supplier to open their record.
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Select the Products tab.
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To add a new product to this supplier:
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Click .
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Search for and select your internal Product (SKU).
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Enter the Supplier SKU and the agreed Cost.
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Click .
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To edit an existing item:
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Locate the item in the list and click the edit pencil icon (or click directly into the editable field).
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Update the Supplier SKU or Cost.
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Save your changes.
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Key Field Reference
|
Field |
Description |
Where it Displays |
|---|---|---|
|
Internal SKU / Master SKU |
The SKU identifier used across your ShipStation account and sales channels. |
Products grid, Orders grid, Packing Slips |
|
Supplier SKU |
The vendor’s specific product identifier or catalog number. |
Purchase Orders, Supplier Record, PO PDFs sent to vendors |
|
Cost |
The wholesale price paid to the supplier per unit. |
Purchase Orders, Supplier Record, Inventory Reports |
You can also update supplier product details on the fly while drafting a Purchase Order. Any adjustments made here are automatically saved back to the supplier's record for future orders:
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Go to Inventory > Purchase Orders and click Create Purchase Order (or edit an open draft).
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Select your Supplier.
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Add line items to the Purchase Order.
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In the item grid, edit the Supplier SKU or Unit Cost fields directly.
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Save or issue the Purchase Order.
Updating Future PO Pricing & SKUs
Updating the Cost or Supplier SKU on a Purchase Order updates the supplier's record so that subsequent Purchase Orders generated for that supplier will automatically reflect the new pricing and vendor SKU. Historical, already-completed POs remain unchanged.
Before you create a purchase order, review how unit costs and SKUs automatically populate on purchase order lines.
This table explains how PO line item pricing works.
|
Behavior / Condition |
Description & Expected Outcome |
|---|---|
|
Source of "Cost Per Item" |
The unit cost on a PO line is automatically pulled from established product–supplier pairings ( It does not pull from the standard Cost field found on the general product detail page (Product Detail > General). |
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Blank Cost & SKU Behavior |
If no active pairing exists between the selected supplier and the product, both the Cost Per Item and Supplier SKU fields will load as blank. |
|
Unit of Measure (UoM) Matching |
Supplier pairings are tied to specific Units of Measure (UoMs). If a product pairing was saved under a different UoM than the one selected on the PO line, the cost will return as blank—unless a UoM-agnostic pairing exists for that product and supplier. |
You can create Purchase Orders in three ways: manually, from the Products page, or using Reorder Assist.
To manually create Purchase Orders:
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Go to the Products tab.
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Click Purchase Orders in the side navigation.
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Click Create Purchase Orders.
The Create Purchase Order window will open.
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Select the Supplier and Destination using the available dropdowns in the Supplier Information section.
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Enter the shipping details, if applicable.
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Enter the payment details, if applicable.
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Scan or enter the SKU or UPC for each product you want to include in the Add Products section.
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Click Save and Order.
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Click Submit to confirm Purchase Order Submission.
To create a Purchase Order using selected products:
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Go to the Products tab.
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Click Inventory, then select your warehouse.
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Select the product(s) you want to include in the Purchase Order.
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Click Create Purchase Order.
The Create Purchase Order window will open.
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Select the Supplier and Destination using the available dropdowns in the Supplier Information section.
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Scan or enter the SKU or UPC for each product you want to include in the Add Products section.
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Add shipping or payment details, if applicable.
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Click Save and Order.
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Click Submit to confirm Purchase Order Submission.
To create a Purchase Order from Reorder Assist:
Once you create a Purchase Order (PO) in ShipStation, you can track order statuses and manage inventory from one place. As items are received, mark the items as received in ShipStation to update your stock levels in real time. Maintain inventory accuracy, streamline supplier communication, and keep the right products on hand to fulfill customer orders.
To receive a purchase order:
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Go to the Products tab.
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Click Purchase Orders.
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Scan the Purchase Order barcode or select the Order ID to pull up the order you'd like to receive. The Purchase Order details window will open.
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Click Receive Stock from the Receive Stock column. The Receive Stock window will open.
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Enter the SKU or Scan the item barcode to accept inventory. You can also add a warehouse location for the items. Warehouse location will auto-populate if you have previously restocked that SKU at that warehouse.
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Enter the quantity received or rejected for each item
Click All next to either field to accept or reject all products in the order at once.
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Click Save.
If your supplier is delivering products in multiple shipments, you can choose to partially receive the Purchase Order as each shipment arrives.
To partially receive an order:
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Go to the Products tab.
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Click Purchase Orders.
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Select the Order ID for the order you'd like to receive.
The Purchase Order details window will open.
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Click Receive Stock from the Receive Stock column.
The Receive Stock window will open.
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Select the warehouse location.
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Enter the quantity received or rejected for each item
Click All next to either field to accept or reject all products in the order at once.
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Click Save.
To receive Purchase Orders with lots:
To learn more about lot tracking, visit Inventory Lot tracking.
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Go to the Products tab.
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Click Purchase Orders.
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Select the Order ID for the order you'd like to receive.
The Purchase Order details window will open.
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Click Receive Stock from the Receive Stock column.
The Receive Stock window will open.
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Select the Show Advanced Inventory Fields checkbox to enter Lot IDs and expiration dates.
You can download two different PDF documents when you create a purchase order:
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Purchase Order Summary: The order summary document is designed to be sent directly to your supplier. It lists all of the SKUs and quantities that were ordered in that specific PO. It will also include a barcode for easy receiving.
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Purchase Order (Received) Summary: The received summary document is designed to summarize all of the items that were received at the warehouse. It details all of the SKUs, costs, and quantities received.