Shopify purchase orders: how much to order and what to track

A purchase order records what you bought, from whom, at what cost and when it should arrive. Shopify admin can record purchase orders (Shopify's help center points former Stocky users to them: transitioning from Stocky). The harder part is deciding the quantities, which is what this guide covers.

1. Group by supplier

Suppliers set minimums, ship together and quote one lead time, so plan one PO per supplier. Keep each product's Vendor field in Shopify consistent with the supplier name; it's the easiest way to group products.

2. Decide the quantity with an order-up-to level

Order quantity = daily sales × (lead time + order cycle) + safety stock − stock position

• Order cycle: days until you'll place the next order with this supplier (for example 14 if you order every two weeks).
• Stock position: on hand + units already on open POs.

Example: sells 5/day, lead time 20 days, you order every 14 days, safety stock 35, 60 on hand and nothing incoming. 5 × (20 + 14) + 35 − 60 = 145 units.

3. Round to what the supplier accepts

If the minimum order is 100, 145 is fine. If the product ships in cases of 24, round up to 168 (7 cases). Rounding down re-creates the shortage you're ordering to avoid; the extra units just push the next order out a few days.

4. Check the total before sending

Add up units × unit cost per line. If the PO is larger than your cash allows, trim products with the most days of cover first, not the ones closest to running out.

5. Record the expected arrival date

When you send the PO, note the date the supplier commits to. Until the goods arrive, count those units as incoming, so you don't order them twice.

6. Record the date it actually arrived

The difference between order date and received date is the supplier's real lead time. After three or four orders you'll know whether a supplier's "30 days" means 30 ± 2 or 38 ± 8, and your safety stock should reflect it.

A simple PO checklist

• Supplier, PO number and order date
• SKU, product name, quantity, unit cost and line total for each line
• Requested and confirmed delivery dates
• Shipping terms and payment terms agreed with the supplier
• Received date and any short-shipped quantities

Reorder Radar drafts these per supplier with the quantities already rounded to MOQs and case packs, and shows the reasoning for each line. You review it, send it from your own email, and mark it sent. See purchase order drafts in the demo.