Purchase Order Log

Who this is for

A numbered line for every order you place. Supplier, what was ordered, the net amount and the tax you were charged, with the total worked out, a tick when the goods arrive and room for the invoice number that follows.

Small firms that raise orders on paper or by email and have no system holding them, and anyone reconciling a supplier statement against what was actually ordered and actually turned up.

What this helps you track

• Every order you have raised, in number order
• Who it went to and what was on it
• The net, the tax charged and the order total
• Whether the goods have arrived
• The supplier invoice number, so an order and its invoice can be matched

How to use it

1. Write your business, the period and the currency at the top, and the numbering you use for orders.
2. Add a line as each order is raised: your order number, the date, the supplier and what was ordered.
3. Enter the net amount and the tax the supplier charges you, exactly as the quote or order confirmation shows it. No rate on this sheet is ours.
4. Tick received when the goods or the work arrive, and write the delivery date in the notes if it matters.
5. Add the supplier invoice number when the invoice comes in, so the order, the delivery and the invoice line up.
6. The order total, the column totals and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add across and down.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Do I have to use order numbers?

Not for the log to work, but they make a supplier query much shorter. Any sequence will do — a running number, or the year and a number — as long as you use it on the order you send.

What if the invoice does not match the order?

Leave the order figures as they were raised and note the difference against the row. A log that is quietly corrected to match the invoice cannot show you a supplier who overcharges.

Should part deliveries be one line or two?

One line, with the received tick left off until the last of it arrives and a note of what is outstanding. Split it into two lines only if the supplier invoices it twice.

Is the tax column a reclaim figure?

It is only what the supplier charged you. Whether any of it can be reclaimed, and how, depends on your registration and the rules where you are — that is a question for your accountant.