A purchase order is the written order you send a vendor before they deliver, so the bill can be checked against it later.
What NetSuite does on its own
Purchase orders with optional approval and receiving.
What you need in NetSuite
- Purchase Orders feature
- Approval Routing (Purchase Order preference) or a SuiteFlow approval workflow for PO approval
Setting it up in NetSuite
Where to find it: Transactions > Purchases/Vendors > Enter Purchase Orders
- Go to Transactions > Purchases/Vendors > Enter Purchase Orders.
- Pick the Vendor, the date and the Receive By date.
- Add items or expense lines with quantity and rate.
- Click Save. A purchase order is a non-posting transaction.
- If approval is on, the PO goes to the supervisor or Purchase Approver, or starts as Pending Approval.
Good to know in NetSuite
- Some Oracle pages write the menu as Transactions > Purchases > Enter Purchase Orders. Use the one your role shows.
- With Approval Routing on, supervisors need Employee Center access and can approve only 25 transactions at a time.
- With SuiteFlow every PO is created Pending Approval by default.
How to do it in NetSuite
How to raise a purchase order and get it approved in NetSuite
In NetSuite, create a purchase order with the vendor, lines and prices. Submit it for approval and send it to the vendor only after it is approved.
How to match a vendor bill to a purchase order in NetSuite
In NetSuite, open the purchase order, compare each vendor bill line to the purchase order line on quantity and unit price and query any difference before you approve.
How to handle a partial delivery against a purchase order in NetSuite
Yes. Go to Transactions > Purchases > Receive Order, tick Receive on the items that arrived and enter the quantity. The PO shows Partially Received. Partial receiving does not work for expense lines.
What Pulsify adds
- Raise and approve the purchase order in NetSuite as you do now.
- Open purchase orders come into Pulsify from NetSuite.
- When the vendor bill arrives, Pulsify matches it to the purchase order line by line and flags differences.
- A panel shows how much of the purchase order has been billed and what is left.
Pulsify connects to NetSuite. We set up the connection for you. More about purchase orders in Pulsify.
What Pulsify does not do
- Raising purchase orders in Pulsify is for Xero only. In NetSuite you raise them in NetSuite.
More help
- Purchase orders for Dynamics 365 Finance
- Purchase orders for Kinetic
- Purchase orders for IFS Cloud
- Supplier statement reconciliation for NetSuite
- Invoice approvals for NetSuite
- Invoice capture for NetSuite
- All NetSuite how-to guides
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-19.
Common questions
Can NetSuite POs need approval before they go to the supplier?
Yes. Use Approval Routing with the Purchase Order preference, where an employee over their Purchase Limit sends it to the supervisor. Or use a SuiteFlow workflow that starts each PO as Pending Approval.
Do purchase orders post to the ledger?
No. Oracle describes a purchase order as a non-posting transaction. The cost posts when the bill is entered. Receiving goods creates an item receipt.
Should every purchase have a purchase order?
Most teams set a dollar amount or a supplier list. Regular small bills such as power often skip a PO and go through approval instead.
Pulsify setup guides
Want this done for you?
Book a call to see how Pulsify handles purchase orders in NetSuite.