PO forms are paper or electronic forms that contain all of the relevant information about a pending purchase order. Acceptance of a purchase order constitutes a legally binding offer from the vendor (seller) to the client (buyer). The buyer’s creation and submission of the P.O. is the initial step in establishing an agreed-upon sales contract.
A company purchase order form can be as simple as hand-written filled sheet from a PO book one can buy from any office supply store. We recommend a higher technology solution using software and database systems for retention and future analysis purposes.
Another connotation of purchase order form is the screen within a software package that serves as an interface to a computerized purchasing/accounting system. Many companies have their own customized purchase order document with standardized information to enforce company branding and consistency. There are also PO templates that can be used from within software such as MS Word and Excel.
Purchase Order Details
The language of a PO form is particularly important; the more specific the details on order, the more effective the purchase order will be. The buying parties are the ones who draft purchase orders. Sellers, on the other hand, are the ones responsible for sales order preparation, and subsequently, the invoices once an order has been fulfilled. As companies grow, their purchasing demands become more specific. This can result in some serious communication challenges without complete and correctly filled purchase order forms.
Legal Language of Purchase Orders
If you are a US based buyer, there is a certain legal language that should be used in your purchase order forms. This language should indicate that your acceptance of a deal is expressly limited to the terms in your purchase order form, and it should reject any conflicting terms or additional terms listed on the other party’s (sales order) form. In such a case, with the presence of this language in your form, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) dictates that conflicting terms are thrown out [ Raymond P. Kolak ]. Also, all additional terms are thrown out. It is not relevant if those additional terms materially alter the contract or not. It is important to avoid being subjected to the fine print of the other party’s forms. The other party’s fine print gives them the advantage.
PO Form Templates
The purchase order is a form that will be in use throughout the life of your business. It is fairly simple in composition, mainly consisting of shipping information, buyer contact information, vendor contact info, and order details: item SKU, name, description, price, and quantity. Also on the form would be listed the vendor account, delivery information, order type, buyer account, and currency. The purchase order form must show all relevant information relating to the pricing of the items.
A purchase order form will contain all the necessary fields; it must look professional, while saving you time and money.
OrderGen includes template-ready customization and configuration, and printing of requisition and purchase order forms.
