The Wholesale Purchase Order Process on Shopify (Step by Step)

Quick Answer

The wholesale purchase order process typically runs through internal buyer approval, PO issuance, order placement referencing that PO number, fulfillment, and invoicing matched back to the same reference. Native Shopify B2B supports PO number capture at checkout, and Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B supports manual and draft orders for cases where a PO arrives by email rather than through self-service checkout.

What is a Purchase Order?

A purchase order, or PO, is how many business buyers formally authorize a purchase internally before it ever reaches your store, and understanding this process from their side helps explain why some wholesale buyers ask for specific fields or documentation you might not have anticipated.

The process typically starts well before your storefront is even involved, with internal approval on the buyer's side, and ends with your fulfillment and invoicing matching back to that same PO number for their own accounting records.

This guide walks through the wholesale purchase order process step by step, and how each stage maps to something you can actually configure on Shopify.

What Are the Actual Steps in a Wholesale PO Process?

The process generally includes internal approval on the buyer's side, issuance of a PO number, submission of that PO number when placing the order, either through self-service checkout or by sending it to your sales team, fulfillment of the order, and invoicing that references the same PO number so the buyer's accounting team can reconcile the purchase against their internal records.

Who Needs to Understand This Process?

• Wholesalers selling to buyers with a formal internal procurement process
• Sellers wanting to support PO number capture at checkout
• Businesses receiving PO-referenced orders by email rather than through self-service
• Distributors wanting invoicing to reference the correct PO number for buyer reconciliation
• Companies wanting to understand why some buyers require specific fields at checkout
• Teams onboarding new staff who need to understand how PO-based orders flow through the business

Why Understanding This Process Matters for Your Business

• Supporting PO capture matches how many procurement teams expect to order
• Missing this field can create friction or delay for buyers who need it internally
• Correctly referencing the PO number on your invoice supports the buyer's own accounting process
• Understanding the buyer's internal process helps you anticipate their specific requirements
• This is often expected by larger business buyers as a baseline capability, not an advanced feature
• Getting this right smooths the entire order relationship, not just the initial purchase

For a full breakdown of what Shopify includes natively and where it stops, see our comparison of native B2B versus third-party apps.

How to Support the PO Process on Shopify

Step 1: Prepare Your Store and Customer Tags

Confirm which of your wholesale accounts actually require PO number support before configuring checkout, since not every buyer's internal process needs it.

• Identify which wholesale accounts use a formal PO process internally
• Confirm whether these buyers order through self-service checkout or by contacting your team directly
• Create customer tags for these accounts if their handling should differ from standard wholesale

Step 2: Install and Configure Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B

Enable native PO number support at checkout, and install Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B if you also need manual and draft orders for PO-referenced orders that arrive by email.

• Confirm PO number capture is enabled at checkout for wholesale accounts
• Connect Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B if staff need to create draft orders referencing a PO received by email
• Set up your invoicing to display the submitted PO number clearly

Step 3: Create the Pricing or Discount Rules

Confirm existing tier and volume pricing applies correctly to PO-referenced orders, whether placed through self-service checkout or a staff-created draft order.

• Confirm tiered pricing applies automatically regardless of order entry method
• Set order minimums if PO-based accounts should meet a specific threshold
• Confirm any volume discounts calculate correctly on manually created draft orders

Step 4: Test With a Tagged Test Customer

Test the full process with a tagged test account, submitting a test PO number through checkout and confirming it displays correctly on the resulting invoice.

• Complete a test checkout with a PO number and confirm it captures correctly
• Create a test draft order referencing a PO number and confirm accuracy
• Ask Sidekick which customers are in a specific tier group to confirm pricing applied correctly to the PO-referenced order

Step 5: Go Live

Once the process tests correctly, publish it live and communicate the PO submission path clearly to relevant accounts.

• Publish PO number capture to your live checkout
• Communicate to relevant accounts how to submit their PO number, whether at checkout or by email
• Monitor the first several PO-referenced orders for accuracy

Wholesale PO Process Examples

Office Furniture Supplier (Office supplies)
Problem: Business buyers needed a PO number field at checkout for internal purchasing approval, which the default checkout lacked, delaying orders while buyers emailed a reference separately.
Setup: Enabled native PO number support at checkout, closing the gap between the buyer's internal process and the actual order.
Result: Buyers completed checkout with their PO number captured directly, without a separate email step.

Industrial Equipment Distributor (Industrial goods)
Problem: Some larger accounts preferred to send a PO by email rather than order through self-service checkout, and staff had no clear process for creating a matching order.
Setup: Used manual and draft orders through Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B to create accurate orders referencing the emailed PO number.
Result: Staff could process email-based PO orders consistently, with pricing and PO reference both accurate on the resulting invoice.

Read more case studies for our apps.

Best Practices

• Confirm which accounts genuinely require PO number support before configuring checkout
• Enable native PO capture at checkout for self-service PO-based orders
• Use manual and draft orders for PO-referenced orders that arrive by email
• Confirm the PO number displays clearly on the resulting invoice
• Test the full process end to end before relying on it for real accounts
• Communicate the PO submission path clearly to accounts that need it

Summary

The wholesale purchase order process runs from internal buyer approval through PO issuance, order submission, fulfillment, and invoicing that references the same PO number for the buyer's own reconciliation. Supporting this on Shopify means enabling PO capture at checkout and, for orders that arrive by email, using manual or draft orders to keep the reference accurate throughout. For more on how native tools support this process, see our comparison of native B2B versus third-party apps.

For manual and draft order support alongside PO number capture, try Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B.