How to Generate a PO Number (Free PO Number Generator)

Letters and digits, up to 8. Leave it empty for no prefix.
A department, site, project or vendor code, up to 10 letters and digits.
Date part
Separator
Write your own pattern instead
Placeholders: {PREFIX}, {CODE}, {YYYY}, {YY}, {MM}, {DD}, {SEQ}. An empty code is removed together with the separator after it. Dates use today's date on this device.

Your PO number

PO-2026-001

Use this number in a purchase order →

PO number formats: examples

ExampleBuilt fromWhen it fitsApply
PO-2026-001Prefix PO, year, hyphens, 3 digitsDocument type plus year. It is also the pattern our Purchase Order Generator pre-fills (PO-2026-001). If the count restarts each year, the year keeps the years apart.
PO-OPS-2026-001Prefix PO, code OPS, year, hyphens, 3 digitsOne series per department, site, project or vendor: the code (here OPS) shows at a glance who raised the order.
PO-2610-001Prefix PO, short year and month, hyphens, 3 digitsShows the month the order was raised and sorts by date as text. Decide whether the counter restarts each month or keeps running.
PO/2026/0001Prefix PO, year, slashes, 4 digitsThe same parts as the first example, with slashes. Check that your accounting or ordering system accepts a slash before you choose it.
PO-00001Prefix PO, no date, hyphen, 5 digitsA running number that never restarts. Short and simple; it says nothing about the period.
000001No prefix, no date, 6 digitsA plain number with no prefix. Shortest to type, but it does not say that it is a PO number.

Examples use start number 1 and the date this page was built (October 14, 2026).

PO number vs invoice number

PO numberInvoice number
Issued byThe buyerThe vendor (seller)
IdentifiesThe buyer's orderThe vendor's bill for that order
Where buyers expect itThe PO, the order acknowledgement, the packing slip and the vendor's invoiceThe invoice, and the payment and records that follow it
SeriesThe buyer's own seriesThe vendor's own series, separate from any PO numbers
About this page

The CSV is a starter PO log: your numbers plus empty Date, Vendor, Amount and Status columns. This tool keeps no record of the numbers it shows.

Buyers' accounts-payable teams use the PO number to connect an invoice to the order that approved the spend. Our B2B invoicing guide covers purchase orders from the vendor's side and 3-way matching (PO, receipt of goods, invoice). For invoice numbers, see the invoice numbering guide or the invoice number generator.

What is a PO number?

A purchase order (PO) number is the reference the buyer gives its purchase order. The buyer issues it; the vendor quotes it back, so that everything belonging to that order can be matched to it.

Where buyers expect to see it:

  • on the purchase order itself;
  • on the vendor's order acknowledgement or acceptance;
  • on the packing slip that comes with the delivery;
  • on the vendor's invoice, next to the vendor's own invoice number.

If you are the vendor and a customer asks for "the PO number", they mean their number, not one you create: see the first question in the FAQ below.

Use the number in our Purchase Order Generator

  • Where it goes: the PO # field in the Order Details section. It is free text and takes up to 50 characters.
  • Starting value: a new draft starts at PO-2026-001, with a Respond By date 14 days after today.
  • No auto-increment: the generator never moves on to the next number by itself. Paste the number, or use the Use this number in a purchase order link under the result, which opens the generator with the number already in the PO # field (it replaces only that field, also when a saved draft exists).
  • Your draft: the last draft, including its number, is kept in this browser on this device (local storage), so the next time you open the generator your previous PO is still there. Download and keep each PO you send.

Open the Purchase Order Generator → or download a blank purchase order template