# Managing Purchase Orders 

Get answers to all of your questions regarding Brex

**URL Source:** https://www.brex.com/support/managing-purchase-orders

---

## Overview

<!-- plans: Early access, Premium, Enterprise, Smart card -->

Purchase orders (POs) help finance teams control, track, and delegate operational spend. By issuing a PO before purchases are made, you ensure that Finance is aware of spending commitments and can match incoming vendor invoices against agreed terms.

With POs, you can:

- Track open and closed orders with visibility into unbilled amounts.
- Match bills directly to approved POs for greater accuracy and control.

## Enabling purchase orders

If you are an account or card admin, contact Brex Support to get started. The company is responsible for the generation and management of POs.

## Add a purchase order

Once enabled, account admins or card admins can add POs directly from the _Vendors_ page.

### In the dashboard

**Step 1:** Go to _Vendors > Create a purchase order_.

![HC - Managing PO (2)](https://brand.brex.com/m/2ad92d0b13314b29/webimage-HC-Managing-PO-2.jpg)

**Step 2:** Fill in PO details, including:

- Vendor name and contact information
- Issue date and optional expiry date.
- Vendor memo (optional).
- Line items for goods or services (description, quantity, rate, and total).

**Step 3: **Review the PO and issue it to the vendor. You can send it directly through Brex by checking _"Send a_ _copy of purchase order to [vendor name]_" or download it from the Vendor's details to send offline. If the vendor's email address is saved, you’ll have the option to preview the message before sending it.

## Managing purchase orders

You can manage existing POs from the relevant vendor’s profile.

**Step 1:** Navigate to _Vendors_ and select the vendor. 

**Step 2:** Open the _Purchase orders_ tab. 

**Step 3:** Select the PO to:

- Send it to the vendor.
- Edit or update details.
- Download or delete the record.

The _Vendors_ table also displays an _Open POs_ column showing the number of active POs, total amount spent, and unbilled balances.

## Matching bills to purchase orders (2-way match)

When you pay a bill, Brex will attempt to automatically match it to the correct PO based on vendor, amount, and dates.

**Step 1:** Go to _Bills > Bill details_.

**Step 2:** In the _Purchase order_ dropdown, confirm the suggested PO or select one manually.

**Step 3:** Review the bill. If the bill exceeds the available PO balance, you’ll see a warning.

**Note:** Bills can still be matched to POs that exceed the remaining balance, but once the PO’s total amount is reached, it will close. As a reminder, you are responsible for confirming the generated PO.

## Using purchase requests to generate POs

You can also use [Request Types](https://www.brex.com/request-types) to decentralize operational spend. Employees can submit requests that result in either a spend limit or a PO, depending on how the request is processed. See the lifecycle of a PO request below.

### Lifecycle of a PO request

1. **Employee submits request:** An employee creates a spend request from the _Wallet_ section.
2. **Admin approves request:** An admin reviews and approves the request. At this stage, the admin may choose to generate a draft PO instead of a spend limit.
3. **Draft PO creation:** Draft POs are stored in the _Vendors_ page under the _Draft POs_ shelf item.
4. **Finalizing the PO:** The admin completes the draft by filling in all required details and issuing the PO to the vendor.