Managing Purchase Orders

OverviewEnabling purchase ordersAdd a purchase orderManaging purchase ordersMatching bills to purchase orders (2-way match)Using purchase requests to generate POs

Overview

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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

Only the account or card admin can turn on the feature before a PO may be generated or managed. The company is responsible for the generation and management of POs.

Step 1: In the dashboard, click your account icon in the top left.

Step 2: Go to Company settings > Beta features.

Step 3: Toggle on Purchase orders.

HC - Managing PO (1)

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)

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 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.
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