Programa's Purchase Order feature lets you select products from your Schedules, add delivery details, and attach supporting documents like invoices and quotes- streamlining your ordering process from start to finish.
Creating a Purchase Order
Navigate to Purchase Orders in your left-hand navigation menu
Click New Purchase Order in the top right corner
Select from the dropdown menus:
Project - the project you're ordering for (the delivery address will automatically populate from this project's address)
Schedule - the schedule containing your products
Send to - the supplier receiving this order (only products from this supplier will display)
Issue Date - when you're sending the PO
Delivery Date - when you need delivery
Tax - the appropriate tax option
PO Number - auto-populates sequentially, but can be customized to match your internal workflow or align with specific project identifiers for easier bookkeeping and reconciliation
Under Select Products, check the boxes next to products you want to include
Click Confirm Selection to remove unselected items (click Edit anytime to modify your selection)
In the Sending to section, click ➕ Add Another to include additional email recipients
Add any instructions in the Note to supplier field
Review the Delivery address (auto-populated from your project settings) and edit if shipping to a different location
Add any Delivery notes with specific delivery instructions
To add attachments to your Purchase Orders (POs), click ➕ Add under Attachments to include invoices, quotes, or other relevant files.
Note: The delivery address automatically fills from your selected project, eliminating repetitive data entry and reducing addressing errors.
Supplier not appearing in the dropdown?
Your supplier needs a contact person linked to appear in the list.
Go to your Address Book → click the pencil icon or See All Contacts → on the contact card, click ➕ Add new in the top-right section → enter Contact Name, Role, Email, and Phone (optional). Return to your Purchase Order and the contact will now appear.
Customizable PO numbers
By default, Programa automatically generates sequential purchase order numbers. You can override these with custom numbers for project tracking or vendor referencing.
To use a custom PO number:
While creating your purchase order, locate the auto-generated PO number at the top of the form
Click on the PO number field
Enter your preferred custom number (such as a project reference or vendor code)
Continue completing your purchase order as normal
💡 Pro tip: Custom PO numbers make it easier to search and filter your purchase orders later. Use consistent naming conventions like project codes or vendor abbreviations to keep your POs organized.
Once you've created purchase orders with custom numbers, you can search your PO list by project tags or vendor tags to view all related orders in one organized view.
Previewing your Purchase Order
Before sending, review your Purchase Order to ensure all information is accurate.
For new Purchase Orders:
Click Preview at the bottom left of the details panel
Review the downloaded PDF, which includes all notes, addresses, dates, attachments, product selections, and individual product spec sheets
If changes are needed, return to the form and make adjustments
For existing Purchase Orders:
Open the relevant PO from your Purchase Orders dashboard
Click Download PDF
Review the PDF copy
Issuing your Purchase Order
After reviewing, click Send Purchase Order at the bottom right of the details panel
An email with the PDF attachment (including product spec pages and attachments) will be sent to all recipients, and you'll be copied for your records
Note: To save without sending, click Save Draft instead. Your draft will be stored in your Purchase Orders dashboard to send later.
💡 Pro Tip: You can also mark a draft PO as sent directly from the Purchase Orders dashboard — select the three-dot actions menu on any draft PO and choose Mark as Sent, without needing to open the edit page.
Tracking email status
Track delivery and engagement in your Purchase Orders dashboard under the Email Status column:
Sent - Being delivered to the supplier's mail server
Delivered - Successfully reached the supplier's mailbox
Opened - Clicked and opened by the supplier
Bounced - Unable to deliver; check the email address and try again
Didn't find what you were looking for? Check out our full collection of Purchase Orders guides, or reach out to our friendly support team via live chat for personalized assistance.