purchase order

A purchase order (PO) is a commercial document and first official offer issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services. It is used to control the purchasing of products and services from external suppliers. Acceptance of a purchase order by a seller forms a contract between the buyer and seller, and no contract exists until the purchase order is accepted. Although a typical Purchase Order may not contain contract language (in fact most contain little more than a list of the goods or services the buyer desires to purchase, along with price, payment terms, and shipping instructions), the Purchase Order is a specially regarded instrument regulated by the Uniform Commercial Code or other similar law which establishes a Purchase Order as a contract by its nature. Yet despite the nature of the Purchase Order as a contract, it is common to accompany the acceptance of a Purchase Order with a legal document such as the Terms & Conditions of Sale, which establish specific or additional legal conditions of the contract. Creating a purchase order is typically the first step of the purchase to pay process in an ERP system.

Eine Bestellung (engl.: Purchase order, oft abgekürzt PO) ist die Aufforderung eines Kunden an einen Hersteller, Händler oder Dienstleister zur Bereitstellung eines Produktes oder einer Dienstleistung. Die Bestellung mündet in den meisten Fällen in ein Vertragsverhältnis, durch das sich beide Seiten zur Erfüllung der gegenseitigen Vereinbarungen verpflichten.