How do I enter a sku number on the purchase order? The block is NOT accepting data

Go to Account and Settings, Sales, Products and services and turn-on Show SKU column. You will also need to make sure that you have turned on "Show Items table on expense and purchase forms" which is under Expenses, Bills and expenses under Account and Settings.

@jill10 

The sku number comes from the item screen, enter the sku on each item in the sku block in the products & services list.

Good point, Rustler

I had not realized that they were trying to manually enter the SKU number in the PO, I assumed that they had added it to the product and service item and it was not showing up on the PO.

Refer to this article:

https://community.intuit.com/questions/1746841-sku-not-showing-on-purchase-order

Answering with no additional comment related to Purchase Order form customization status in QBO. Just Ridiculous as said.

Where there is a will there is a way.

While I agree that Intuit should allow users to customize what "prints" on a Purchase Order form and don't agree that you can add the SKU field to a PO and yet it will not print on paper, you can always "right-click" and print to PDF while you are in the Purchase Order that "does" show the SKU number and then print that to paper if it is absolutely necessary to do so. I personally don't print things out on paper anymore, I PDF everything. And while it is not pretty, the snip-it of the PDF copy of the PO I created attached does include the SKU number.

We'll keep working to improve your experience using QBO, @Vespucci. 

Currently, the SKU column will not print on a PO regardless on the number of pages. I suggest adding the SKU information to the Description field so it appears on the printed purchase order. You can check out the screenshot below for your future reference. 

Please know that we're taking note of all your requests. I'd make sure to pass these along to our Product Development Team. These help us improve our products and services. To help you stay current on all the program news and updates, see this helpful link: QBO Blog. 

For more details about how purchase order works for your business, you can read through this article: How To Use Purchase Order. I'd suggest running any PO reports to help keep track of your vendor balances. 

Keep me in the loop if there's anything else you need. Have an awesome day. 

I followed these instructions and the SKUs are showing on the PO, but do not print on the paper PO. 

Thanks for joining this thread, @Tom2400.

I appreciate you for following the instructions given by my colleague RaymondJayO. As he stated above, printing the purchase order doesn't include the SKU column.

I understand how this option would benefit you and other users. I'll submit this feature request on your behalf to our product engineers so they'll include this in the future.

In the meantime, you can consider the workaround provide by colleague on adding the SKU information to the Description field. I've added some images below for visual reference.

You can also visit our QuickBooks Online Blog page to learn some news and updates on what's new in QuickBooks Online.

Then, in case you want to learn how to record a retainer or a deposit in your QBO account, you can read this great article for reference: Record a Retainer or Deposit.

Also, visit our Income and expenses page for QBO to learn some tips on managing your expenses.

As always, visit our Help articles page for QuickBooks Online to learn and read some helpful articles for future reference.

Feel free to reach out to us if you have other concerns or questions. We're always here to help. Take care!

I entered my SKU numbers and the show in a column on the purchase order, Great!. When I print, they do not. Only the descriptions print out. I need the SKUs printed on the paper PO. How do I do this.

Thanks for getting back to this thread, @Tom2400.

I'm glad that you can now finally entered the SKU number on your purchase order transaction. Currently, printing the purchase order with the SKU column is unavailable. 

In the meantime, I suggest adding the SKU information to the Description field so it will appear on the printed purchase order. 

Finding new ways to adapt to our customers’ needs is how QuickBooks gets even better. I'll take note of your request, and will update you once we received product enhancement about the availability of this option. 

Your feedback helps our Product Development team decide which feature will be implemented in the future update. 

For future reference, you may want to visit this article on how to personalize your forms, change the design, and add an info: Customize your invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online. 

Please know that you're always welcome to post if you have any other concerns. Have a good day! 

I was hopeful this was going to work but it definitely didn't in the App so I tried it in two different browsers and it doesn't work.  It's all distorted and one row is half a page long with no data in it.  I have no desire to "print" anything but I need a PO that shows my product SKU's on it so my supplier doesn't keep ordering the wrong item for me!!  It's business 101 to be able to show an item SKU on a PO that is sent to a supplier.  That is the driver behind ALL inventory and ordering!  Baffled QB is so behind in ALL business basics!

I appreciate your input regarding our purchase order form, @WW Swag.

My colleagues already sent feedback to our engineers to have this reviewed and considered in future product enhancements. While this is currently unavailable, you can follow the workaround shared by RaymondJayO.

Since you mentioned having issues printing the PO, here are tips that’ll help set up, adjust, or check the printing alignment of all entries created in QBO. Different solutions are provided depending on your situation, check out this article for the details: Print sales forms. Though the article is for sales transactions, much of the information are relevant for printing forms in QuickBooks.

You can also fix the distorted data showing on the printed copy by increasing the resolution. Follow these steps: 

1. Open the transaction, then click Print.
2. On the Preview screen, pick the Printer icon.
3. Choose Properties in the printer dialog box.
4. Click Advanced, then increase the resolution (for example, 600 x 600).
5. If you have a Dithering option, choose Fine. 

Here’s an article for reference: Printing is unclear or fuzzy. I’m also adding this resource that contains additional troubleshooting solutions to serve as your guide: 
Fix QuickBooks Online printing issues on browsers for Windows.

Please reach out to me if you need further assistance. I’m more than happy to help. Take care!
 

Forget printing.... It is not a printer issue.

what about emailing a purchase order to the supplier with the SKU column visible.  Is that even possible?

Hi EricST,

I know how you want the SKU column to show on your purchase order (PO). At this time, customizing your PO isn't possible. As an alternative, you can enter the SKU information on the Description field so you can email it to your supplier. Let me guide you through the steps.

1. Click the Plus (+) icon on the upper-left.
2. Under the Suppliers column, select Purchase Order.
3. Enter the necessary information like the Supplier's name, email, mailing address.
4. Under the Item details or Category details section, enter the item information including  SKU under the Description column.
5. Click Save and send to email it to your supplier.

Please see the screenshots below for your reference. 

If you want to know how to receive or pay part of a purchase order, you can go over on this article for your future reference: Create Purchase Orders In QuickBooks Online.

Let me know if you have other questions about QuickBooks Online. I'll be right here to help you.

Quickbooks, seriously why is this not solved by now? Please help us out. This is a very basic setting for purchase orders.

Good Evening, @Switch Suspension. 

Thank you for joining this thread. I'm here to help you get you SKU number on your purchase orders. 

After reviewing this thread, my colleague @JanyRoseB provided the correct information for your SKU numbers to appear on your purchase orders. 

To determine the reason why the steps provided in this thread didn't work, I'm going to recommend calling in to our QuickBooks Online Support team and speaking with a live specialist. They'll have the tools to get you back on the right path. 

Here are the steps to request a callback:

1. Select the Help button in the top right corner. 

2. Choose Contact Us and type in your reasoning for requesting a callback request.

3. Scroll down through those options until you see Get A Callback. 

4. Type in your contact information. 

5. Go to Call Me. 

If you have any more QuickBooks related questions, please don't hesitate to Reply to this thread. Have a wonderful rest of your week! 

This is BEYOND and absurb solution to something that should be obvious to provide... a SKU column!!! I have hundreds of products imported from Quickbooks Desktop!!  It would take days upon days to go through EVERY product and update all the product descriptions.  Particularly when there is already a SKU field provided in QB online for the SKU separately!!!  OMG this is ridulous and Business 101 that a SKU should be on a Purchase order.  My supplier has ordered the incorrect product for me on more than one occasion because of this oversight on QB online part.  FIX THIS!!!

Agreed, So basic!  Clearly QB developers have never run a business.  Unbelievable this isn't resolved yet.  Simple and necessary to have an item SKU on a purchase order.

Kendra, I followed the instructions and the SKU column does appear now on my purchase orders and apparently my invoices as well. However it does not populate that column when I email or print the purchase order. That is the part that is the most frustrating and seems to us as users would be a very easy update for QBO. 

This function and the ability to partially receive purchase orders did not come over when we changed to QB Online but were both available options in QB Desktop. HELP US OUT !!!!

Ever notice how lack of QBO basic capabilities or bug issues, seems to always turn to a big giant circle jerk in these forums with QB support? It seems nothing ever get's solved and the discussions just go around in circles getting nowhere.

This is such a basic requirement and yet to this day has still not been resolved. Why can we not customize our PO forms?

Hello, @seandm69.

I appreciate you explaining how it would help users to improve the customization option for the PO template. The format used in your Purchase Order follows the current format of the Standard Form (Master) in QuickBooks.

In the meantime, I'll make sure to gather the information you've shared here and pass these along to our developers. Also, the suggestions on this page are often looked at by our developers to see what features users like yourself would like to see added. This way, choosing different templates or changing formats for the purchase order might be given a chance to be included in the next product updates.

You can keep up with ways we're working to improve the program by checking out our QuickBooks Blog.

Thanks again for taking the time to talk to us! We always appreciate feedback and suggestions.

Either it is a bug or it does not work the way QB intended. I have SKU checked and it still doesn't print the SKU on my PO or packing slip forms. What is odd is that it used to work up until mid October and then after an update it no longer appeared. I have already told Support via phone about this and was given the same tedious work around given in this forum. Support wouldn't even acknowledgement that this was ever even in the program previously.

This was around the same time it started to screw up my logo printed out on the form and i was given a very poor work around for that as well. I had zero issues with my logo up until this happened.

I can provide examples of this as well if you need to see it for yourself.

Hi @seandm69,

Let’s edit the Master style of your invoice to populate the SKU numbers on the printed purchase order. Let me guide you on how to do it.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Choose Custom Form Style
3. Edit the Master style of the invoice template.
4. Click the Contents tab.
5. Select the middle part of the Invoice.
6. Under COLUMNS, put a tick box on the SKU.
7. Hit Done.

Once done, you can go to the Products and Services page. Edit the items and enter the SKU number individually. In the line item of the Invoice, select the item and hit Save. Then, click the Print or Preview option to check the printed template with SKU number.

For a reference, you can check this link on how to modify your product or service information: Edit a product or service.

 If you have any other related concerns, let us know. We’re here to assist you.