When entering an invoice, how does it match automatically to an open purchase order?

Thanks for reaching out to the Community, @fran29.

We're unable to link a purchase order to an invoice once it has been confirmed by a vendor. To close it, we'll have to link it to a bill or expense.

If you're referring to a bill, the option to automatically connect it to an open purchase order is unavailable. I'll guide you on how to do it manually:

1. Go to + New and select Bill.
2. Enter the name of the vendor.
3. The open purchase orders will appear on the right side of the screen. Select the specific purchase order and click Add.
4. Review the information to make sure they're accurate, and select Save and close.

To keep track of your purchase orders, you can also run reports for them in QBO. 

Let me know if you have additional questions about purchase orders, you're always welcome to post them here in the Community. Stay safe!

Thank you . That worked.  But I noticed that the items didn't automatically copy over. Is it because the purchase order was originally done on the older quickbooks?

Appreciate the update, @fran29.

Items on purchase orders are based on the selection you've chosen before the conversion. I'm here to help share insights about purchase orders and how you can move the item to a new vendor bill.

Before an expense transaction from a purchase order is created, a prompt message will show letting you choose how to move the items. Yes, the steps above did also the same with the items of a purchase order I created using the test drive.

Saying the purchase order in question was created before the migration from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, the items included may have been not included during the migration process. This can be the reason why item number of items moved after creating a bill from a purchase order is not the same.

With this, let's consider deleting and recreating the purchase order to ensure the accuracy of the number of items. Kindly read and use the following article below to learn more:

• Create and Send Purchase Orders in QuickBooks Online
• Add Purchase Orders to Expenses, Bills, or Checks in QuickBooks Online

Now that you're able to create purchase orders, you're also able to generate reports showing what has been expensed and other transaction data based on the financial status you need. Here are the references you can use: Create and Manage Reports in QuickBooks Online.

I've got you covered if there's anything else that I can help you with aside from creating purchase orders in QuickBooks, please let me know by tagging, @JonpriL, in the comments below. I'll be around and ready to help. Take care always and stay safe!

When connecting an open purchase order, why can I not see the purchase order number on the invoice? Sometimes I have to connect many different purchase orders to one invoice, and it would help if I knew which purchase order each line belongs to.  I realize it comes out exactly how I transfer it, but when I look at a different time,  I do not see what invoice and purchase order is linked to each other.  On QB desktop, the purchase order number was always on the same line as the item line.

Hello, fran29. 

In QuickBooks, once you add the purchase order to a bill, we were unable to view the PO number under the bill line item. I understand how the workflow you're looking for is beneficial to your business. 

As a work around, you'll need to manually add the P.O number to the line item. Here's how:  

1. Go to Expenses. 
2. Open the Purchase Order then click the Copy to Bill. 
3. Under Description line you can enter the PO number there.  
4. Press Save and close. 

You can check this article for more insights about the process: Create and Send Purchase Orders in QuickBooks Online. 

Know that I'm just a reply away should you need anything else. I'll be around to help. 

When attaching the PO to the bill, is there any way to get the PO's sorted by numerical or date? I can have up to 20+ PO's for a vendor open, and it can be a bit frustrating searching the list when they are listed in no order.

Welcome to the Community space, SarahAG.

I understand that organizing the purchase order (PO) by numerical or date would make it simpler for you to attach it to a bill. I'll help you with this.

Just to be sure, are you trying to add a purchase order to a bill? If yes, by default PO is sorted by purchase order number. All you have to do is to click the Add button to link when creating a bill for your vendor. Then it will be listed depending on which one you add first.

The reason the PO is not sorted out is that it may not have been added in a specific order. If this happens, you can arrange the PO by dragging it up and down. You can use this resource as a reference to learn how to include it in a bill: Add purchase orders to expenses, bills, or checks in QuickBooks Online.

I've added the following link to assist you with managing your bills and payments for future use: Enter and manage bills and bill payments in QuickBooks Online.

Let me know if you need additional assistance managing your vendor transaction in QuickBooks. We're always available to help you at any time.

Thank you for the welcome Giovann!

I have no difficulty adding PO's to a bill, the only issue seems to be that ours don't appear to be sorted numerically as your example shows. Could it be that because we use a custom PO # it can't sort it correctly?

Thank you for coming back to this thread, @SarahAG.

I see the benefits of sorting your PO transactions numerically whenever you link them to the Bill. Currently, numerically sorting them isn't available in QuickBooks Online. 

This idea is brilliant for tracking POs easily. And other users may also find this feature handful.

With this, you can directly submit feedback to our Product Development team. They may consider this for our future product updates.

Here's how to submit feedback:

1. In the Gear icon, click Feeback.
2. Type in a brief description of your feedback or product suggestions. Then select Next to submit feedback.

You might want to track your feature requests through the QuickBooks Online Feature Requests website.

Click the Reply button below if you have more questions about managing your customer and vendor transactions. I'll be happy to entertain it. Keep safe, and have a blissful week!

I am trying to taking a PO from a vendor to create a bill and I see it on the right side of my screen QBO. I click ADD and it is linked but the description does NOT populate. Why should I type in manually ? This should populate and show the amount due. Please advise. 

Maybe I am skipping a step. When I receive the vendor invoice, do I need to enter as a bill ? I don't think I need to and it should connect to the PO to be paid and copy to bill. Previously the person handling this, is doing this manually. 

Thanks for joining the thread, @beetee1. 

I'll outline some details to fix this issue you're having when linking transactions in QuickBooks Online. 

Yes, you're right. You don't have to enter the description manually, as this should populate when adding a purchase order to a bill. Double-check if there's a description entered in the Purchase Order.

Once verified that the details are complete, we can try logging in to your QBO account using a private window. Too much historical data from the browser causes discrepancies that affect the view and performance of your QuickBooks.

Feel free to use either of these keyboard shortcuts to open an incognito window depending on your browser:

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Safari 11 or newer: ⌘ + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Shift + Ctrl + P
• Microsoft Edge: Ctrl + Shift + N

If it works, you can go back to your original browser and clear its cache to start fresh. You can also use another supported, up-to-date browser to narrow down the results.

If the issue persists, you can also manually enter the description. 

You can visit this article for more details on managing purchase orders: Create and send purchase orders in QuickBooks Online. 

In addition, I've added these handy articles that can help you pull up reports to keep track of your open purchase orders or other vendor transactions in QBO:

• Run reports in QuickBooks Online
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online

Please feel free to get in touch with me here for any other QBO-related concerns. The Community always has your back. 

Thankyou! This is interesting and I will clear up cache and try incognito. This has been an issue for over a year from the very beginning of the account. I will reply with results. 

No it is not different with incognito. Should I clear cache? I see COPY TO BILL and then in the left corner "linked to PO". The bill does NOT populate. Please advise. 

Maybe another alternative is to ADD the invoice as a bill. That seems like another step after the PO is issued. However, if it solves the problem of population the bill to pay, I can add bill. Also in our overview, there are no bills due. Shouldn't bills due show in that column?

This is a new computer and there is no cache to clear. This is not working on EDGE either with another browser. This takes too long to enter it manually again. 

Thanks for the update, @beetee1. Let me inform you why the purchase order details do not populate when converting it into a bill in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

As per checking, there's an ongoing investigation concerning the inability to convert a purchase order into a bill. I'm aware of the urgency of resolving this matter. However, we want you to know that our engineers are diligently working to find a fix so you may get back to business as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I advise getting in touch with our customer service team so they can add you to the list of impacted users. Once added, you'll get email updates on the investigation status. To do that:

1. Go to Help and click Contact Us.
2. Enter your concern and select Continue.
3. Choose either Chat with us or Have us call you.

Additionally, QBO offers dozens of reports that you may utilize to generate helpful insights about your expenses, including bills and purchase orders. 

Keep me informed if you have any other issues with vendor transactions. The Community is available around-the-clock to keep helping you. Have a great day and stay safe!

Problem is not solved.  

Thank you. I will contact support. 

@beetee1 

Another option, signup for a separate Melio account for free to sync with QBO. 

https://affiliates.meliopayments.com/pricing

Then ask your vendors to send their bills directly to your mailbox with the specified email address. 

When a bill arrives in your inbox via your unique email, you’ll get a message to review the details. You can also filter your inbox by bills that arrived through your unique email.  When you review the bill, the missing details will be marked in red. You can fill them in manually, click Save and schedule payment to continue with the payment. You can continue to pay the bill right after you review the details. Alternatively, you can confirm the details and save it for later.

One perk for the month, you will get a $100 cashback from them to successfully complete your first payment on the platform of at least $200 with a credit card.

Thanks. I called tech support and it is a problem with QBO and the engineers are working on it for multiple users. Melio method is too confusing to have another email for our setup.