Editing Purchase order (section)

== Legal ==
Although a typical purchase order may not be worded as a contract (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 and conditions of sale, which establish specific or additional legal conditions of the contract.<ref>{{cite web|title=Requisition Order and Purchase Order|url=https://www.digitalpurchaseorder.com/requisition-order-and-purchase-order/|publisher=DPO|access-date=29 August 2016|archive-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828030241/https://www.digitalpurchaseorder.com/requisition-order-and-purchase-order/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
The US [[Federal Acquisition Regulation]] states that purchase orders should generally be issued on a fixed-price basis, but provision is also made for unpriced purchase orders to be issued where "it is impractical to obtain pricing in advance of issuance of the purchase order".<ref>[https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/current/far/html/Subpart%2013_3.html FAR - Subpart 13.3—Simplified Acquisition Methods] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709230622/https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/current/far/html/Subpart%2013_3.html |date=2018-07-09 }}, accessed 15 November 2016</ref>
 
In the UK, the [[Office of Government Commerce]] noted with concern in 2010 that "contracting authorities [were] not always raising purchase orders", and that where they were used, invoices were not always being reconciled to purchase orders before payment.<ref>Office of Government Commerce, [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20110405225019mp_/http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/PPN__1810_The_requirement_for_effective_scrutiny_of_invoices_before_payment.pdf Procurement Policy Note – The requirement for effective scrutiny of invoices before payment. Action Note 18/10 29 September 2010], archived by [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|National Archives]], accessed 28 August 2021</ref> Some organisations operate a "No PO, no pay" policy, which means that invoices which do not refer to a purchase order number will be returned to the supplier unpaid. The [[City of London Corporation]], for example, operates such a policy.<ref>City of London Corporation, [https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/supporting-businesses/tenders-and-procurement/supplier-information Information for Suppliers], updated on 18 September 2024, accessed on 6 December 2024</ref>