How to email a Shopify purchase order to your supplier (and keep track of the reply)

By Nolan Hargreaves · October 2026

If you moved off Stocky this summer, you've probably noticed the gap. Shopify's purchase orders record what you ordered, from whom, at what cost. They don't send anything. The supplier's email sits on the supplier record, but Shopify never uses it. You send the PO yourself, and the reply lands in your inbox with no link back to the order.

This guide covers a simple routine that keeps that manageable with nothing more than Shopify and your email.

1. Create the purchase order as a draft

In your Shopify admin, go to Products > Purchase orders and click Create purchase order. Pick the supplier (or create one, with their email), choose the destination location, and add the products.

Use the Purchase order details section for a reference number or a note to the supplier. Anything you write there shows up on the PDF, so it's a good place for delivery instructions.

Save it as a draft. Don't mark it as ordered yet.

2. Export the PDF

Open the purchase order, click More actions, then Export PDF. Save it somewhere you'll find it again; a folder per supplier works.

3. Email it with the PO number in the subject

The subject line does most of the tracking work for you later. Put the PO number first, then your store name:

Subject: PO #1042 from Harbour & Pine: please confirm

Hi Sam,

Please find purchase order #1042 attached. Could you reply to this email to confirm:

• the quantities you can supply,
• the unit prices, and
• when it will ship?

If anything is short or delayed, let me know which lines.

Thanks,
Alex

Asking for those three things by name gets you a reply you can act on. "Got it, thanks" tells you nothing about the ship date.

Ask suppliers to reply in the same thread. Most will, and that keeps the PO number in the subject of everything they send back.

4. Mark it as ordered once they confirm

Shopify's help says to mark a purchase order as Ordered after your supplier confirms. Open the PO and click Mark as ordered. You can't undo this, but you can still edit the PO afterwards. If the supplier changes a quantity or a price in their reply, update the line before you create the transfer.

5. Keep track of who hasn't replied

Shopify can't flag a PO the supplier never answered. Your inbox can, with a little setup:

• Search by PO number. In Gmail, searching "PO #1042" pulls up the whole thread, including the supplier's reply.
• Label sent POs. Give every PO email a label like POs – awaiting reply. Move the thread to POs – confirmed when the answer comes in. Whatever is still in "awaiting" is your chase list.
• Keep a short tracker. A spreadsheet with five columns covers it: PO number, supplier, date sent, confirmed (yes/no), confirmed ship date. Add a column for short or backordered lines if your suppliers split orders often.
• Chase on a fixed day. Pick a rule, for example "no reply after 3 business days", and send a one-line nudge in the same thread:

Hi Sam, just checking you received PO #1042. Could you confirm quantities and a ship date when you get a chance?

Once a week, sort the tracker by date sent and chase anything older than your rule.

Why this matters

A supplier who never confirms doesn't stop your order from being late. You just find out when the stock doesn't arrive. The routine above takes a few minutes per PO and turns the silent ones into a list you can act on.

I'm building Emissary, a Shopify app that handles steps 3 to 5 from your own Gmail or Outlook: it sends the PO with the PDF attached (you approve each email), flags suppliers who've gone quiet, and pulls the confirmed quantities and ship dates out of their replies. It's in Shopify App Store review now. If you'd like to try it early, email nolan@legatelabs.com.