What Is a PO Number on Amazon? [Full Guide]

When you place an order with Amazon Business, you will often receive a tracking number, but not always. In order to ensure your Amazon item is always trackable and help keep your items organized, Amazon recommends creating a PO number.

But you might be wondering: What is a PO number on Amazon?

What Is a PO Number on Amazon? [Full Guide]

A PO number on Amazon is also known as a purchase order number. If you have an Amazon Business account, you can either opt to have Amazon automatically generate PO numbers for your orders, or you can create them individually at checkout. PO numbers ensure your orders stay organized.

In this article, we will answer: What does the PO number mean? As well as how to create them, how to use them, and how they will help your business. So keep reading; everything you need to know about Amazon PO numbers is right here!

Why Do I Have to Enter a Po Number?

When using Amazon Business, you do not have to enter a PO number; however, it is highly encouraged as using these numbers is a great way to keep your orders trackable, and organized, and for both the administrators and the users of your account to communicate about budgets and items ordered.

The only reason why you would be required to enter a PO number on Amazon is if the administrator of the business account made it a requirement for all orders.

Before we discuss the instructions on how to actually create PO numbers for your Amazon Business account, it’s important to understand what the benefits of using them are!

Here are the many advantages of PO numbers on Amazon Business:

• It adds a layer of protection to your items as they are being tracked by you and the sender.
• It organizes your orders as well as payments so you can keep track of how much you spent and on what.
• Delays can be avoided as there will be fewer mix-ups with deliveries with PO numbers.
• It can improve efficiency and productivity for your business.
• Reconciling your invoices at the end of the month is much faster and more effective.
• Protects against fraud as the PO numbers are unique to your business account.

If creating a PO number sounds like a great option for your business, you’re probably wondering how to make it happen!

How Do I Create a PO Number on Amazon?

There are several ways to create a PO number on Amazon for your business.

• Add an individualized PO number at checkout to your specific order or item.
• Opt to have Amazon create PO numbers for every order.
• Create a budget (blanket PO) for your business account.

Now, let’s learn how to create a PO number on Amazon through one of these three avenues.

Add an Individualized PO Number

In order to allow for individualized PO numbers to be added to specific orders, Administrators of business accounts on Amazon first need to change the account preferences to allow for the option to add a PO number on each purchase.

Here’s how to change the PO number preferences:

1. Sign into your Amazon business account.
2. Go to Business Settings.
3. Select Business Order Info.
4. Enable PO Number.
5. Select Save.

From here, every time administrators or account users can enter a chosen PO number on the Amazon purchase order address line during checkout. The PO number should be a collection of numbers and characters that expresses one or more of the following descriptions:

• List of items to be purchased.
• Quantity of each item.
• Price of each item.
• Confirmed delivery date for each item or entire order.
• Confirmed delivery location for each item or entire order.

Choosing a PO number that explains all the details of an order can be a challenge, which is why many business account holders opt to have Amazon automatically create and assign PO numbers.

Set Preferences for Amazon to Automate PO Numbers

To get the most out of the benefits that using PO numbers provides for your business, the best option is to have Amazon automate PO numbers on every order that can be organized and analyzed at the end of the fiscal month, quarter, or year.

To change the settings, so Amazon automatically sets a PO number for every order, here’s what you need to do:

1. Sign into your Amazon business account.
2. Go to Business Settings.
3. Select Business Order Info.
4. Enable PO Number.
5. Select PO numbers are required for purchase.
6. Select Save.

Once you have set this preference, the PO number can be found on every shipping label and packing slip, on invoices, and on your Amazon Business analytics report to keep your purchases organized!

Create a Budget PO

Amazon states that Budgets (Blanket PO) allow Account and Group administrators to create a purchase order with a budget for requisitioners at group and user-level.

This is a great option if you want to keep your budget in check while several users make purchases. When the budget has been spent for the specific time frame, no more purchases will be authorized.

Here’s how to create a Budget PO for your Amazon business account:

Group-level set-up:

1. Under Your Account for Business, select Business Settings.
2. Under Members, select Groups and then choose the group you wish to create a budget for.
3. On the following page, under Billing & Shipping, select Budgets (Blanket PO).
4. To create a new Blanket Purchase Order for this group, select Set up a new blanket purchase order.
5. On the following page, enter the required information and select Save to set up your Budgets (Blanket PO).

User-Level set-up:

1. Go to the Budgets (Blanket PO) page on your account.
2. Under Allocations, select Add Allocation.
3. From the drop-down, select Add individual or Add all group members.
4. Enter the allocation amount in the Allocated column, or select Distribute funds evenly to allocate funds in batches.
5. Select Save to save your changes once your allocation is complete.

Now you have all the information you need to decide which kind of PO number is best for your business account and, more importantly, how to create it!

How Do You Use a PO Number on Amazon?

Once you have followed one of the three sets of directions above to create PO numbers for your business account, it’s vital to understand how to use these numbers.

You can use PO numbers simply as tracking numbers for your Amazon purchases, or you can download the PO number reports as part of Amazon’s business account analytics offerings.

You can download the order history report with the PO numbers by following these instructions:

1. Go to Download Order Reports under Ordering and shopping preferences in Your Account.
2. Select the report type from the drop-down menu.
3. Fill in the start date, end date, and report name.
4. Click Request Report.

If you opted for a Budget (Blanket PO), the directions are slightly different:

1. Visit the Budgets (Blanket PO) section of your Amazon Business account.
2. Select the Download report of Blanket POs (.csv) dropdown menu.
3. If you have groups and subgroups set up, you can choose to download a report from one of the following options:
   1. This group only.
   2. This group and all its subgroups.
   3. All groups and subgroups.

Is a PO Number a Tracking Number?

Technically a PO number can be used as a tracking number, but it’s also so much more.

 If you use PO numbers on your business account, you will always be able to use the numbers to track where your item is in the delivery process.

Does Amazon Accept Purchase Orders From Schools?

Amazon certainly does accept purchase orders from schools. In fact, signing your school up for an Amazon business account is a great way to keep track of your school’s spending and orders.

Amazon Business offers business-only selection, quantity discounts, and access to time-saving features such as downloadable spreadsheets and automated analytics that help you run your school better.

Amazon Purchase Order Lookup

For an Amazon purchase order lookup, you can either use your PO number on the shipping label or invoice to search for the item on your Amazon business account, or you can find the PO number under the Your Orders menu on the account page.

You can also look up your Amazon purchase order number in the report of Blanket POs if you opt to establish a budget PO system for your account.

Conclusion

PO numbers on Amazon are purchase order numbers that can and should be used on your Amazon business account to track and protect your purchases. PO numbers can help organize your purchases, set a budget for all administrators and users, and ensure easy reconciliation at the end of the month.