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Small and medium business | Business Central, N...
Suggested Answer

PO (Purchase Order) number on the Purchase Invoice

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Posted on by 18

Hi,

I have a question.

I need to enter the PO (Purchase Order) number on the Purchase Invoice (Dynamics Business Central 365). Is there a specific column where I should add the PO number?

Currently, it does not appear on the Purchase Invoice, but once I post it, I can see the PO column.

Can you please guide me with this or any steps that need to follow to activate that column.
 

Thank you.

I have the same question (1)
  • Tom_Gioielli Profile Picture
    3,076 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    Moving over to BC forum.
  • Suggested answer
    OussamaSabbouh Profile Picture
    11,491 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    Hello,
     
    In standard Business Central you can’t manually enter a PO number on a Purchase Invoice. The Order No. field is filled automatically only when the invoice is created from a Purchase Order (or via Get Receipt Lines / Get Purchase Orders), which is why you only see it after posting. If the invoice is entered manually without a PO, there is no standard column to type a PO number, and adding one would require customization and is not recommended because it breaks the standard purchasing flow and traceability.
     
    Regards,
    Oussama Sabbouh
  • Suggested answer
    YUN ZHU Profile Picture
    98,304 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    If you want to enter it manually, you can try the following fields.
     
    Thanks.
    ZHU
  • Suggested answer
    Pallavi Phade Profile Picture
    5,391 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
     
     
    PO Number will flow if Purchase invoice is posted from Purchase Order . Either you have to use existing feild "Vendor Order No" or Create custom field "PO number" and flow to invoice using cusotmization
     
    There are two ways you can post a purchase invoice 
     
    1) Using Purchase Order option
     
     
    If you post a Purchase Order using invoice or Recieve & Invoice option "Order no" flows in Posted Purchase Invoice Header  .Invoice generating out of purchase order.
     
    2) Using Purchase Invoice Option 
     
     
    This will not give any infromation of Order no as it has no reference . But if you use Get Receipt Lines feature you can get "Order No" in posted purchase invoice lines as  there can be multiple orders or reciepts billed for same vendor
     
     
    Posted Purchase Invoices with blank order no
     
    Posted Purchase Invoice Lines if you used Reciept Reference
     
     
    Warm Regards
    Pallavi Phade
    www.linkedin.com/in/pallaviphade131116
     
  • Suggested answer
    Dhiren Nagar Profile Picture
    2,876 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    Hi,
     
    The Order No. field on the Posted Purchase Invoice is only reflected with the Purchase Order no. only when you post the Purchase Invoice directly from the Purchase Order screen.
     
    If you post an Invoice from Purchase Invoice screen there is no standard option to enter Purchase Order.
     
    However you can do a small customization where you can create a field on Purchase Invoice page and then flow it to the Posted Purchase Invoice screen once it is posted.
     
    Regards,
    Dhiren.
  • Suggested answer
    Valentin Castravet Profile Picture
    31,996 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    If you do not use purchase orders and instead start with a purchase invoice, the Vendor Invoice No. field mentioned by Yun Zhu is your best option.
     
  • Suggested answer
    Khushbu Rajvi. Profile Picture
    21,573 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at

    If you first create a Purchase Order and then create the Purchase Invoice from it (using Get Receipt Lines or Get Purchase Orders), the PO number is populated automatically.

    If you create the Purchase Invoice directly, there is no PO number to link, so the Vendor Invoice No. field is the appropriate place to enter the reference number.

  • Suggested answer
    Jeffrey Bulanadi Profile Picture
    9,106 Super User 2026 Season 1 on at
    Hi,

    In BC there is not a separate “PO number” field on an unposted Purchase Invoice. When you create a purchase invoice from a Purchase Order, the system uses the Order No. internally but it doesn’t show as a column on the unposted invoice form, that’s why you don’t see it until after posting. The Vendor Invoice No. and Vendor Order No. fields are intended for vendor reference numbers.

    Key points:
    • Unposted Purchase Invoices do not show a PO number column, it isn’t part of the document layout until the invoice is posted and linked back to the PO.
    • The field for vendor reference on purchase documents is Vendor Invoice No. or Vendor Order No., and you can fill this before posting.
    • If you want the PO number to be visible earlier, you must create the purchase invoice from the Purchase Order (e.g., receive and invoice from the PO), otherwise the link isn’t shown on the unposted invoice. 


    Helpful Reference
    External document numbers on purchase documents - Business Central | Microsoft Learn
    Record purchases with purchase invoices - Business Central | Microsoft Learn

    If you find this helpful, feel free to mark this as the suggested or verified answer.

    Cheers
    Jeffrey


     

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