Purchase Orders

What Are Purchase Orders?

Purchase Orders (POs) allow eligible schools, nonprofits, and businesses to place merchandise orders using approved purchasing documentation instead of paying upfront at checkout.

This payment method is useful for organizations that require authorization from a purchasing department, business office, or other administrator before committing funds to an order.

Purchase Order access must be approved and enabled on your account before the payment method can be used.

Applying for Purchase Order Access

Purchase Orders are available to eligible schools, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. Access is not automatically enabled for every account.

To request access, visit your Payment Methods settings and apply for Purchase Order privileges. You can also contact your sales or service representative for assistance.

Once your application is approved and Purchase Orders are enabled, you can use the available PO payment workflow for eligible orders.

How Purchase Orders Work

1. Obtain PO Access: Apply for Purchase Order privileges and wait for approval before using this payment method.
2. Prepare Your Order: Add products to your cart, confirm quantities and customization details, and review the order total.
3. Obtain an Approved PO: Have your organization's purchasing department issue a purchase order that matches the order being placed.
4. Submit the PO: Upload the approved document through the available Purchase Order workflow. Supported document formats include PDF, JPEG, and PNG.
5. Apply the PO: Once the purchase order is applied to the transaction, the amount due at checkout is reduced to zero because the approved PO serves as the payment arrangement.
6. Complete Checkout: Review and submit the order to complete the purchasing process.
7. Track Your Order: Monitor the order's status through your account as it moves through production and fulfillment.

Applying a purchase order does not make the merchandise free or eliminate the organization's payment obligation. It allows the order to proceed under the approved purchasing arrangement rather than requiring immediate payment at checkout.

Purchase Order Workflows

Organizations can coordinate Purchase Orders in several ways depending on who prepares the merchandise order, who issues the PO, and who has access to the platform.

1. Order Lock While Awaiting a Purchase Order

When your organization needs additional time to obtain a PO or complete internal approvals, Order Lock allows you to preserve an order and its pricing for 30 days without paying upfront.

A Locked Order remains pending and cannot be modified. Your business office can complete its purchasing requirements while the order is locked. Once the required documentation and payment arrangements are ready, the applicable Purchase Order process can be completed so the order can proceed.

Order Lock does not initiate production or represent approval from our team.

2. Business Office with Account Access

If your purchasing department has authorized access to the account, its staff can review the merchandise order, provide the approved purchase order, and coordinate checkout with the person responsible for placing the order.

Organizations can use Team Access to manage account-level user roles and permissions.

3. Business Office Sends the PO to the Account Owner

If the purchasing department does not have platform access, it can issue the approved purchase order and send the document to the account owner.

The account owner uploads the PO through the available payment workflow and completes checkout after the document has been applied.

4. Business Office Sends the PO to Our Team

The purchasing department can coordinate directly with a sales or service representative to provide the approved PO.

A representative can assist with applying the PO to the transaction so that the amount due at checkout is zero. The account owner or another authorized user must still complete the final order submission.

Purchase Orders and Internal Approvals

Purchase Orders help organizations align merchandise purchases with their existing procurement procedures.

• Purchasing Documentation: Maintain an approved purchase order associated with the merchandise transaction.
• Payment Flexibility: Complete checkout using an approved PO instead of making an immediate payment.
• Business Office Coordination: Allow purchasing departments and account users to handle their respective responsibilities.
• Order Visibility: Keep purchasing activity and subsequent order status accessible through the account.

Organizations that also need to review designs or purchasing decisions can use Order Approvals where applicable. Internal purchasing authorization and Purchase Order payment processing remain distinct steps.

Common Uses for Purchase Orders

Schools and Educational Institutions

Schools, districts, colleges, and universities can purchase uniforms, spirit wear, event apparel, and other merchandise using documentation issued through their business offices.

Nonprofit Organizations

Eligible nonprofits can coordinate merchandise purchases with their internal purchasing and financial approval procedures.

Athletic Programs and Team Organizations

Athletic departments, leagues, and team organizations can use purchase orders when purchasing uniforms and other team merchandise.

After Submitting a Purchase Order

Once the PO has been applied and checkout is completed, the order follows the applicable processing and production workflow.

You can review order information and monitor its progress through your Order History. Production and delivery timelines depend on the products ordered and any remaining processing requirements.

If your organization needs more time to complete its internal purchasing paperwork before finalizing an order, review the Order Lock option before proceeding.