Glossary
What is a non-PO invoice?
By Tim White · Last updated
A non-PO invoice is a supplier bill that arrives with no purchase order behind it, so there is nothing pre-approved to match it against. It is common for services, utilities, subscriptions, and small one-off buys. Because there is no order to confirm quantity and price, non-PO invoices carry more risk and usually need a person to confirm the spend was expected before payment.
PO versus non-PO, and why it matters
A PO invoice can be checked against the order that authorized it, through two-way or three-way matching, so much of the control is automatic. A non-PO invoice has no such anchor. Nobody committed to a price or quantity in advance, so the approval step carries the weight, and the risk of a wrong, inflated, or fake bill slipping through is higher.
Handling non-PO invoices well
Route each one to the budget owner who can confirm it was expected, code it to the right account, and watch for duplicates. InvoiceJet verifies the fields and flags duplicates on vendor, number, and amount even when there is no PO, and email approvals record who signed off, so a non-PO bill still leaves a trail. Many teams also require a PO above a set amount and allow non-PO below it.
Common questions
Why are non-PO invoices riskier?
There is no purchase order to match against, so a wrong or fraudulent bill has one fewer check to pass. The approval step and duplicate detection do the work a PO match would otherwise do.
Should we require purchase orders for everything?
Most teams require a PO above a threshold and permit non-PO invoices below it, so small and routine spend is not slowed down while larger commitments stay controlled.
Sources
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