Drop-ship purchase order template
Drop-ship purchase order template for online shops: the customer’s address as delivery point, supplier SKUs per line, plain packaging and a dispatch promise.
Templates by industry
- Sit-stand desk frame, dual motor, SKU DF-220
- Oak veneer desktop, 160×80 cm
- Cable management tray
- Plain packaging and carrier handling, per parcel
Preparation guide
Example workflow
Match the quotation
Example: take "Sit-stand desk frame, dual motor, SKU DF-220" from the supplier's quotation and copy its quantity, unit price and specification exactly.
Approve and send
Confirm the delivery date and address for every line, including "Plain packaging and carrier handling, per parcel", then sign the authorized-by line and send the order.
Receive and reconcile
When the goods arrive, check them against the order, then match the supplier's invoice to the order number before paying.
In a drop-ship sale the shop never touches the goods: the customer orders from the shop, and the shop orders the same items from a supplier who posts them straight to the customer. The order therefore has two addresses, the shop’s as buyer and the customer’s as the place of delivery, and the supplier must not slip in its own prices. This template keeps the two apart and records the dispatch promise.
Fields to prepare
- Deliverables and line items
- Sit-stand desk frame, dual motor, SKU DF-220, Oak veneer desktop, 160×80 cm, Cable management tray, Plain packaging and carrier handling, per parcel: state the quantity, unit and agreed price for each line, as the supplier quoted it.
- Sit-stand desk frame, dual motor, SKU DF-220
- Use the supplier’s own SKU, not yours, and add your customer’s order reference in the notes so that the supplier’s dispatch message can be matched to it.
- Oak veneer desktop, 160×80 cm
- Large panels ship apart from the frame and may leave on another day; ask the supplier to say so up front, or the customer sees half a desk and writes to you.
- Cable management tray
- Small accessories are what most often goes missing from a parcel; list them on a line of their own so they appear on the supplier’s pick list.
- Plain packaging and carrier handling, per parcel
- Agree the per-parcel fee with the carrier included, and write that the box carries no supplier logo or price and that your name is the sender.
- Supplier and quotation
- Name the supplier and quote the number of the quotation this order accepts, so each price can be traced to the offer.
- Delivery
- Give the delivery date, the address the goods go to, the shipping method and who receives them.
- Scope to agree
- Put the end customer’s address and a phone number for the carrier in the delivery fields, give the supplier’s SKU on every line, and ask for plain packaging with no prices inside the parcel.
Before sending
- Does “Sit-stand desk frame, dual motor, SKU DF-220” match the supplier’s quotation in specification, quantity and price?
- Are a delivery date and a receiver agreed for “Oak veneer desktop, 160×80 cm”?
- Has the budget holder approved the spend on “Cable management tray”?
Show 4 more
- Does “Plain packaging and carrier handling, per parcel” match the supplier’s quotation in specification, quantity and price?
- Check the supplier's quotation number, the delivery date and address, and who approved the order.
- Check that each quantity, unit and unit price matches the supplier's quotation.
- Give the order a number of its own, so the supplier can quote it on the delivery note and the invoice.
Worked example: two desks shipped straight to a customer
The figures are an example, in dollars. A shop sells two home-office desks and orders the parts from its supplier: two frames, two oak tops, two cable trays and two parcels handled by the carrier.
| Item | Quantity × unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sit-stand desk frame, dual motor, SKU DF-220 | 2 × $189.00 | $378.00 |
| Oak veneer desktop, 160×80 cm | 2 × $74.00 | $148.00 |
| Cable management tray | 2 × $12.00 | $24.00 |
| Plain packaging and carrier handling, per parcel | 2 × $9.00 | $18.00 |
| Total | $568.00 | |
The four lines come to $568.00, which is the shop’s cost. The customer paid the shop’s own price, so the difference stays with the shop. If a line is backordered, the supplier says so before dispatch, and the customer is told the same day.
Common mistakes on a drop-ship order
- Putting the shop’s own warehouse in the delivery field, so the goods arrive where nobody wanted them.
- Leaving the packaging instruction out, and the customer finds the supplier’s price list in the box.
- Using the shop’s own SKUs with a supplier that only knows its catalogue numbers.
- Promising the customer a delivery date before the supplier has confirmed stock and dispatch.
- Not agreeing a return address, so refused parcels circle between carrier, customer and shop.
What the document must show
These details make a purchase order easier to approve and to file.
- Your company name and address as the buyer
- The supplier's name and address
- Order number and date
- Each item with quantity, unit price and amount
- Delivery date, delivery address and shipping method
- Payment terms and the total, with tax shown separately
- Who authorized the order
The sales tax depends on where the work is supplied, so set the rate that applies to your customer before sending.
Official rate reference: US government: state and local taxes
Frequently asked questions
Whose address goes in the delivery field of a drop-ship order?
The end customer’s, with a phone number for the carrier. Your own address goes in the buyer block, so the supplier knows whom it deals with while the goods go somewhere else.
How do I get the tracking number back to my customer?
Ask for it in the notes: the supplier emails the tracking number within one working day of dispatch, quoting your order number. Pass it on the same day, because a customer without tracking writes to you, not to the supplier.
What if the supplier runs out of stock after my customer has paid?
Make stock confirmation a condition: the supplier confirms availability and the dispatch date in writing within a set time and says at once if a line is short. Then you can offer the customer a wait or a refund the same day.
Who takes back a drop-shipped item that the customer returns?
Settle it before the first order. Write the return address, who pays the carriage back and whether the supplier deducts the goods from your account once received. Otherwise a returned desk lands at your door with nowhere to go.
Should each customer order have its own purchase order?
Usually yes. The delivery address and the tracking number belong to one parcel, and one order per customer order keeps them together. Suppliers with an automated feed may take several in one file, so ask how yours prefers it.
How is tax calculated on this template?
The sales tax depends on where the work is supplied, so set the rate that applies to your customer before sending. The editor keeps the net amount, the tax and the total apart, and recalculates all three when you change a quantity, a unit price or the country setting.
Is this template free?
Yes. You can fill in this template and print it or save it as a PDF without an account, and there is no payment step and no watermark on the document. Saving it to your account and downloading Excel or Word files need a free account.
Read next
Reading for the Drop-ship purchase order template: Quote, proforma, invoice, receipt, credit note: which to use and Invoice numbering: sequences and corrections. When the goods arrive, match them to this order with the Delivery note template.