# How to Use the Purchase Order Management Worksheet in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

> Turn on the Purchase Order Management Worksheet, send purchase orders to the mobile app or print them, track statuses, and see why EIR removes it.

- URL: https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/purchase-order-management-worksheet/
- Section: QuickBooks Desktop Guides, Purchasing
- Applies to: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
- Steps checked against: Intuit's QuickBooks Desktop help articles, updated August and September 2026
- Updated: 2026-10-21

**Short answer:** To use the Purchase Order Management Worksheet in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise with Advanced Inventory, turn it on under Site Operations in Advanced Inventory Settings. That's at Edit > Preferences > Items & Inventory > Company Preferences. Then go to Inventory > Purchase Order Management Worksheet, send purchase orders to the mobile app or print them, and track them on the PO Progress tab. It isn't available once Enhanced Inventory Receiving is on.

## Before you start

- You need QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise with Advanced Inventory. The worksheet is a Site Operations setting, and Intuit lists Site Operations among the Advanced Inventory features Enterprise users can buy or subscribe to.
- Inventory and Purchase Orders are Active must be checked in Items & Inventory company preferences. Intuit's Advanced Inventory steps check it before opening Advanced Inventory Settings.
- Enhanced Inventory Receiving has to be off. Intuit says the worksheet can only be turned on while it's off.
- To receive on a device, link a supported mobile barcode scanner or an Android phone on the Site Operations tab. Without one, you print the list and receive by hand.
- With multiple inventory sites on, Intuit says you need to assign a receiving bin location when you send a purchase order.

If Advanced Inventory isn't on yet, see [What Advanced Inventory adds in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/advanced-inventory-quickbooks-enterprise/). Linking a device and adding warehouse users is covered in [How to use the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/quickbooks-desktop-mobile-app/).

## What the worksheet does

Intuit describes the worksheet as the place where you pick which purchase order gets received and send it to the QuickBooks Desktop Warehouse app. You can also follow your purchase orders there by site, status or vendor. The worksheet has two tabs.

| Tab | What you do there |
| --- | --- |
| Purchase Orders | Choose purchase orders to receive, assign a receiving bin location and employee, then send them to a device or print them. |
| PO Progress | See what was received and any notes, enter received quantities by hand, and create the item receipt or bill. |

*The two tabs Intuit describes for the Purchase Order Management Worksheet.*

## Step 1: Turn on the worksheet

1. Go to Edit > Preferences.
2. Select Items & Inventory, then the Company Preferences tab.
3. Make sure Inventory and Purchase Orders are Active is checked.
4. Select Advanced Inventory Settings.
5. On the Site Operations tab, check Enable Purchase Order Management Worksheet.
6. Select OK.

The same tab turns on the Sales Order Fulfillment Worksheet, and it's where you add mobile devices. Intuit's Site Operation article calls it the Site Operation tab, while its other articles say Site Operations. If Advanced Inventory Settings is grayed out after you bought Advanced Inventory, go to Help > Manage my License > Sync License Data Online. Then close and reopen QuickBooks.

## Step 2: Send a purchase order for receiving

1. Go to Inventory > Purchase Order Management Worksheet.
2. On the Purchase Orders tab, check the purchase order you want to receive.
3. If multiple inventory sites are on, assign a receiving bin location.
4. Open the Send to Device drop-down. Choose Send to Device to send it to the app or scanner, or Print & Receive to print it for manual receiving.
5. Assign a receiving employee and add a note, if you need to.
6. Select Send or Print.

Once a purchase order is sent to be received, its status is Sent for Receiving. When the receiving agent sends the results back from the device, the PO Progress tab shows what was received and any notes. Intuit's articles don't describe the receiving screens inside the app. If your warehouse tracks bins, see [How to use bin locations in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/bin-locations-enterprise/).

## Step 3: Finish the receipt on the PO Progress tab

1. Go to Inventory > Purchase Order Management Worksheet and open the PO Progress tab.
2. Select the purchase order you want to update.
3. Open the Actions drop-down and choose View Receive list, Create Items Receipt or Create Bill.

- View Receive list opens a form for receiving the items by hand.
- Create Items Receipt creates an item receipt for the selected purchase order.
- Create Bill creates a bill for the selected purchase order.

The worksheet is only available while Enhanced Inventory Receiving is off. With it off, Intuit says you either enter a bill that also adds the items to inventory, or enter an item receipt and record the bill against it later. Intuit's receiving article says an item receipt raises the inventory asset account and accounts payable. The receiving screens are covered in [How to receive inventory against a purchase order](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/receive-inventory-against-purchase-order/).

## Step 4 (no scanner): Print and receive by hand

1. The warehouse manager uses Print & Receive to print the purchase order list and hands it to the receiving agent.
2. The receiving agent marks each item received and returns the list.
3. On the PO Progress tab, the manager double-clicks each line and enters the quantity received.
4. The manager then creates the bill or item receipt to finish, as in Step 3.

These manual steps come from Intuit's Purchase Order Management Worksheet article. Intuit has a separate article, Use the Purchase Order Fulfillment worksheet, which says the PO Progress worksheet is where manual entries go. Its list of manual steps was empty when we checked it on October 21, 2026.

## What the statuses mean

| Status | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Sent for Receiving | The purchase order has been sent to be received. |
| Received | The purchase order has been received but not billed yet. |
| Complete | The purchase order has been received and billed. |

*Purchase order statuses from Intuit's Purchase Order Management Worksheet article.*

## How Enhanced Inventory Receiving affects the worksheet

- You can turn the worksheet on only while Enhanced Inventory Receiving is off.
- Once Enhanced Inventory Receiving is on, the worksheet is no longer available.
- Enhanced Inventory Receiving can't be turned off.
- Intuit's workaround is to restore a backup made before you turned it on. You lose every change made after that backup.
- Intuit suggests backing up the company file and testing Enhanced Inventory Receiving in a sample file first. If your warehouse receives through the worksheet, we suggest making that decision before you build your receiving process around it.

What changes with it on is covered in [How to use Enhanced Inventory Receiving](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/enhanced-inventory-receiving/).

## Common problems

- Enable Purchase Order Management Worksheet won't turn on: check whether Enhanced Inventory Receiving is on. If it is, the worksheet isn't available.
- Advanced Inventory Settings is grayed out: sync your license data from Help > Manage my License, then reopen QuickBooks.
- Send to Device doesn't reach the scanner: the device has to be linked on the Site Operations tab. Expired passcodes and other linking errors are covered in the mobile app guide.
- QuickBooks asks for a bin location: with multiple inventory sites on, assign a receiving bin location before you send.

## Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

- Someone chooses each purchase order to send and assigns the receiving employee and bin.
- With Print & Receive, every received quantity is typed back in by hand.
- Creating the item receipt or bill is a separate step on the PO Progress tab.
- The worksheet shows receiving status. Intuit's article doesn't mention expected dates, so late and short orders still need a call or email to the supplier.
- Switching to Enhanced Inventory Receiving later means giving the worksheet up.

To find orders that are past due, see [how to find open and late purchase orders](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/follow-up-late-supplier-orders/).

## How Logistify helps

Logistify doesn't receive inventory, enter item receipts or create bills. The [Procurement Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/procurement/) follows up with suppliers on open purchase orders. Your team still sends each purchase order for receiving and records what arrives.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Where is the Purchase Order Management Worksheet in QuickBooks Desktop?

Go to Inventory > Purchase Order Management Worksheet. If it isn't there, turn it on under Site Operations in Advanced Inventory Settings.

### Why can't I turn on the Purchase Order Management Worksheet?

Intuit says it can only be turned on while Enhanced Inventory Receiving is off, and the setting sits in Advanced Inventory Settings. If that button is grayed out, sync your license data from Help > Manage my License.

### Do I need a barcode scanner to use the worksheet?

No. Choose Print & Receive, mark the printed list, then enter the quantities received on the PO Progress tab.

### What's the difference between Received and Complete?

Received means the purchase order was received but not billed. Complete means it was received and billed.

### Can I use the worksheet with Enhanced Inventory Receiving?

No. It's no longer available once Enhanced Inventory Receiving is on, unless you restore a backup from before you turned it on.

### Does sending a purchase order for receiving add stock?

Intuit's worksheet article doesn't say it does. Intuit's receiving article says recording the received inventory, or the bill, is what updates quantity on hand, and you can create either from the PO Progress tab.

## Sources

- [Intuit: Use the purchase order management worksheet](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/product-preferences/use-purchase-order-management-worksheet/L7TsaEbW9_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Use the Purchase Order Fulfillment worksheet](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/purchase-orders/use-purchase-order-fulfillment-worksheet/L9UaUlfXW_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Site Operation](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/purchase-orders/site-operation/L83TVs26R_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Manage Enhanced Inventory Receiving](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/product-preferences/turn-enhanced-inventory-receiving-eir/L9VnCgFvY_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Turn on Advanced Inventory](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/feature-preferences/turn-advanced-inventory/L6nkAoZzK_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Setup and use the Warehouse Manager in QuickBooks Desktop mobile](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/install-products/setup-use-warehouse-manager-quickbooks-desktop/L4bHcI3mp_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Receive inventory](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/inventory-management/receive-inventory/L688Eaau2_US_en_US)