Purchase order statuses

The seven states a purchase order moves through, and what each one means.

A purchase order carries one status at a time, from the moment you create it until it is closed. The status tells you where the goods are — not whether the invoice is settled.

Summary

Status	The goods are	Set by
NEW	Not ordered yet	You, on creating the order
SENT_TO_SUPPLIER	Ordered, nothing confirmed	You, when you send it
IN_TRANSIT	Confirmed by the supplier, on their way	A confirmed shipment
PARTIALLY_RECEIVED	Some arrived, some outstanding	Receiving part of the order
RECEIVED	All arrived	Receiving the remainder
CLOSED	Done with, whatever arrived	You
CANCELLED_BY_SUPPLIER	Not coming	You, on the supplier's word

What each one means

Status	Meaning
NEW	The order exists and can still be edited freely. Nothing has been communicated to the supplier, and no stock is expected.
SENT_TO_SUPPLIER	The order has gone out. The supplier has not yet said what they will ship or when.
IN_TRANSIT	The supplier has confirmed a shipment against the order. That confirmation carries quantities, an expected arrival date and the supplier's own order reference, and lifts the order out of SENT_TO_SUPPLIER. No stock has moved.
PARTIALLY_RECEIVED	At least one line has been received, but the order is not complete. Stock and value have moved for what arrived.
RECEIVED	Everything ordered has been received.
CLOSED	The order is finished as far as you are concerned. Use it when a supplier will not deliver the remainder and you do not want the order sitting open.
CANCELLED_BY_SUPPLIER	The supplier will not fulfil the order.

Two things worth knowing

A confirmed shipment is not a receipt. Confirmation means the goods are coming, not that they are here. It moves the order to IN_TRANSIT, and it touches neither stock nor cost. Only receiving does that — see Receiving goods.

Status is about goods, not money. None of these states tell you whether the supplier invoice has been approved. Invoice approval is tracked separately on the receivement.

Limitations

• A purchase order holds one status for the whole order. When a delivery is split, PARTIALLY_RECEIVED is all the header tells you — the detail of what arrived is on the individual receivements.

• CLOSED does not reverse anything. Stock already received stays received.

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Last updated 19.09.2026