Overview
Commercial clients usually authorize work through purchase orders (POs), each with an approved dollar amount. SmartMoving lets you capture one or more PO numbers on a project, assign a budget to each, and reference the correct PO when you invoice the client. This keeps billing aligned with the client's approved spend and gives your team a single place to see how much of each PO has been used.
Before You Start
Available to companies with Smart Pro.
You must have Accounts permission.
The account must already be created.
The project must already be created (or you can add POs while creating the project).
How Purchase Orders and Budgets Fit Together
A single commercial project can have one PO or several. Each PO row captures two pieces of information:
Field | Description |
Purchase Order Number | The PO number provided by the client. Alphanumeric characters and hyphens, up to 100 characters. |
Project Budget | The dollar amount the client has approved for that PO. |
The sum of all PO budgets on a project represents the total approved spend. When you create invoices against the project, you tie each invoice to one of the PO numbers so your team can see invoiced and outstanding amounts per PO.
How to Add a Purchase Order at Project Creation
Every new project starts with one PO row on the project form.
On the account detail page, click Add Project in the Projects card.
Complete the core project fields (Name, Status, Dates, Project Manager, Contact).
Locate the Purchase Orders section of the form.
Enter the Purchase Order Number.
Enter the Project Budget for that PO.
To add another PO, click the + button and fill in the next row. Repeat for each PO the client has issued.
Click Add Project to save.
đĄ SmartTip: If the client has not yet issued a PO, you can create the project with a placeholder PO number and update it later. Keeping a PO row in place makes sure the project is ready for invoicing as soon as the number is confirmed.
How to Add, Edit, or Remove POs on an Existing Project
Open the project detail page.
On the Overview tab, click the Edit button on the Project Info card.
Scroll to the Purchase Orders section in the slideout.
To add another PO, click the + button and enter the number and budget.
To edit an existing PO, update the Purchase Order Number or Project Budget field.
To remove a PO, click the delete icon next to the PO row.
Click Save.
Note: Before removing a PO, confirm that no invoices are tied to that PO number. If invoices already reference the PO, keep it on the project and update only the budget.
How to Tie an Invoice to a Purchase Order
When you create an invoice at the project level, SmartMoving prompts you to confirm which PO the invoice applies to.
From the project detail page, open the Invoices & Payments tab and click Create Invoice.
Select the jobs you want to include on the invoice.
In the invoice form, choose the Purchase Order Number from the dropdown. The list shows every PO on the project.
Review the due date (auto-populated from the account's billing terms) and any other invoice details.
Click Create Invoice to save.
The invoice now shows the PO number on both the invoice record and the outgoing invoice PDF so the client's AP team can match it to their approved spend.
How to Track Budget Against POs
As invoices are created and payments are recorded against a project, SmartMoving keeps the project's financial picture up to date. You can monitor spend against your PO budgets from two places:
Project Details page: The project's outstanding balance KPI reflects what the client still owes across all POs on the project.
Invoices & Payments tab: Filter or sort the invoice list by PO number to see how much each PO has been invoiced and paid.
Note: Per-PO budget tracking and the Project Budget KPI are evolving features. Some budget-tracking views are rolling out during beta and may change before GA. Check release notes for the current state.
Best Practices
Enter PO numbers and budgets exactly as the client provided them. Many clients match invoices to POs automatically, and a small formatting difference can stall payment.
Keep one PO row per PO issued by the client. Don't combine multiple client POs into a single SmartMoving PO row, even if the work is related â combining them makes invoice matching harder on the client side.
Update the Project Budget field if the client issues a change order that adjusts the approved amount.
Include the PO number on any job notes or documents tied to the work so your field team has the reference on hand.
Add project-level notes when a PO is closed, fully invoiced, or replaced so future team members have the context.