What is a Non-PO (Non Purchase Order)? Risks, Examples, and Best Practices

If you’re wondering “What is a Non-PO (Non-Purchase Order)?”, the easiest way to understand it is by looking at its opposite: the PO (Purchase Order).

A purchase order is a formal document created after approvals are in place — it ensures every purchase is reviewed, authorized, and recorded. A non-PO, on the other hand, skips much of that process. It’s usually created when something is needed urgently and there isn’t time to route a request through the full approval workflow.

Understanding PO vs Non-PO

The main difference comes down to approvals and accountability:

Purchase Orders (POs) are created after going through formal purchase approval workflows. They are structured, documented, and provide a clear audit trail.

Non-Purchase Orders (Non-POs) — sometimes called “self-purchase orders”- are created by the requester without going through the standard approval chain. They’re often used for urgent, one-off needs.

Blanket purchase orders are another term to recognize, these are recurring or predictable purchases, companies often use these to streamline repeat orders with a supplier over a set timeframe.

In short, a PO is about control and visibility, while a Non-PO is about speed and convenience. Businesses sometimes rely on Non-POs when the cost of delay outweighs the risk of skipping approvals, but it is a decision comes with trade-offs.

How the Traditional PO Process Works (With a Case Study)

Let’s first look at a simple purchase order management example.

John heads a small team at a mid-sized construction company. Because the company is expanding, John has been asked to hire another member to his team. After weeks of interviewing, he selects a candidate who will start in two weeks. John needs to make sure the new hire has a desk and laptop ready on day one.

The request goes up the approval workflow chain. First to his boss, then to senior management, and finally to Finance. A week later, the approvals are complete. The purchasing manager then creates the official Purchase Order and sends it to the vendor. By the time the employee starts, the equipment is ready. The process works but only because it was planned well in advance.

Now, let’s look at how this plays out in a real company.

Questrade, a leading Canadian financial services company, faced similar challenges with its procurement process. In the early days, they weren’t issuing purchase orders for every purchase, and approvals were often buried in email threads. This led to inefficiency, poor visibility, and difficulty reconciling spend.

By adopting Procurify’s procure-to-pay platform, Questrade gained:

• Real-time spend visibility, ensuring stakeholders always knew where approvals sat.
• Stronger accountability, reducing rogue spend and ensuring every purchase had a PO trail.
• Streamlined approvals, cutting down the time wasted chasing emails.

“Procurify has just made things simpler for us, where you ‘re not having to dig through a bunch of different places to look for information, it’s right there in front of you” Elizabeth Parish, Director of the Enterprise Vendor Management Office

This case shows the value of sticking to structured purchase order processes even when a non-PO might feel faster in the moment, visibility and control save more time (and money) in the long run.

The Urgency That Leads to Non-POs: A Real Example

John’s team has just informed him that one of their construction sites is running short of cement. The crew needs 800 pounds delivered within 12 hours, or they won’t be able to complete the project on schedule.

In this kind of urgent situation, following the traditional PO approval workflow chain simply isn’t possible. John quickly explains the situation to his boss, gets verbal approval, and creates a purchase order himself. He sends it directly to the vendor, who delivers the cement in time to keep the project moving.

This type of purchase is known as a Non-PO (or Self Purchase Order). Unlike a traditional PO, it bypasses the usual approval routing and allows the requester to create the order on their own. While this approach saves time in urgent cases, it also introduces risk: lack of documentation, no audit trail, and confusion in accounts payable when invoices arrive.

Non-POs in Practice: Risks for AP and Finance Teams

In the first scenario, John’s request went through the traditional PO process. When the vendor’s invoice arrives, the invoice workflow works perfectly.  Accounts Payable (AP) could quickly verify it against the official PO created by the Purchasing Manager. Everything matched, and payment was approved without issue.

In the second scenario, John created a Non-PO himself. When the cement vendor’s invoice landed, AP had no record to match it against. The Purchasing Manager wasn’t aware of the order, and no audit trail existed. To confirm whether the purchase was legitimate, AP would need to chase down John — or worse, ask across the entire company.

This lack of visibility doesn’t just cause delays; it creates real risks:

• Duplicate or fraudulent payments when invoices can’t be verified.

• Wasted AP time spent tracking down approvers instead of processing payments.

• Audit and compliance issues due to missing documentation.

This lack of visibility doesn’t just cause delays; it creates real risks. For many mid-sized companies, often the best way to solve these challenges is with the right accounts payable software.

Debunking Myths: Are Approvals Really Too Slow?

One reason companies lean on Non-POs is the belief that approvals take too long. In reality, the delay comes from outdated processes — paper forms, email chains, or routing approvals manually across departments.

A structured approval workflow isn’t just about efficiency; it’s also about accountability. Each approval creates an audit trail that shows who requested, reviewed, and approved a purchase. That visibility is what protects companies during audits and prevents fraud, duplicate spending, or unauthorized purchases.

The Role of Technology in Faster, Compliant Approvals

Modern procurement software removes the old bottlenecks while strengthening compliance. With automated workflows and real-time notifications, approvers can sign off from anywhere — while every step is logged automatically for audit purposes.

Instead of chasing paper or digging through emails, finance teams gain:

• Instant visibility into request and approval history.
• Audit-ready records of every transaction.
• Confidence in compliance, knowing purchases align with company policy.

That’s why the term “Non-PO” isn’t really an industry standard — it emerged as a stopgap in older ERP systems. With today’s agile procure to pay software, approvals can be fast and fully compliant, making Non-POs less necessary.