How to attach a PDF to a Shopify order

For an occasional document, add it to the order’s staff-only timeline. For school purchase orders, decide whether the buyer should upload it and whether your team needs a missing-and-reviewed queue.

Attach a file to one order in Shopify Admin

Open Orders, select the order, and find Timeline. Write an internal comment, use the attachment control to select the PDF, then post the comment. Shopify says timeline comments are visible to you and your staff, and can include an attached file. See Shopify’s order details instructions.

For example, if order #1042 arrives with a school’s purchase order by email, staff can open #1042 and attach that PDF to its timeline. Add a short comment such as “School PO received for #1042” so another staff member understands why the file is there. Keep the order’s payment state separate: attaching a PO does not mean the school paid.

Choose the workflow that fits

A few documents, staff already receive them: use Shopify’s order timeline attachment. Staff manually find the order, attach the file, and leave an internal note.
Buyers should provide the document after checkout: ask for a buyer upload on the order confirmation flow, then test that it reaches the matching order.
Several PO orders need follow-up: use a queue that distinguishes missing, received, and reviewed documents, so staff can see what still needs attention.

The built-in timeline is useful for an individual staff action. It does not ask a buyer to upload a school-issued PO at checkout or provide Folio’s dedicated PO status queue. Folio is not open for production installation yet; the preview shows the intended inbox, not a live store connection.

Worked example: a dozen school orders

Suppose a school-supply store receives 12 PO orders during a week. Three buyers have not sent a PDF, seven have sent one, and two have documents a staff member has reviewed. With manual timeline attachments, staff can file each arriving document on its order. A dedicated queue makes the three missing orders and two still-awaiting-review orders visible together. These counts illustrate a workflow decision; they are not Folio usage data.

Test the order match before relying on it

Place one test order using the store’s manual Purchase Order payment method.
Attach or upload a sample PDF, then confirm it appears on that exact order.
Open a separate card order and confirm it does not receive the PO-only request.
Reopen the PO order, download the PDF, and check that it opens.
Keep the order unpaid until the store’s normal process confirms payment.

See the school PO flow