Shopify guide · School orders
How to accept school purchase orders on Shopify
Let a school place its order with a manual payment method, then collect its own PO PDF after checkout and keep it beside the order.
Shopify can accept a purchase order as a custom manual payment method. That gives the school a way to place the order without paying by card. It does not add a PDF upload field to checkout. For stores not on Plus, plan the document step after checkout instead of relying on a custom checkout field.
1. Add a manual payment option for POs
In Shopify Admin, open Settings → Payments. Under Manual payment methods, choose Create custom payment method. Name it Purchase Order, add any buyer-facing details, write clear payment instructions, and activate it.
For example, the instructions might say: “Choose Purchase Order at checkout. Your order will remain unpaid while we review the PO. Upload the school-issued PDF from the order confirmation.” Keep card and other payment methods available for buyers who do not need a PO.
2. Ask for the buyer’s document after checkout
A school’s accounts-payable team usually issues the PO document; it is not the same as a PO PDF generated by the seller. Ask the buyer to provide that school-issued PDF after the order is placed. A post-purchase Order status page is a practical place to do this because it is associated with the order.
Shopify notes that the order might not exist yet when a Thank You page extension first renders. If an upload depends on a Shopify order record, wait until the order is available or collect the file from the Order status page. Do not make the buyer retype an order number into an unrelated form.
3. Match the file and review before fulfillment
Use a test order before inviting buyers. Confirm the PO order gets an upload prompt, the PDF appears on that same order in the merchant inbox, and a card-paid order does not get a PO prompt. Download the file and check it opens. Review the document and follow your store’s normal payment and fulfillment policy.
A PO is a request or payment document, not proof that funds arrived. Keep the Shopify order unpaid until your normal process confirms payment. A received PDF should never mark an order paid by itself.
Worked example: two school orders, one card order
Suppose a school places order #1042 for $240 and selects Purchase Order. Its buyer uploads a three-page PDF. The merchant sees that PDF attached to #1042, reviews it, and leaves the payment status to Shopify’s existing manual-payment workflow. A second school order using Purchase Order gets its own document request. A regular card order receives no PO upload request.
This example shows the routing to verify; the amounts and order numbers are illustrative, not performance data.
Can I add the PDF field inside checkout?
Do not assume a file-upload app can conditionally add a field to checkout on every Shopify plan. Checkout extension targets and plan access differ, and the Thank You page can render before an order record exists. For a regular non-Plus store, test an order-linked post-purchase flow on your own plan before relying on it.
Try the order flow
Folio is built for merchants who accept manual PO payment from schools: it previews the buyer upload step and the merchant’s missing, received, and reviewed order states.
Folio is still being prepared for production installs. The preview uses sample orders; it does not change a live Shopify order. See the verification steps before relying on an app for real orders.