Linnworks purchase orders move through four statuses: Pending, Open, Partial and Delivered. Pending and Open are both before any stock has arrived, Partial means some lines have been delivered, and Delivered means the purchase order is finished. Stock on an open purchase order counts as due, not available, until you book it in, so recording deliveries against the right purchase order is what keeps your stock numbers honest.
The four statuses
These are the four status values the Linnworks API uses for purchase orders: PENDING, OPEN, PARTIAL and DELIVERED. What each one means comes from Linnworks' own material.
Pending and Open
Linnworks' own guide to purchase order management puts both before delivery: before any stock arrives, a purchase order sits at Pending or Open (Linnworks: purchase order management). The guide doesn't separate the two. On the Linnworks community forum, a Linnworks staff answer explains that a purchase order created from out-of-stock items goes to Open by default, unless you tick the Pending PO box before saving (Linnworks community).
Because Linnworks doesn't define a strict rule between them, agree one for your team, for example which status means "still being put together" and which means "sent to the supplier", and stick to it. A status only helps if everyone uses it the same way.
Partial
A purchase order is Partial once some of its lines have been delivered. In the Purchase Orders screen, delivering items one at a time with Deliver Item sets the status to Partial (Linnworks: how to deliver a PO).
Delivered
Delivered means all lines are in. Deliver All delivers every item and sets the status to Delivered, though it doesn't handle batched items, which have their own steps. There's also To Delivered, which changes the status without delivering any stock. Linnworks suggests it for when requested items weren't received and only the status needs changing (Linnworks: how to deliver a PO).
Raising a purchase order
Linnworks' guide lists what each purchase order line should carry: the supplier's item code, the unit price, currency and shipping terms, an expected delivery date, and any specifications. If more than one person raises purchase orders, it suggests a second person approves each one. Stock forecasting can also suggest reorder quantities and raise purchase orders for you, based on the minimum and ideal stock levels you set (Linnworks: purchase order management).
The unit price on the purchase order matters beyond the order itself. If you track margins, see Linnworks cost prices and margins.
Part deliveries
Short deliveries are normal, and Linnworks' guide gives two routes (Linnworks: purchase order management):
- The supplier is still sending the rest. Leave the missing units on the purchase order and move the expected date back.
- The rest isn't coming. Set the Partial purchase order to Delivered without booking in more stock.
Either way, the guide suggests telling whoever pays supplier invoices about the shortfall before the invoice is paid. It also notes that, by default, receivers can book in more than the purchase order quantity, and overbooking can be switched off in the Linnworks Mobile settings.
How stock due on a purchase order relates to stock levels
Stock on an open purchase order shows as due, not available, so your channels don't sell it before it arrives. Booking it in against the purchase order is what turns it into available stock. Two consequences, both from Linnworks' guide (Linnworks: purchase order management):
- When you decide what to reorder, count stock on hand plus stock already due on open purchase orders, or you'll order the same units twice.
- If stock is booked in without being recorded against its purchase order, the purchase order stays Open and those units are counted twice.
You can book stock in from the Stock In screen, which can mark the matching items as delivered on the selected purchase orders, or with a scanner in Linnworks Mobile (Linnworks: how to deliver a PO).
A weekly purchase order review
- Overdue deliveries. List purchase orders that are Open or Partial and past their expected delivery date, and chase them.
- Partials left open. For each Partial purchase order, decide: is the rest still coming (move the date) or not (set it to Delivered and tell accounts)?
- Suppliers that are often late. Judge this from your own data. Linnworks' guide suggests measuring lead time from purchase order raised to stock booked in, rather than relying on the lead time the supplier quotes.
Ask it in plain English
The Hosted MCP Server for Linnworks, coming very soon, lets an AI assistant such as Claude read your purchase orders live. Its search can filter by one status, by supplier, by date range, or by a PO reference, SKU, supplier code or supplier reference, so "which Partial purchase orders do we still have?" becomes a question rather than a report.
Want to ask your purchase orders questions like this? See the Hosted MCP Server for Linnworks page and join the waiting list.