Your customer provides a purchase reference (PO number) with an order. It needs to be visible on all documents they receive back: order confirmation, delivery note, invoice. Large customers are strict about this — an invoice without their PO number ends up at the bottom of the pile in accounts payable, and you feel that in how quickly you get paid. Here's how to make sure Odoo carries the reference through consistently, from quote to invoice.
The Customer Reference field
The sales order has the Customer Reference field. Enter the customer's PO number here — for example "PO-2025-4471". By default this field is shown on the order PDF and on the invoice generated from the order. So for those two documents you don't need to configure anything; it works automatically, as long as your salespeople fill in the field.
Carrying it over to the delivery note
By default there is no Customer Reference on the delivery (stock.picking) — and it is precisely your customer's warehouse that searches by that number. Two routes:
- Via Settings → Inventory → Warehouse → Delivery Orders: enable the option and add the field to the delivery note report.
- Via Studio: open the delivery note report and drag the Origin → Customer Reference field into it, for example next to the delivery number in the header.
Carrying it over to purchase documents (dropship)
In dropship scenarios — your supplier delivers directly to your customer — it is useful for the supplier to put the PO number on the delivery note they include. To do this, use Studio to link the Customer Reference field on the sales order to the related purchase order. Think of a trading company that has machine parts dropshipped: the customer then receives a box with their own reference on it, and nobody has to phone to ask "what does this belong to?".
Making it mandatory per customer
Some customers always demand a PO number. For them, create a Server Action that checks whether Customer Reference is filled in when an order is confirmed. If the field is empty, the salesperson gets a clear error message and the order can only proceed once it is filled in. That's a small hurdle for your salespeople, but a lot smaller than a rejected invoice three weeks later.
Finally
Practical tip: after setting it up, print one test order in full — order confirmation, delivery note and invoice — and check that the reference appears everywhere. Five minutes' work, and you know for sure. Need help adapting documents or reports in Odoo? Contact DAADit Group.
Questions about your Odoo implementation? Start the free Business Scan.
Start the Business Scan →Your customer provides a purchase reference (PO number) with an order. It must be visible on all documents they receive back: order confirmation, packing slip, invoice. Large customers are strict about this — an invoice without their PO number sinks to the bottom of the accounts payable pile, and you will notice that in your payment terms. Here is how to make Odoo carry the reference through consistently, from quote to invoice.
The Customer Reference field
The sales order has a Customer Reference field. Enter the customer's PO number here — for example "PO-2025-4471". This field is shown by default on the order PDF and on the invoice generated from the order. For those two documents you need to configure nothing; it works out of the box, as long as your sales team actually fills in the field.
Carrying it to the packing slip
The delivery (stock.picking) has no Customer Reference by default — while your customer's warehouse searches by exactly that number. Two routes:
- Via Settings → Inventory → Warehouse → Delivery Orders: enable the option and add the field to the packing slip report.
- Via Studio: open the packing slip report and drag the Origin → Customer Reference field into it, for instance next to the delivery number in the header.
Carrying it to purchase documents (dropship)
In dropship scenarios — your supplier ships directly to your customer — it helps if the supplier prints the PO number on the packing slip they include. Use Studio to link the Customer Reference field from the sales order to the related purchase order. Think of a trading company dropshipping machine parts: the customer receives a box with their own reference on it, and nobody has to call to ask "what does this belong to?".
Making it mandatory per customer
Some customers always require a PO number. For them, create a Server Action that checks whether Customer Reference is filled in when an order is confirmed. If the field is empty, the salesperson gets a clear error and the order only proceeds once it is filled in. A small hurdle for your sales team — but far smaller than a rejected invoice three weeks later.
To finish
Practical tip: after setting this up, print one full test order — order confirmation, packing slip and invoice — and check that the reference appears everywhere. Five minutes of work, and you know for sure. Need help customising documents or reports in Odoo? Contact DAADit Group.
Questions about your Odoo implementation? Take the free Business Scan.
Start the Business Scan →