Purchase Order Software for Lightspeed Retail: 7 Tools

The right purchase order software for Lightspeed Retail depends on where your orders come from. Lightspeed's own purchase order module, with reorder points and spreadsheet import, covers most replenishment. Brands on NuORDER sync orders in through PO Sync. Inventory Planner, Cin7 Core and Finale Inventory move forecasting or inventory control outside Lightspeed. Orders that arrive as supplier PDFs need a capture step in front of the Lightspeed import, which is what PurchaseOrders does.

Most results for this search are software directories listing every app that has ever touched Lightspeed. This comparison is narrower. It covers only tools that create, sync or feed purchase orders, and it answers the questions a store owner or buyer actually has: what reaches Lightspeed, which Lightspeed series it works with, and what kind of retailer it suits. Every claim comes from Lightspeed's help centers or the vendor's own documentation. Where a vendor does not publish a price, we say so rather than guess.

Purchase order software for Lightspeed Retail compared

1. Lightspeed's built-in purchase orders

Before buying anything, know what you already pay for. Lightspeed Retail R-Series offers four ways to fill a purchase order: search for items one at a time, generate lines from reorder points and reorder levels, add special order items to an unsent order, or import a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet import takes up to 500 items per file, one vendor per file, and it can create new items at the same time as it orders them. It matches rows to existing items on System ID, Vendor ID, UPC, EAN, Custom SKU or Manufacturer SKU.

X-Series works the same way in spirit. From Inventory, then Stock control, you click Order stock, pick the supplier and outlets, and add products by search or barcode scan, from reorder recommendations, from the catalog, or from a CSV. The X-Series CSV needs SKU and Quantity, accepts Handle and Supply price, and only accepts products that already exist in Retail POS. For a store with steady core stock, reorder points alone remove most of the typing. What the native module does not solve is the preseason or new-supplier order that arrives as a document. The column-by-column mechanics for both series are on our Lightspeed purchase order import page.

2. Import from document and Lightspeed Scanner (X-Series beta)

Lightspeed has started reading documents itself. On X-Series, Import from document creates a purchase order from an invoice or packing slip in PDF, JPEG or PNG format, and the Lightspeed Scanner app does the same from a document photographed on a phone running iOS 17.4 or later or Android 8.0 or later. Both are labeled beta, and Lightspeed says they may not be available in your account. After processing, every product match has to be confirmed on a computer: accept the match, replace it, search the catalog, or add the line as a new product.

If your X-Series account has it, try it first on your own supplier paperwork, because it keeps everything inside Lightspeed. It does not help R-Series stores, and it processes documents one order at a time rather than as a batch export you can check in a spreadsheet.

3. NuORDER PO Sync, through Lightspeed Wholesale

Lightspeed bought NuORDER in June 2021 and now connects it to Retail POS as Lightspeed Wholesale. You place an order with a connected brand in NuORDER, the order appears on the PO Sync tab under Stock control in X-Series, and one click imports it along with the brand's product images, descriptions and prices. Products that do not exist yet are created automatically. NuORDER's help desk describes the integration as free for Lightspeed Retail customers, and notes that the R-Series version is only available to select customers.

For apparel, footwear, outdoor and gift stores buying from brands that sell on NuORDER, this is the cleanest route there is, because the order never exists as a PDF at all. The limit is the network. You can only order from brands you are connected to, and the independent supplier who emails a confirmation from their own system is outside it.

4. Inventory Planner

Inventory Planner is forecasting software. According to its X-Series integration page, product information, sales history and purchase orders sync automatically with Lightspeed Retail X-Series, and receiving recorded on a purchase order in Lightspeed syncs back. You use its replenishment suggestions to build orders, selecting the items you need and creating one purchase order per supplier in bulk. It suits a store with enough SKUs and sales history that reorder points set by hand have stopped keeping up. Stores that mainly want a simpler forecast of what to reorder can also look at inventory forecasting software built for smaller catalogs. Pricing is on the vendor's site and depends on revenue, so check it against your own numbers.

5. Cin7 Core

Cin7 Core is inventory management software rather than a purchase order add-on. Its help center describes a multi-directional integration with Lightspeed Retail X-Series: sales made in Lightspeed arrive in Cin7 Core as pending orders, stock is allocated, and stock levels update back from Cin7 Core to Lightspeed. Several Lightspeed shops can connect to one Cin7 Core account, each as its own location. The integration needs the Integration: POS - Lightspeed user permission and an External integration licence on the subscription. Choosing it means purchasing and stock control move into Cin7 Core, which makes sense for a retailer that also sells wholesale or ships from a warehouse, and is more system than a single-store shop needs.

6. Finale Inventory

Finale Inventory, from Descartes, integrates with Lightspeed to keep stock aligned across the store and online channels. Its integration page says in-store transactions are imported into Finale every five minutes and describes bulk order processing and tracking of incoming shipments. The page does not say which Lightspeed series it supports and lists no price, sending you to a demo instead, so confirm both before you shortlist it. It fits a retailer that sells on Amazon, Etsy or its own web store as much as over the counter.

7. PurchaseOrders

Every tool above assumes the order starts in software. A large share of independent retail orders do not. They start as a PDF order confirmation from a supplier's own system, an invoice that arrived with the delivery, or a multi-page preseason confirmation from a rep. Somebody keys those into Lightspeed line by line, or builds the import spreadsheet by hand.

PurchaseOrders reads those documents. You upload the PDF, scan or photo, check the header and every line on screen, and export CSV or Excel with item codes, UPCs where printed, descriptions, quantities and unit costs. On R-Series the supplier item code maps straight to Vendor ID. On X-Series you add your SKU from a supplier code lookup, then run the CSV import. PurchaseOrders does not connect to Lightspeed, does not create products and does not receive stock; it removes the typing and leaves the import in your hands. Plans start at $49 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly, with the first 25 pages free to test on your own supplier documents. See the steps on the Lightspeed purchase order import page, or compare plans on PurchaseOrders pricing.

Does Lightspeed Retail have purchase order software built in?

Yes. Both Lightspeed Retail R-Series and X-Series include purchase orders at no extra module cost: create an order for a vendor, add items by search, reorder points or spreadsheet import, send it to the supplier, then receive stock against it. Separate software earns its place only when you need forecasting, multi-location inventory control, a wholesale network, or a way to stop retyping supplier documents.

Which purchase order software is best for Lightspeed Retail?

Match the tool to where your orders start:

• Steady replenishment of core stock: Lightspeed's own reorder points.
• Brands that sell wholesale on NuORDER: NuORDER PO Sync.
• Hundreds of SKUs and reorders driven by sales history: Inventory Planner.
• A retailer that also wholesales or runs a warehouse: Cin7 Core.
• Store plus Amazon or a web shop: Finale Inventory.
• X-Series account with the beta enabled and a few document orders a week: Import from document.
• Suppliers who email PDF confirmations and invoices, on either series: PurchaseOrders in front of the Lightspeed import.

How much does purchase order software for Lightspeed cost?

The built-in purchase order module comes with your Lightspeed Retail plan, and NuORDER describes its Lightspeed integration as free for Lightspeed Retail customers. Inventory Planner, Cin7 Core and Finale Inventory are separate subscriptions; Cin7 Core also needs an External integration licence and Finale quotes through a demo, so ask each vendor for a price at your SKU count and location count. PurchaseOrders is $49 a month on Starter or $149 a month on Plus, with yearly billing at $24 and $74 a month.

How do purchase orders reach QuickBooks from Lightspeed?

On X-Series with the QuickBooks Online integration, each received purchase order shows a Send to QuickBooks Online option on the Stock control page, and sending it posts the order value to the inventory asset account you chose in the integration settings. You send each order individually. On R-Series, the Shipping and Other amounts under Costs are exported to QuickBooks. If your bookkeeper also needs supplier documents entered on the accounting side, importing purchase orders into QuickBooks covers what QuickBooks Online and Desktop accept.

For the retail capture workflow in general, see purchase order extraction for retail. A pile of supplier confirmations clears in one batch with bulk purchase order upload, and if you are weighing full purchasing platforms rather than Lightspeed add-ons, the best purchase order software comparison covers that market.