Purchase order financing gives companies a short-term solution for funding orders tied to inventory required to complete sales transactions. It can be both addressed to "receivable" (similar but different to factoring) or "payable" (financing of commercial debits) items. It can be based on purchase orders released/received or contracts already signed between customer and supplier. It can be covered by a banking credit line or by other financial agent, which caters for direct payment to the supplier.

It is normally used for cross-border trade transactions, on the basis of competitive service levels (e.g.: rate, duration).

The project purchase order goes within the Supply Chain Finance UN/CEFACT stream. It is similar to invoice financing, but with a different risk management standing. Orders can be linked to contracts or follow the contract on a periodic basis.

In order to foster support for stakeholders and avoid duplication of effort, the Project Team will encourage liaison and cooperation on related developments in the standards community, e.g., ISO Technical Committee 68 (Financial Services) and the ISO International Standard 20022.

Moreover, to ensure no standard overlapping, the POF project was presented during the latest ISO meetings in London - May 2014, through the official report given by the formal UN/CEFACT Liaison to ISO TC68.