CONTRACTOR GLOSSARY · MATERIALS & PURCHASING
What is a Back order?
A back order is an ordered item the supplier can't fill yet — it ships and bills later, separately from the rest of the order.
The order shows up short and the packing slip tells you why: a line marked B/O. The supplier took the order but doesn't have the item; the rest ships now, the back-ordered piece comes when it comes, on its own ticket and its own invoice.
The schedule risk is the obvious half: a back-ordered panel or piece of gear that gates the rough is a stalled job wearing a paperwork costume. Get a real date, decide whether to wait, substitute, or source it from another house — and if you buy it elsewhere, cancel the back order, or it ships anyway and you own it twice.
The billing risk is the quiet half. The B/O arrives weeks later as a separate small shipment, and separate small shipments are where job tags fall off and invoices go unmatched. A back order is one purchase living on two sets of paper — track it until both halves land on the right job.
Common questions
What should you do when an item comes up back-ordered?
Get a committed date, then decide: wait if it doesn't gate work, ask about an approved equal, or source it from another supplier — and cancel the back order if you do, so it doesn't ship and bill anyway.
How do back orders cause billing mistakes?
They split one purchase across two shipments and two invoices. The late half is easy to receive without checking, misfile without a job tag, or double-pay against the original order — match both halves to the same PO.
RevnuPros tracks the thing, not just the word
Permits to sign-off, T&M tags to signature, materials to billed through, retainage to released — built for subcontractors. Browse the full contractor glossary or the Massachusetts permit guide.
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