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Mail a PO to a Canadian supplier the same way you would to a US one: PO number, line items, payment terms, bill-to/ship-to, but price it in Canadian dollars. With LetterAgent, letters to Canadian addresses are billed in CAD with applicable sales tax added at checkout, so the mailing itself carries no currency guesswork.
| Item | Canada | US (for comparison) |
|---|---|---|
| Currency | Quote and price in CAD. Most Canadian suppliers reject or delay USD-priced POs: they'll either convert at their own rate (unfavorable to you) or ask you to re-issue. | USD is the default. |
| Tax on the PO | Canadian suppliers typically quote GST/HST/QST separately from the goods subtotal. Show the tax line items on your PO exactly as the supplier quotes them. | Sales tax is usually added at invoice time, less often broken out on the PO. |
| French-language content | For suppliers in Quebec, a French or bilingual PO is often appreciated and sometimes expected: Quebec's language rules affect business documentation there. | English only is standard. |
| Mailing the PO | LetterAgent letters to Canadian addresses are billed in CAD with the recipient's provincial sales tax added at checkout as its own line. | LetterAgent letters to US addresses are billed in USD, tax-free. |
One detail that's easy to miss: Canada Post expects the postal code on the same line as the city and province, separated by two spaces: like Toronto ON M4B 1B3: whereas US addresses put the ZIP on its own after the state. Format your supplier's address the Canadian way so it shows correctly through the window envelope.
Keep it simple: the PO states the goods price and any GST/HST/QST exactly as the supplier's quote shows them. That's between you and the supplier: your accountant sorts out input tax credits later. As for the letter itself: when you mail through LetterAgent, the applicable sales tax is handled at checkout based on the recipient's province, added as its own line item. You don't need to do tax math on the mailing.
This is general information, not tax advice: tax rules change, so check with your accountant for the current year's rules.
The same reasons as in the US apply, plus one Canada-specific one: many Canadian suppliers in trades, construction supply, and wholesale food distribution run heavily paper-based AP departments where the physical mail tray is the authoritative intake. An emailed PDF may sit unread while a mailed PO is already scanned into their system. If a supplier is slow to acknowledge emailed orders, switching to mail often unsticks it.
Also worth knowing: if you mail a PO to a supplier and it comes back undeliverable, the return address showing through the window means it lands back at your door, so double-check the department and suite number before you send, especially for large Toronto or Montreal distributors with multiple locations.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it's printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
Need help? Ask your assistant: it can check a job's status any time. If it ever can't handle something: hello@getletteragent.com