Actually, the extra detail of changing purchase order numbers would be confusing and cumbersome. So I decided to let QB number however it wanted to number and I would enter the correct number in the memo field of the purchase order and the "other" custom field. That way I can see the correct po number when I enter bills in the pop up "open purchase orders" window and choose the correct po by the memo field. This makes the QB assigned numbers irrelevant. It's a work around.