A purchase requisition is an internal request to buy something. Someone who needs it, a baker short of sheet pans or a cook who sees the flour running low, writes down what, how many, roughly what it costs, why, and when it's needed. The person who approves spending signs it, and only then does anyone place the order, on a purchase order sent to the supplier. The requisition stays inside the business; the purchase order goes out. The point is a rule everybody can see: who can buy what without asking, and who signs above that. A small business might let the production lead order ingredients on the standing order freely, and ask for the owner's signature on anything else over $500. In the example below, a wholesale bakery's production lead asks for flour, sheet pans and a mixer bowl.
The short version
- A purchase requisition is an internal request to buy; a purchase order is the order sent to the supplier.
- On it: who's asking, what, how many, estimated cost, why, when it's needed, a suggested supplier.
- Set an approval limit: what can be bought without asking, and who signs above it.
- Once approved, the purchase order is raised and its number goes on the requisition.
- Standing orders and the reorder list cover the routine buying; requisitions catch the rest.
- TaroStack has purchase orders with approval, so the request and the order are one record. More below.
Requisition or purchase order
| Purchase requisition | Purchase order | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | The person who approves spending | The supplier |
| Who writes it | Whoever needs the goods | Whoever buys |
| Stays inside the business? | Yes | No, it goes out |
| What it commits | Nothing yet | The business, once the supplier accepts |
What goes on the order that follows is in what should a purchase order include, and pulling stock already on hand for production in material requisition form.
What goes on a purchase requisition
| Part | What to write |
|---|---|
| Requisition number and date | Its own sequence: PR-0412 |
| Requested by | Name and role |
| Needed by | The date it has to be here |
| Lines | Item, quantity, unit, estimated unit cost, line total |
| Why | One line: what runs short or breaks without it |
| Suggested supplier | If the person asking knows the best one |
| Approval | Who approved, the date, and the limit it fell under |
| PO number | Filled in once the order is placed |
An example: flour, sheet pans and a mixer bowl
Flint Hills Bakery, a made-up wholesale bakery in Topeka, Kansas, lets the production lead order anything on the standing ingredient order, and asks for the owner's signature on any requisition over $500. On October 14 the production lead wrote one:
| Item | Quantity | Est. unit cost | Line total | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour, 50 lb bag | 10 | $30.00 | $300.00 | A hotel account's holiday rolls, beyond the standing order |
| Half sheet pans | 12 | $18.00 | $216.00 | Six warped, the rest short on Saturdays |
| Mixer bowl, 60 qt | 1 | $640.00 | $640.00 | The old bowl is cracked at the rim |
| Total | $1,156.00 |
At $1,156 it went to the owner, who approved the flour and the pans the same day and asked for a second quote on the bowl. The flour and pans went on purchase order PO 1195 to the usual supplier; the bowl went on PO 1197 a week later, $585 from the second supplier. The requisition now shows both PO numbers, which closes it. Flint Hills's flour reorder level is in stock card template.
Get the template
Download the purchase requisition template. One sheet: shaded cells for the requisition number and date, who's asking, when it's needed and the approval, and each line's item code, description, unit, the reason, quantity and estimated cost; the line totals and the total work themselves out. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The requisition is on paper, the purchase order is in email, and the delivery is on a clipboard. When the bowl arrives, nobody can say which request it answered or whether the approved price is the price on the bill.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps the request, the approval and the order as one purchase order.
Purchase orders with approval. A purchase order can be drafted by whoever needs the goods and approved before it goes to the supplier, so the request and the approval are on the same record.
Roles. Each person has a role, such as production or purchasing, so the production lead can draft and the owner approves.
Receiving against the order. Deliveries are received against the purchase order, with their lots, and the reorder list in days of cover keeps routine ingredients off requisitions altogether.
| The job | Paper and email | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| The request | A requisition form | A draft purchase order |
| The approval | A signature | Approval on the order |
| What arrived against it | A clipboard | Received against the order |
| Routine flour | A requisition each week | The reorder list in days of cover |
Purchase orders with approval, receiving and the reorder list are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.