One-time purchase
A single buy from one supplier at one estimated price, with no repeat expected in the same budget period.
- Add: Quote or estimate reference, required by your own buying rules
- Remove: Needed by, if the purchase has no fixed date
Finance & AccountingForms
Purchase order request form: get approval before the order
A purchase order request asks an approver to agree to a purchase before a buyer sends an order to a supplier. It should state what is being bought, the estimated cost, the budget line that pays for it, and who must approve it. The request is not the purchase order itself, so keep the two records separate.
Choose a variant
Three request types that need different fields
Recurring supply order
Supplies that repeat, such as printer toner or cleaning stock, bought under a standing approval.
- Add: Order frequency
- Add: Standing approval reference
- Remove: Quote or estimate reference
Supplier not yet on file
The buyer does not have the supplier in your records, so setup has to happen before any order.
- Add: Supplier contact name and email
- Add: Reference to the new vendor setup request
- Remove: Preferred vendor
- Remove: Vendor already set up?
A filled example
Example: replacing two docking stations
Example only, not a real submission
- Requester name
- Dana Reyes (example)
- Department or cost center
- Help desk, cost center 4410 (example)
- Item or service description
- Two docking stations, the same model as the current stock, to replace failed units at the help desk (example)
- Quantity
- 2 (example)
- Estimated unit price
- $180 (example)
- Estimated total
- $360 (example)
- Vendor already set up?
- Yes, Example Office Supply (fictional)
- Business reason
- Two desk units failed in September. The team needs working units before the November start date for new staff (example)
- Approver name
- Marcus Lee (example)
Field blueprint
Fields a buyer can act on
| Field | Type | Required | Why you ask it |
|---|---|---|---|
Requester name | Short text | Required | Tells the buyer who to contact when a supplier asks a question about the item. |
Department or cost centerAsk your finance team for the code if you do not know it. | Short text | Required | Shows which budget line pays for the purchase. Use the code your finance team uses, not a project nickname. |
Item or service descriptionFor example: two docking stations, same model as current stock. | Long text | Required | Gives the buyer enough detail to source the item without guessing. |
Quantity | Number | Required | Lets the approver check scope against the estimate. |
Estimated unit price | Number | Required | Lets the approver compare the request with the budget and any quote. |
Estimated totalInclude tax and shipping if your approval limit counts them. | Number | Required | The figure the approver actually commits to. It should equal quantity times unit price, plus any tax or shipping you have included. |
Preferred vendor | Short text | Optional | A known supplier speeds up sourcing. Leave it blank if the buyer should choose. |
Vendor already set up?YesNoNot sure | Single choice | Required | Tells the buyer whether a supplier record must be created before an order can be issued. |
Business reasonSay what the purchase enables or prevents, in one or two sentences. | Long text | Required | Lets the approver judge the need against the budget without a follow-up conversation. |
Needed by | Date | Optional | Shows the buyer the latest useful date. It is a planning date, not a guaranteed delivery date. |
Quote or estimate referenceWrite the quote number and where it is stored. Do not paste the quote here. | Short text | Optional | Points the buyer to the supplier's quote without copying it into the form. |
Delivery location | Short text | Required | Tells receiving staff where to expect the goods and avoids delivery to the wrong site. |
Approver name | Short text | Required | Names the person who must agree before the buyer issues an order. |
At a glance
13Fields
10Required fields
6Estimated time (minutes)
Estimate based on question types; actual completion time varies.
Try it
Try the form
Mistakes to avoid
Requests that stall at approval
Asking for approval after the order is placed
The approver is then asked to ratify a purchase rather than decide on it. Set a rule that requests come in before a supplier is asked for a binding quote or an order is placed.
Leaving out the budget line
Without a cost center or budget code, the approver has to ask before deciding, and the request waits. Use the code your finance team uses.
Naming a brand and nothing else
A brand fails when the supplier no longer carries it. Describe the function and the specification that matters, and say whether a substitute is acceptable.
Putting bank or card details in the request
A request only needs the supplier's name. Payment setup belongs in the supplier record and your payment process, not in a purchase request that several people can read.
After a response arrives
What happens after the request is sent
A scheduled job handles each request
Each request is saved, then picked up by a scheduled job that runs hourly in production. That job also notifies the form's creator, so tell the approver directly if a purchase cannot wait.
Approval happens in your own process
The form does not route the request to an approver or record a decision. Agree on who approves, how quickly they respond, and where the decision is written down.
The buyer issues the order only after approval
Once the request is approved, the buyer creates the purchase order in your own system and keeps the request and the order together. Export the submissions as a CSV each month to check which requests are still open.
Frequently asked questions
Is a purchase order request the same as a purchase order?
No. A request asks an approver to agree to a purchase. A purchase order is the document a buyer sends to a supplier after approval, with the supplier's details, the delivery address and the agreed terms. Keep both records so you can see which approved request led to which order.
Do I need a purchase order form template?
Use a request form first. A purchase order template is a supplier-facing document that your buyer completes after approval. This request does not replace your buying policy, which sets the approval limits and the people who may sign for them.
Can I attach the supplier quote to the request?
Not in this form. Forms do not accept file uploads, so write the quote number and where your team keeps the quote, such as a shared folder or the supplier's email thread. Attain OS will not attach the quote for you.
Who approves the request?
Your organization decides. Name the approver on the form, then record their decision where your team already keeps approvals. The form does not send the request to anyone automatically.
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