A purchase requisition or a purchase order request is sent internally within a company to receive purchased goods and services, including stock. The offer is a document which tells the purchasing department or manager precisely what elements and services are requested, source, the quantity and associated prices.
A Purchase Requisition Form (PRF) is filled before purchasing goods as a form of tangible authorization. Purchase request forms are usually utilized in smaller business who do not have a computer-based system. However, many computer (included web-based solution) plans are available on the market to ease the capture of purchase request data. Purchase order requests might also be passed to the purchasing department by a management data group.
A PRF can include budget and purchase values to make the individual aware of the annual budget before a purchase is made. Such a set-up guarantees that goods and services are bought with the line manager’s approval with a sufficient amount of funding is available.
Purchase requisition vs. purchase order
The main variance between these two forms is that a purchase requisition is about permission and purchase orders are about purchasing. Let’s explore the records in the following:
What is a request for purchase?
The purchase requisition procedure starts with a purchase requisition or purchase request form, a document made by the buyer and submitted to the department that manages finances. Think of this as the part of the purchasing process where you receive the thumbs up to buy the goods you want. You are not ordering anything; you’re getting the acceptance to do so. This serves as the primary step in a significant audit trail for purchasing.
Purchase requisitions are mostly required for goods over a certain dollar threshold. For instance, the procurement department at a prominent private university demands that purchasers pass a purchase requisition for goods and services over $5,000. When purchase requests can differentiate depending on business needs, they typically involve the following data: purchaser’s internal department or location, the quantity and general description of supplies asked, the name of the vendor supplying with the goods, and the price.
Utilizing our dental healthcare client as an example, the purchase requisition would include the purchaser’s location (dental healthcare clinic’s site), the quantity and description of supplies requested (500 floss tip toothbrushes), the name of the vendor that is supplying with the goods (e.g. Colgate®), the price ($2,000.00), and the asked delivery date. The clinic would then share this form directly with the buying department for approval, rejection, or more discussions.
What is a purchase order?
The purchase order (PO) is where the buying process occurs. Once the purchasing or procurement department has accepted the purchase request and given you the figurative thumbs up to buy your desired goods and services, it issues a purchase order to the vendor. Again, data may vary, but purchase orders mostly consist of the name of the company purchasing the services or goods, the description and quantity of the goods or services, payment information and terms, price, invoice address, and a purchase order number.
The Importance of a Purchase Request in a Business Organization
There is a need for supplies or materials and equipment; these maybe office consumables, supplies, machines, etc. What is likely to occur when a business organization permits departmental managers to place orders with the suppliers? The response is that there is a likelihood of fraud. To avoid this, a procurement department is mostly created to identify the vendors’ charges and oversee purchase request workflow. Within this department, there is a request procedure in place to ensure that scam is prevented, and the business organization obtains value for its money.
One of the internal papers utilized in the department for a requisition order is a purchase requisition form. Using this procedure, the procurement department does not order goods directly from the vendors. Instead, there has to be a legal purchase request form from a given organization, in that case, where a given supply will be utilized. Then an acceptance process is followed, giving the company internal control over the purchase request procedure.
For instance, the finance department can be interested in purchasing new financial software to make their work easier and enhance safety. The headman of the finance section or the person whose role is requested will make an official request for the software. He/she won’t do this by word of mouth; there has to be some concrete document in the form of the purchase request. On the side of this document, the purchasing department will drill the procurement procedure until the finance department obtains the new organization.
In this case, the purchase request is a formal document that is used by department managers to request materials which are needed. Upon goods running low, the departmental manager fills the request form, showing the quantity demanded and some data about the order and the vendor. When the buying section obtains the request form, they are supposed to go through it and take action. The action can be acceptance, modification or even rejecting the request, but in this case, they should give reasons as to why they have arrived at this decision. Approval of the requisition provides the department with authority to create a purchase order, which is an order, to be delivered to the vendor, letting them know of the plan to order purchase.
Why is the Purchase Request Important in the Procurement Process?
It is a Control Tool
Where there are no appropriate checks, a manager or staff might engage in the scam, where they request goods for personal use. With a formal purchase request, there are issues to make sure that no fraud is practised. The right must go through several hands to make sure its accuracy as well as need. The manager will look at it till sending it to the buying section where it undergoes further scrutiny until a purchasing order is sent to the vendor. It is an official way of issuing a notice that a given material is needed, with it there is proof that an organization requested the provides. This is essential for auditing purposes so that you will not have a situation where somebody at the buying department operates a request pretentiously. The document can always be counterchecked to make sure the facts.
Preserving the Business
By request orders in place, chances of scam are avoided. There will likely not be a condition where employees or departmental managers can connive vendors to rob from the business. The company assets are also protected. A requisition order is proof that a particular investment was ordered, it can be followed up on, ascertaining whether the delivery was made. With this document, it becomes easy to follow assets if there are any points concerning company assets.
Centralization of the Procurement Process
When a business organization demands that all requests be made centrally through the purchasing department, it becomes easy to operate the whole process. Likewise, the buyers’ advantage, as now they can bundle purchases and leverage the business organization’s buying power to negotiate better or more favourable terms. A centralized purchasing system also makes haste the procurement process; this means minimal departmental delays, something that significantly affects a business organization’s efficiency levels.
A purchase request may be seen as a mere document, but it plays a vital role in any business organization’s procurement procedure. It is a control tool, a scam control document, and an essential component in authorizing purchases in a business.