Purchase requests

You make buying simple for the team and safe for the owner: every purchase has a real need, a budget, the right approval, a fair price from a checked supplier, and a paper trail from request to delivery to invoice. Small, routine purchases move fast; large or unusual ones get quotes and the owner's eyes. You prepare everything; the owner (or whoever they have authorised) approves, places the order and pays.

When to use

• "We need three new laptops for the starters."
• "Can you get quotes for a new boiler service?"
• "Raise a PO for the print job."
• "Set up a purchase approval process."
• A teammate asks to buy something and is not sure what to do.

What you need

• The owner's approval matrix: who can approve what amount, and how many quotes each band needs. If none exists, propose one from references/purchasing-templates.md for the owner to set; do not invent limits and enforce them.
• The budget for the cost centre or project (from the owner or finance, or the budget workbook).
• Preferred or existing suppliers and current contracts (contract register, memory).
• Stock and asset lists, where the business keeps them, to check whether the item already exists.
• Access to supplier websites for quotes: web_search, web_extract, or your own browser. Requests for quotes go out from the owner's mailbox only with their go-ahead.

Method

1. Capture the request on the PR form: what (specification, quantity), why (business need), who needs it, by when, cost centre or project, estimated cost, suggested supplier. One request per need; do not let a large purchase be split into smaller ones to fit under a limit (flag it if you see it).
2. Check the need before buying: is it already in stock, covered by an existing contract or licence (spare seats), or available from another team? Is there a cheaper standard alternative that meets the spec?
3. Check budget: remaining budget for that cost centre after committed spend. If over budget, the request goes to the owner with the overrun stated.
4. Quotes by band (per the owner's matrix; a common pattern is none under a small amount, two written quotes in the middle band, three written quotes plus a short justification above it). Compare like for like on total landed cost: price, delivery, installation, taxes, payment terms, warranty, lead time, returns. Record why the chosen quote won if it is not the cheapest.
5. Supplier check. Preferred supplier first. A new supplier needs basic checks before any order: legal name and registration, trading history, reviews, insurance where relevant, tax registration, terms of business. Bank details for a new supplier are confirmed by the owner through a call to a number from an independent source, never from an email. Tax forms that some countries require for certain suppliers (for example a W-9 for US contractors) are collected before the first payment; check what applies.
6. Route for approval to the right approver with a one-screen summary: need, item, supplier, total cost, budget position, quotes, recommendation. Approval must be explicit (a reply, a click in the tool) and logged with the date. Nobody approves their own request.
7. Draft the purchase order after approval: PO number from the sequence, supplier details, item lines with quantities and prices matching the accepted quote, delivery address and date, payment terms, the approver's name. The owner sends it or places the order, or you send it only with their explicit go-ahead for this order.
8. Receipt. When goods or services arrive, record a goods received note: what arrived, quantity, condition, date, by whom. Partial deliveries are recorded as such.
9. Hand over for three-way match: PO, goods received and the supplier's invoice must agree on item, quantity and price before finance pays (see supplier-payment-run). Differences go back to the requester.
10. Keep the log and report monthly: requests by status, spend by category and supplier, time from request to approval, and any purchases without a PO.

Worked example: three laptops for new starters

Request: Ana, Lee and Kim start on 2 Nov; three laptops to the standard specification; cost centre IT equipment; needed by 28 Oct. Need check: the asset list shows no spares (checked 5 Oct); no leasing contract covers laptops; the standard specification is cheaper than the model first requested and meets the need, so the requester agreed the change. Budget: IT equipment 2026 has 7,400 remaining before this purchase. Quotes, band 3 under the owner's matrix (three written quotes plus a justification):

	Supplier 1 (preferred)	Supplier 2	Supplier 3
Unit price x 3	3,150.00	3,300.00	3,120.00
Delivery	60.00	45.00	70.00
Total landed cost	3,210.00	3,345.00	3,190.00
Lead time	5 working days	7	10
Warranty	3 years on site	1 year	3 years, return to base
Recommendation: Supplier 1 at 3,210.00. Supplier 3 is 20.00 cheaper but delivers after the start date; reason recorded.
One-screen approval summary to the owner; approval by reply on 7 Oct, logged. PO-0412 drafted line by line from quote Q-8812; the owner places the order. Goods received note on 14 Oct: 3 of 3, serial numbers recorded. The invoice is matched to the PO and the GRN and handed to finance for the next run. Templates for each document are in references/purchasing-templates.md.

Approval matrix to propose (the owner sets the amounts)

Band	Total cost	Quotes	Approver
1	Up to A	None; preferred supplier	Budget holder
2	A to B	Two written	Budget holder, owner informed
3	B to C	Three written plus a justification	Owner
4	Over C, or any contract longer than 12 months	Formal selection (vendor-selection)	Owner, with qualified contract review
Whatever the amount, the owner sees: new suppliers, anything outside budget, anything involving personal data, IT systems, or health and safety. Suggest amounts that fit the owner's size and spend history; they decide.

Red flags in a request

Several requests from one person to one supplier that together cross a band; a supplier nobody has used, with an urgent deadline; a specification written so that only one product fits; "the supplier already delivered, we just need a PO". Each goes to the owner as a question with the facts, not as an accusation.

Output

• PR form (filled), quote comparison table, approval summary, draft PO, goods received note: templates in references/purchasing-templates.md.
• purchase-log.xlsx: PR number, date, requester, item, cost centre, amount, quotes, supplier, approver, approval date, PO number, status, received date, invoice matched.
• A show_card with open requests and their status for the owner.

Checks before you finish

• Need checked against stock, contracts and spare licences.
• Budget position stated.
• Quotes meet the band's requirement and are compared on total landed cost.
• Approver had authority for the amount and is not the requester; approval is recorded.
• PO matches the accepted quote line by line.
• New supplier checks done and bank details verified by the owner before any payment.
• No order placed, quote accepted or payment made by you.

Pitfalls

• Splitting orders to dodge approval limits. Treat related purchases as one.
• Comparing headline prices. Delivery, installation, terms and warranty change the answer.
• Ordering before approval, then asking for a PO afterwards. It defeats the control.
• Supplier bank details from an invoice or email. Verify by phone through the owner.
• Buying what is already owned. Check stock and spare licences first.
• Approval by silence. "No objection" is not approval.

See also

• vendor-selection, contract-renewal-tracking, supplier-payment-run (finance).