Skip to main content
The ask, before it becomes a commitment. A purchase request says what is needed and why; it becomes spend only once somebody with authority agrees. The purchase request list, with one request pending approval and the rest ordered The purchase request list, with one request pending approval and the rest ordered

​
Where a request comes from

Two paths, same form underneath: An ad hoc request carries no reorder reasoning, so it asks for one — what it is for, and why now.

​
Request states

Approved does not mean bought. It means somebody with authority agreed the spend may be pursued. The buying decision — which vendor, at what price — is what the RFQ and purchase order record next.

​
The approval chain

Every request routes through an approval chain built on the product’s one general-purpose engine — see workflows for how a chain is put together, and Approvals for where the actual decision gets made. Chains are set per organisation, typically by amount, category or site, so a request for a filter and a request for a compressor need not travel the same path. The request’s detail view shows the chain itself, not just the current step:
  • Every approver in order, and whether their step is pending, approved or rejected.
  • Who actually signed off, and when — not just who was assigned to.
  • Any comment an approver left, particularly on a rejection or a return for information.
A request stalled at step two of four is visibly stalled at step two of four, not just “pending”.

​
What it’s for, and what it’s charged against

A request can name what it’s raised for — a work order, an asset, or the maintenance plan that prompted it — so a stalled request reads as “waiting on the pump in Bay 3” rather than just a part number. A request raised from a plan often names neither a job nor an asset yet, since it’s bought before either exists. It can also name a cost centre, and be measured against a budget — see budgets for how a budget is structured and what “available” means against it. That check runs while the request is still being written, so a request against an exhausted budget is visible before it’s approved rather than discovered at month end.

​
Columns

​
Raising a request

New on this screen, or + Create → Purchase request from anywhere. The minimum is what is wanted, a quantity, and why. Reorder-sourced requests arrive with the part, quantity and reasoning already filled in.

Reorder recommendations

What is running low, and why the system thinks so.

Requests for quotation

What happens once a request is approved.

Budgets

What a cost centre has available, and how a request is measured against it.