What is a purchase requisition (PR)?
A purchase requisition (PR) is a formal internal document an employee raises to request the purchase of goods or services. It is routed through an approval workflow and, once approved, becomes the basis for a purchase order issued to a supplier.
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A purchase requisition (PR) is an internal request — not an order. It is how an employee tells their own organisation, *"I need to buy this,"* before any commitment is made to a supplier. Crucially, a PR is raised and approved internally; only after it clears the approval workflow does it convert into a purchase order sent to the vendor.
What a purchase requisition contains
- Requester and department — who needs it and which cost centre pays.
- Item details — description, quantity, specification, and unit of measure.
- Estimated cost — a budget figure (e.g. ₹2,40,000) used for approval routing.
- Need-by date — when the goods or services are required.
- Justification — the business reason, useful for audit and budget control.
Purchase requisition example
An IT manager needs 15 laptops at an estimated ₹65,000 each — about ₹9.75 lakh. They raise a PR. Because the amount crosses the ₹5 lakh threshold, the approval flow routes it to both the department head and finance. Once both approve, procurement runs a reverse auction or RFQ and issues a PO to the winning vendor.
PR is the control point
Catching spend at the requisition stage — before money is committed — is the single biggest lever against maverick spend. No approved PR, no PO.
Why purchase requisitions matter
- Budget control — spend is checked against budget before it is committed, not after the invoice arrives.
- Audit trail — every approval is logged, which underpins three-way matching downstream.
- Separation of duties — the person requesting is not the person approving or buying.
- Faster sourcing — an approved PR gives the buyer a clean, funded mandate to go to market.
The PR is the opening move of the procure-to-pay cycle. Done well, it turns scattered, informal buying into a controlled, auditable process. Need a starting point? Grab our purchase requisition form template.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a purchase requisition and a purchase order?
A purchase requisition is an internal request for approval to buy something. A purchase order is the external, legally binding document sent to a supplier after the requisition is approved. The PR comes first; the PO comes after.
Who approves a purchase requisition?
It depends on the approval workflow, which usually routes by amount and department. Small amounts may need only a manager; larger amounts escalate to department heads and finance.
Is a purchase requisition legally binding?
No. A requisition is an internal request and creates no obligation to a supplier. The binding commitment is created later by the purchase order once the vendor accepts it.