Requisition Forms | Examples and Recommendations

This article was first published in February 2018 and was updated in November 2024.

Requisition forms have transformed in the last decade. The paper requisition form is on its way out—along with the manual, error-prone forms, replaced by intelligent, dynamic digital forms that offer improved performance and tracking when someone makes a requisition request. New digital processes change how we think regarding a requisition form’s meaning.

What is a Requisition Form?

A requisition form is a crucial document used within organizations to formally request goods or services from suppliers or vendors. This internal document initiates the procurement process, ensuring that all necessary approvals are obtained before any purchase is made. Employees typically use requisition forms to request a wide range of items, from raw materials needed for production to specialized equipment and services. By standardizing these requests, requisition forms help streamline the procurement process and maintain organizational control over spending.

Types of Requisition Forms

Requisition forms come in various types, each tailored to specific needs within an organization:

• Purchase Requisition Forms: These are used to request the purchase of goods or services from external suppliers or vendors. They are essential for initiating the procurement process and ensuring that all purchases are properly authorized.

• Material Requisition Forms: These forms are specifically designed for requesting raw materials or equipment necessary for production or manufacturing processes. They help ensure that the right materials are available when needed, preventing production delays.

• Service Requisition Forms: Used to request services such as consulting, maintenance, or other professional services. These forms help manage and track service-related expenditures.

• Travel Requisition Forms: These forms are used to request travel arrangements, including flights, hotel bookings, and other travel-related expenses. They ensure that travel plans are approved and documented before any bookings are made.

The Importance of Requisition Forms

The most common requisition form definition is a formal request for an item or service. Companies use requisitions to manage the items and services the organization procures. Typically, you must submit a requisition form to start the purchase order process and have a record of the request.

Requisition forms are essential to the procurement processes within your company. They help prevent fraud and allow management to control employee requisition requests. In addition, having a digital audit trail of requisition form submissions helps organizations streamline the process. 

Maintenance for paper requisition forms adds to overall operational costs for businesses, especially when old, incorrect paper forms are out in circulation and still being used by staff. By automating and digitizing the documents used during the procurement process, companies can increase efficiency and standardization while adding accountability at every stage. 

Common reasons for submitting a requisition form include the following:

• Supply purchases

• Expense reimbursements

• Change order requests

• Invoice discrepancies

Digital Requisition Forms Are Better

Moving from paper or Excel/Word-based forms to an intelligent, Web-based purchase requisition form system provides various benefits to companies looking to improve and streamline their requisition process.

Improve compliance and process standardization.

• Make easy-to-use, compliant requisition forms available 24/7 on any device.

• Eliminate requisition data entry errors with required fields and validation.

• Reduce requisition approval errors and re-work with required fields and pre-fills.

• Link forms to standardized information (vendors, terms, cost centers, etc.) for easy selection.

Reduce purchase request cycle times.

• Route requisitions to appropriate staff based on business rules.

• Create alerts, reminders, and escalations to avoid bottlenecks.

• Track and report on trouble spots in the process.

• Reduce lost time due to unclear processes.

Control spending.

• Track requisition request status (completed, pending, or in progress, etc.) in real-time

• Customize routing based on dollar amount, department, project, etc.

• Drastically reduce paperwork and associated costs and waste.

• Optimize the procurement process.

How to Create Requisition Forms in Nutrient Workflow

Nutrient Workflow provides users with a powerful form designer interface with a palette containing various question types and layout tools to help design your requisition form template. You can drag and drop different questions from the palate onto the form builder interface on the right. You can personalize labels from there to make them more unique to your form. 

Users can also set up workflow rules within the requisition form templates based on selected information. After establishing the rules, you preview how your chosen options would work in a real-world scenario. That allows you to create simple or complex forms that simplify end-user workflows. 

Simplify Requisition Form Processes

With our software, your organization can create any requisition form templates required for different business processes, including:

• Purchase requisition forms

• Materials requisition forms

• Personnel requisition forms

• Advance requisition forms

You can automate functions essential to requisition workflows, including:

• Processing new requisitions

• Transferring requisitions to another area

• Removing unworked purchase requests

• Canceling processed requests

Use Nutrient Workflow to set up automated routing for approvals needed for requisition forms. Alternatively, you can change the approval levels for different documents to make sign-offs optional at various stages. In addition, you can send notices to approvers that a new requisition form is awaiting their attention. 

Automating the requisition process reduces the time it takes to handle requisition forms. That way, workers aren’t constantly faced with a backlog of requests. Instead, you can help ensure that individual requests get handled promptly while reducing waste.

Best Practices for Requisition Forms

To maximize the effectiveness of requisition forms, consider the following best practices:

• Use a Standardized Requisition Form Template: Ensure consistency and accuracy by using a standardized template for all requisition forms.

• Ensure Proper Approval: Make sure that all requisition forms are properly approved and authorized before they are submitted to the procurement department.

• Utilize Digital Requisition Forms: Streamline the procurement process and reduce paper waste by using digital requisition forms.

• Include All Necessary Information: Ensure that requisition forms include all required details, such as contact information and specific item or service specifications.

• Track Requests: Use requisition forms to track the status of requests and ensure they are properly fulfilled.

• Regularly Review and Update Forms: Keep requisition forms relevant and effective by regularly reviewing and updating them to reflect current organizational needs and processes.

By following these best practices, organizations can enhance their procurement processes, ensuring that all requests are handled efficiently and accurately.

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FAQ

What is a requisition form?

A requisition form is an internal document used by employees to formally request goods or services from suppliers or vendors, initiating the procurement process.

Why are digital requisition forms better than paper-based forms?

Digital requisition forms improve efficiency by reducing manual errors, enabling real-time tracking, and streamlining the approval process through automated workflows.

How can requisition forms help control company spending?

Requisition forms standardize requests, ensure proper approvals, and provide visibility into expenditures, helping management monitor and control company spending effectively.

What are some common types of requisition forms?

Common types include purchase requisition forms, material requisition forms, service requisition forms, and travel requisition forms, each tailored to specific organizational needs.

How does automation enhance the requisition process?

Automation streamlines routing, reduces approval times, minimizes errors, and provides comprehensive tracking and reporting, making the requisition process more efficient and transparent.