What is Purchase requisition?

A purchase requisition keeps buying decisions in check before money is committed. For a small store this matters once more than one person can trigger a stock order, since it creates a checkpoint where the owner or manager confirms the purchase makes sense before a supplier is contacted.

In practice, use a requisition to capture what is needed, how much, and why, then approve or reject it before it turns into a real purchase order. This avoids duplicate orders, overspending on stock that is not moving, and confusion about who authorized what.

Example

A store assistant notices that candle jars are down to 40 units and weekly sales average 15 units. She fills out a requisition asking to order 300 jars, the case pack size. The owner reviews it, approves it, and only then is a purchase order for 300 jars sent to the supplier.

Common mistakes

• Treating a requisition as if it is already a binding order with the supplier.
• Skipping approval and ordering stock without checking budget or current stock levels first.
• Not keeping a record of requisitions, which makes it hard to see who requested what and why.

Purchase requisition and SteadyShelf

SteadyShelf skips the internal requisition step and goes straight from forecasted need to a draft purchase order, which you approve before it is emailed to the supplier.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related terms

Purchase order · Reorder point · Procurement lead time · Purchase budget · Supplier

Full inventory glossary

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