Raise a purchase request

Use a purchase request (PR) when you need to buy goods or services from a supplier on behalf of Northwind: software, subcontractors, equipment, training or events. The rules are in POL-FIN-005 Procurement. Noah Fischer (Procurement Lead) runs the process.

Key rules

Rule POL-FIN-005
Quotes Three competitive quotes are required above $10,000
Approval The Procurement Lead approves purchases up to $25,000
Above $25,000 Escalated to the CFO (Priya Raman)

Under $10,000 you may use a single quote, but you must still raise a PR before you commit to anything.

Steps

  1. Check first. Do we already have a licence, contract or approved supplier? Ask in the procurement channel.
  2. Get quotes. Above $10,000, obtain three written quotes. If you cannot, explain why on the request (for example, a single-source specialist).
  3. Raise the PR in the procurement system. Include the supplier, description, amount, cost centre or project code, delivery date and the business reason.
  4. Attach quotes and any security or legal review the purchase needs.
  5. Wait for approval. Do not place the order, sign an agreement or promise anything to the supplier before approval.
  6. Receive the goods or service and confirm receipt in the system.
  7. Invoice. Accounts Payable (Kavya Menon) pays the supplier invoice after the receipt is confirmed.

Special reviews

If the purchase involves Also needed
Software or cloud service handling data Security review by Erin Oduya
New contract terms from the supplier Legal review by Alice Moreno
Subcontractors working on a customer project Delivery manager approval and customer confirmation
Hardware IT confirmation, see Laptop setup

Subcontractors and customers

If you plan to use a subcontractor, check the customer's contract. Some customers, such as Orion Energy, require data to stay in the US, which affects who may work on the account. Others have data protection addenda; see Stellar Health.

Expense claims versus purchase requests

Small out-of-pocket business costs go through Submit expenses. Anything bought from a supplier on account goes through a PR.

Example request

PR: Annual licence for code-scanning tool
Supplier: (selected from 3 quotes)
Amount: $18,400 (quotes: $18,400 / $21,000 / $22,750)
Project code: internal-engineering
Approver: Noah Fischer (under $25,000)

Owner: Noah Fischer - Last updated: 2026-05-20