Online Purchase Requisitions

Requisitions are required for a purchase amount $5,000 or more.  Requisitions must be submitted electronically using Banner.  Any employee with the appropriate Banner access can submit a purchase requisition in Banner.  The requisition then electronically travels through an approval process prior to it reaching the Procurement Services Office.  The person submitting the requisition can track its status in the process in Banner.  It is required for Banner requisitions that you have obtained written quotes (see policy/procedures for more info on obtaining quotes).  Quotes should be emailed to procurement@lafayette.edu.  The quote will be included with the eventual PO that is established and sent to the vendor. See instructions on how to create a requisition here. Banner Finance Access information and forms can be found here.

Instructions for online requisitioning can be found at this site, in the “Online Purchase Requisitions” section.

Other notes:

  • In order to requisition, you will need a FOAP (fund-org-account-program) to charge the purchase towards.  You must have Banner Access / permission to use the FOAP you are going to charge the [purchase to.  Please make sure you are set up in Banner to have access to the FOAP.  In order to get access, use this form.  All Finance and Business Forms can be found here.
  • Make sure to write your R# (Requisition number) on your quote or back up before emailing /sending to the Procurement Office, procurement@lafayette.edu

Please use the most appropriate Commodity Code if using one, recommended but not required when completing a Requisition.

Approving Online Purchase Requisitions

Once a Requisition has been completed, it will travel electronically to those individuals who are responsible for approving it, depending on which Fund-Organization against which the spending is being charged, how much is being spent and what is being purchased.

If you are the next person scheduled to approve a Requisition, a Budget Transfer or a Purchase Order, you will receive an e-mail reminder that you have a Finance document pending your review.  The system is set up to e-mail that reminder once a day as long as you have at least one item awaiting your review.

To approve a pending document, log into Banner Self-Service and use the Instructions for Approving Documents.

Even if you are not responsible for approving requisitions, you can use the Approve Documents function to dis-approve requisitions you created.  This will move a requisition back to an “In Process” state which allows you to re-open it in the Requisition form, modify it and re-submit it.

Tracking Online Purchase Requisitions

You can track where a Requisition stands in the approval process using Banner Self-Service.  In the Finance section, select the View Document option.  Using Requisition as the Document Type, you can either type in the Document Number (which will start with an “R” or search for it by clicking on the Document Number button.  You can then view the Requisition or view the Approval History to see where the document is in the process (who has already approved/denied it and who has yet to review it).

Viewing the Impact on the Budget

When a Requisition has been submitted but not yet approved or is “In Process,” it appears as a “Pending Document” in a Budget Query.  You will be notified that there are pending documents on the top of the Budget Query results page.  You can then click on the “View Pending Documents” button to see the requisitions in process that are affecting your budget.

Once a Requisition has been approved, it is removed from Pending Documents and instead appears in the “Reservations” column of the budget worksheet.  Once a Purchase Order associated with that Requisition is finalized and approved, it will appear in the “Encumbrance” column.  Once and invoice has been paid against a Purchase Order, it will appear in the “Year to Date” column.

For more information about access to or using Banner Self-Service, see the Banner Access and Training Page under Information for Faculty and Staff on the Finance and Administration website.