Ask for what you need

You do not need to know the procurement rules to ask for something. Describe it, and Spend drafts a complete request.

On the web

1. Choose Describe what you need in the sidebar.
2. Write it the way you would tell a buyer: “12 pairs of class 2 insulating gloves for the line crew by November 6”.
3. Spend drafts the request: catalog items priced from the contract, coding, the needed-by date, and the procurement method your policy requires, with the reason.
4. Answer any questions the draft asks, such as whether it is an emergency, then choose Submit for approval.

By email or Teams

If your agency has turned it on, email the requests mailbox or message the Spend bot in Microsoft Teams with the same kind of description. The draft is waiting for you under Requests, Drafts. Nothing is submitted until you check it.

What the draft fills in

• Method: micro-purchase, informal quotes, formal bid, RFP, a cooperative contract, an existing contract release, sole source or emergency, from your agency’s thresholds. What policy says explains why.
• Contract and supplier: if an executed contract or catalog covers the items, the draft uses its prices.
• Coding: fund, cost center, account and project.
• Budget: the funds check, so you know before you submit whether the budget can cover it.

After you submit

The request goes through its approval chain. Then, depending on the method, the request to PO agent proposes a purchase order for a buyer to issue, or a buyer starts a solicitation. Follow it on the request’s Activity tab.

Sole-source and emergency requests need a written justification.