When the receipt rolls run low or the stockroom needs more tape, someone has to tell the person who buys supplies what is needed, how much and why. This supply request form puts that on one sheet: each item with its quantity, unit, reason and an optional estimated cost, a running estimate, a justification and an approval block for the decision, the date and the purchase order reference. The editable sample is a fictional shop's request from November 2, 2026.
Make a supply request form
- Give the request a title and, if you use them, a request number and the business name. Enter who is asking, their department or location, the request date and the date the supplies are needed by.
- Choose a priority: Routine, Needed soon or Urgent. Add where the supplies should go, such as "Back office", and the currency for the estimates.
- Add a line for each item. Enter the item, the quantity and the unit, such as box, ream or roll. Add the estimated cost of one unit if you know it, and a short reason, such as "Till 2 is on its last box".
- Write a justification when the reason is not obvious from the lines, or when the request cannot wait.
- Leave the decision as Pending, then print or download the request for the approver. You can list up to 30 items.
The needed-by date and the decision date cannot be before the request date. Recording a decision needs the approver's name and the decision date, a decline or an approval with changes needs a note saying why, and a PO reference belongs only on an approved request. Use Start blank for your own request or Reset sample to see the example again.
What should a supply request form include?
Enough for the buyer to order the right thing without coming back with questions. That means who is asking and where they work, when the supplies are needed, and for each line the item, the quantity and the unit. "Paper" can mean a ream or a case, so the unit matters as much as the number. A reason on each line helps the approver, and an estimated cost lets them see the size of the request before anyone contacts a supplier.
The same form works as an office supply request form for paper, pens and printer cartridges, and as a supplies request form for the shop floor: receipt rolls, cleaning products, bags and packing tape. Some businesses call it a supply requisition form. The name changes; the information does not.
How to request supplies at work
Check what is already in the stockroom first, then ask once for everything you need rather than sending a request per item. Name items the way the buyer will find them, with a size or model, such as "Thermal receipt rolls, 80 mm". Give a needed-by date with real slack in it, since suppliers need time to deliver.
Keep Urgent for things that stop work, such as running out of receipt rolls on a Saturday. If everything is urgent, nothing is. When you mark a request Needed soon or Urgent, the justification is where you say why it cannot wait for the next routine order.
Estimated cost and the request check
Each line's estimate is the quantity times the estimated unit cost, rounded to the cent, and the total adds up every line that has an estimate. In the sample, 2 boxes of receipt rolls at $38.50 each come to $77.00, and the whole request comes to $145.67 for 5 of its 6 lines. Estimates are the requester's guide, not supplier prices.
The request check never blocks printing. It notes lines without an estimated cost, which the total leaves out. In the sample that is the shelf-edge label strips, whose price nobody knows yet. It also flags an item listed twice with the same unit, so the buyer orders it once, and a Needed soon or Urgent request that has no justification or no needed-by date.
Supply request vs purchase order
A supply request goes to someone inside your business and asks for permission to buy. A purchase order goes to a supplier and asks them to deliver. Once the request is approved, the buyer writes the order with the purchase order generator and records its number in the request's PO reference, so either document leads to the other.
Use a maintenance work order when something needs repair rather than restocking, and the equipment checkout form when you lend a scanner or laptop rather than use something up. After the supplies are paid for, record the cost in the income and expense tracker.
Print or download the request
Print / PDF gives you a printable supply request form with the item table, the estimated total, the decision boxes and signature lines for the requester and the approver. Leave the decision Pending and the approver can tick Approved, Approved with changes or Declined by hand. An empty justification and empty approval fields print as lines to write on.
To reuse it as a supply request form template, keep the request details and the lines your team orders most often, then change the quantities and dates for each new request. The text download keeps a readable copy. The CSV has one row per line with the quantity, unit, estimated unit cost and line total as plain numbers, ready for a spreadsheet.
Keep the receipt, not only the request
A supply request records what someone asked for. The proof of what you bought is the supplier's invoice or receipt. In the US, the IRS lists the supporting documents for business purchases and expenses, such as invoices and credit card receipts. In the UK, GOV.UK explains the records you must keep if you're self-employed, including business costs and how long to keep them. Record-keeping rules vary by place, and this page is not tax or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a supply request form without an account?
Yes. The builder runs in your browser and needs no sign-up. Download or print the request to keep it, since the draft lives only in this tab.
Does the form order the supplies or tell the approver?
No. It prepares a printout, a text file and a CSV. Nothing is ordered, approved or sent. Share the request with the approver the way your team usually does.
Who should approve a supply request?
Someone other than the person asking, such as the owner or a manager with the budget. That second pair of eyes catches duplicate orders and items that are already in the stockroom.
Can I record a partial approval?
Yes. Choose Approved with changes and say what changed in the approval notes, such as "Approved 1 box of receipt rolls, not 2".