Supply requisition & approval tracker

What the tracker is designed to do

A school may receive supply requests by email, printed forms, department spreadsheets, and hallway conversations. A central tracker helps staff convert those requests into reviewable records instead of relying on memory. The spreadsheet includes editable request rows, approval status, quantities, estimated costs, and follow-up fields.

Suggested school purchasing workflow

1. Assign a unique internal request reference before adding the item lines.
2. Record the department, requester, needed-by date, item description and unit of measure.
3. Check supply closets or other schools for usable inventory already on hand.
4. Enter a current estimated cost if one is available; do not mistake an estimate for a vendor quote.
5. Mark the request as Submitted, Under Review, Approved, Ordered, Received, Declined or On Hold as appropriate.
6. Record the approver, relevant PO or order number, and date received only after those steps occur.

Fields that prevent confusion

Using the formulas

The sheet calculates an Estimated Line Cost from requested quantity multiplied by estimated unit cost. A small dashboard summarizes line items by status and adds the estimated line costs. A requested item remains just an estimate until the purchasing department verifies current prices, quantities, and shipping.

Tips for managing multiple schools

Keep school/building names consistent so records can be filtered easily. If districts use different fund codes or different approval chains, add those details in the Notes field or create a copy of the tracker for each fiscal period. Avoid storing confidential student information in a supply spreadsheet.

For orders covering multiple buildings, see our multi-building purchasing guide. To prepare pricing information for an internal approval, see BulkSupply.com's no-obligation PDF quote instructions.

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