Using requisitions

What is a requisition? – A requisition is a request for the Procurement Services Office to issue a purchase order. A purchase order is a document issued by Procurement Services to a vendor promising that Baylor will pay for the products or services to be purchased.

You submit a requisition before you make the purchase (and certainly before the goods have been delivered.)

When will I use a requisition? – Requisitions are only used to pay amounts of $5,000 or more. If the amount is less than $5,000, you should use the Baylor Purchasing Card if at all possible.

How do I submit a requisition? -- Here are the main steps to using a requisition. Be sure to complete all the steps, or Procurement Services will not be able to issue a purchase order.

• Get three bids -- All purchases for $5,000 or more – and therefore all requisitions -- require written bids from three different vendors. Keep the documentation of these bids on file in your department. You will enter the vendor name and bid amount in the "comments" section when you enter the requisition information into TRAX.

• Enter the requisition information into TRAX -- The chair's assistant usually does this part. Use the TRAX on-line system to enter the requisition information and send it to Procurement Services. To use the TRAX system, you will need a TRAX user ID which requires attending TRAX training. For information on how to get a TRAX user ID see this website: Getting Started.

• Approve the requisition -- Be sure the chair (or dean if appropriate) approves the requisition through TRAX, otherwise it will not move forward. The chair will also need a TRAX user ID to be able to do this. For information on how to get a TRAX user ID see this website: Getting Started.

  Note: For purchases of $25,000 and higher TRAX will automatically route the requisition through the budget office for approval before a purchase order can be created. This will add some time to to the process.

• Send the invoice to Accounts Payable -- When you receive your invoice, mark it "approved to pay," sign it, and forward it to Accounts Payable via campus mail. Receiving the signed invoice from you is their signal to start the payment process. This is very important! Unless Accounts Payable receives an invoice from you, they have no way of knowing that something needs to be paid.