Purchase requisition software, also known as purchase order management software, automates and supports the purchase request and approval process. These systems:
- Provide purchasers with a simplified way to shop for goods and submit requests.
- Streamline approval processes by routing orders to the right managers for quick approval or denial.
- Enable finance teams to control costs through proactive spending reviews.
When shopping for high-quality purchase requisition software, look for features like:
- Punchout and custom catalogs to create a consolidated shopping hub.
- Request for Quote (RFQ) to quickly obtain supplier quotes and source goods at the best price.
- Budgets and spend controls.
- Flexible purchase approval workflows to route requests to the right reviewer(s) — you should be able to define workflows based on the purchase location, departments, GL codes, approval thresholds, etc.
- Automatic purchase order creation and dispatching.
- Purchase request and purchase order tracking.
- Receipt management to verify delivery and order conditions.
- Spend analysis dashboards to understand who you’re shopping with, identify purchasing patterns, and hone in on cost savings opportunities.
To support your search, we’ve compiled a guide featuring eight top-rated purchase requisition software based on 2024 reviews.
Best Purchase Requisition Software
1. ProcureDesk
Highly flexible procurement management system with packages to support the entire purchasing cycle
ProcureDesk is a customizable, scalable procurement management solution for teams at all growth stages.
We work with fast-growing companies, enterprises, and even small teams looking to organize and optimize their processes. Our experience spans various industries, including biotech, healthcare, construction, education, and more.
We offer a complete procure-to-pay system — ProcureDesk supports the entire purchasing lifecycle, including both procurement and accounts payable workflows.
We configure each instance of ProcureDesk to specific business needs, including add punchouts, helping managers build custom catalogs, setting budgets, designing custom request forms, and creating approval workflows. (We also offer this white-glove onboarding for free.)
Our procurement system offers complete visibility and spend control throughout the purchasing cycle. It supports growth by helping teams save time on repetitive tasks, avoid manual processes or data entry, improve supplier relationships, promote compliance, and increase margins.
During onboarding, we’ll show you how to adjust settings to scale ProcureDesk with your procurement processes.
In the following sections, we’ll explain how ProcureDesk supports and automates the purchase requisition process.
Create a Consolidated Purchasing Hub
The first part of onboarding includes creating a centralized purchasing hub for all buyers in your organization to shop with approved vendors within your budgets and purchasing rules.
Buyers can select the vendor they wish to shop with, build their shopping cart, and submit shopping carts for review with a few clicks. The appropriate purchase request form will populate when buyers submit their carts, so they can quickly fill it in before routing their order to reviewers.
This process is user-friendly and intuitive, so buyers can use ProcureDesk without formal training. It also eliminates the hassle of sourcing requisition templates, manually completing them, and determining the right managers to send requisitions to.
Add Approved Vendors
There are two ways to add vendors and make shopping accessible for others.
For starters, ProcureDesk offers over 150 punchout catalogs with popular vendor sites (Amazon, Staples, Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Target, Grainger, Apple, Dell, Best Buy, eBay, Uline, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Thermo Fisher, Medline, and more).
Managers can browse our library of punchouts and connect sites in seconds.
In cases where we don’t offer punchouts for preferred vendors, we’ll help you create custom catalogs with approved items from their sites.
These internal catalogs are displayed in the ProcureDesk dashboard, where users can see all approved products and build carts with items from various vendors.
Note: ProcureDesk offers a quote request feature — Request for Quote (RFQ) or Request for Bid (RFB)— that allows users to send requests to multiple suppliers and proceed with the one offering the best price.
Set Proactive Spend Controls
Next, you’ll set budgets to proactively control employee spending. You can set budgets by vendor, spend category, department, individual, project, and more.
You can also:
- Create budget hierarchies.
- Set tolerance levels.
- Design rules for managing purchase requests when no budget is available. Does the system automatically deny the purchase or route it to a manager for consideration?
Buyers can view budgets and available funds during purchasing and specify which budget they’d like to use in the purchase requisition form.
Design Purchase Requisition Forms
ProcureDesk lets you design requisition forms with custom fields to gather all pertinent information managers need to approve orders.
You can create different forms for different suppliers or order types and get as detailed as you wish when designing these.
The right request form automatically populates when users submit their shopping carts for review. Buyers know exactly what information they need to provide, and they can easily complete the form and save the information in ProcureDesk for review.
After completion, ProcureDesk analyzes requests to take the appropriate action (more on approval workflows in the next section).
Specify Approval & Routing Rules
The final step in creating your purchasing hub is to design approval trees that tell ProcureDesk how to manage purchase requests.
Our system reviews all purchase requests before they reach a manager and can:
- Automatically approve orders.
- Deny orders that exceed budgets or violate purchasing rules, notifying buyers of the reasons.
- Route orders to the appropriate reviewers for approval.
You can also preview the purchasing experience below:
Purchase Approval Workflows
ProcureDesk simplifies the review and approval process for managers by sending notifications about new requests via dashboard and email. Managers know when a new request comes in, and all requests are displayed neatly in a list view.
Managers can approve requests in several ways: through the ProcureDesk desktop or mobile apps, directly in the email notification, or via Slack.
Once requests are approved, ProcureDesk automatically generates the purchase order and sends it to the vendor.
Streamlining the requisition workflow prevents bottlenecks, reduces purchasing cycle times, and allows purchasers to receive needed items sooner.
Automatic PO creation eliminates the need for managers to manually create POs. They simply review the request details and click a button to finalize the order.
ProcureDesk keeps buyers updated on order requests throughout the approval process and during fulfillment and delivery. Buyers are informed if orders are approved, denied (along with reasons), or routed for approval (and to whom).
They can also track deliveries to know when to expect items.
Purchase Order Management & Tracking
To continue on our previous point, both managers and buyers can track POs through delivery.
All POs are displayed in the main dashboard so managers can see real-time purchasing and spending. Then, users can select individual POs to view the details and order status.
ProcureDesk supports PO tracking with two key features:
- Vendor Acknowledgements: Vendors can mark POs as acknowledged when they receive orders. They can also comment on POs if they can’t begin fulfilling orders immediately and expect delays — eliminating back-and-forth email threads.
- Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN): Vendors can add expected ship dates and tracking numbers to POs so buyers and managers can track items in transit and monitor purchases until they’re delivered.
Receipt Management
ProcureDesk includes a receipt management module to verify delivery and order conditions.
Procurement teams can intervene if deliveries are lost, incorrect quantities are received, or goods are damaged, referencing the audit trail.
Our receipt management system supports invoice processing and AP automation features.
ProcureDesk prompts users to confirm delivery and upload a picture of the physical goods receipt or packing slip on the scheduled delivery date. Users can then note item quantities and conditions to report any issues with orders.
Spend Analysis Dashboard
ProcureDesk procurement software includes a spend analysis dashboard so you can dissect spending in different ways.
We provide preset reports to view total yearly spend and spending by supplier, category, department, or team member, with the option to adjust reports to analyze spending over different time frames.
You can share spend reports with stakeholders or export ProcureDesk spend data to use in other business intelligence tools.
ProcureDesk spend reports offer insights to guide procurement processes and sourcing. You can learn about your buyers’ shopping patterns and budgetary requirements, optimize budgets, identify opportunities for cost savings, and establish more beneficial supplier contracts.
ProcureDesk’s Additional Features & Modules
In addition to our purchasing management software, we offer an AP automation suite to manage vendor invoices and streamline invoice processing flows.
Here’s how it works:
- AP teams store all vendor invoices in ProcureDesk. They can receive invoices via e-invoicing or vendor portals, integrate email accounts to pull over new invoices, or upload paper invoices.
- ProcureDesk uses optical character recognition (OCR) to analyze and extract critical information from invoices, such as headers, line items, and amounts. Our system then scans for duplicates and merges invoices.
- Next, it matches invoices with their corresponding POs and receipts in ProcureDesk.
- During the matching process, ProcureDesk flags any invoices with discrepancies and routes them to the AP team for troubleshooting.
- ProcureDesk routes matched invoices for final approval and then pushes invoice data to your accounting system to initiate payment.
After you dispatch payments, the invoice status updates in the accounting software and ProcureDesk.
ProcureDesk integrates with all major accounting systems, including QuickBooks (Online and Enterprise), NetSuite, Xero, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Sage Intacct, and Bill.com.
Additionally, we offer add-on modules to supplement our core packages and support business processes:
- Inventory management: Track real-time inventory of supplies and materials and set automatic reorders for essential items.
- Vendor contract management: Store all contracts in ProcureDesk and set notifications for renewals.
- Expense management: Connect spend accounts, generate expense reports in seconds, and analyze all company spending.
Packages & Getting Started
We offer two packages:
- The Procurement Automation package ($518/month) supports procurement teams and includes all features to manage the purchasing lifecycle and spend analysis.
- The full Procure-to-Pay Automation package ($850/month) includes all purchasing management features and the AP automation suite. This package supports procurement and accounts payable teams.
Both packages include ten user seats and free white-glove onboarding. We’ll customize ProcureDesk to your specifications and guide you through set-up and training. Most teams can implement ProcureDesk in less than 30 days.
We also offer custom enterprise packages to support scalability and specialized needs. We can discuss your challenges and requirements and create a tailored solution. This way, ProcureDesk can evolve with you, and you can avoid software migrations as you grow.
2. eRequisition
eRequisition is a basic purchase requisition software with features to support purchasing. Users can create requisitions in the system, route requisitions for review, automate approvals, and monitor PO status through delivery.
This is the most basic solution on our list, and it’s mentioned in other “top software” review guides as offering the essentials for requisition management.
eRequisition’s offerings may meet some teams’ requirements; however, teams that want to simplify purchasing and eliminate manual data entry in the purchase requisition process should consider ProcureDesk or one of the more advanced options below.
Notable Features
- Purchase requisition management
- Automated approval workflows
- Purchase order creation tools
- PO management
- PO tracking
- PO receiving
- User management & permissions
- Master data management
- Integrations with QuickBooks (Online and Desktop) & NetSuite — to transfer approved requests to your accounting system, streamline PO creation, and monitor expenses from purchase requests
Pricing
eRequisition offers two pricing options:
- Teams with fewer than five users can choose the single-user pricing at $15/user/month.
- Bulk pricing is available for teams with more than 10 users, as follows:
- Teams of 10: $145/month
- Teams of 20: $280/month
- Teams of 30: $405/month
- Teams of 40: $520/month
- Teams of 50: $625/month
- Teams of 75: $900/month
- Teams of 100: $1,000/month
- Teams of 150: $1,350/month
- Teams of 200: $1,600/month
eRequisition also offers custom packages for teams of 200+.
3. Procurement Flow
Procurement Flow is a simple tool that funnels all purchase requests — from email or the request portal — into one dashboard, enabling teams to visualize and manage purchases through to payment.
This procure-to-pay system includes interactive Kanban boards to manage purchases through invoicing. You can see requests, active orders, delivered orders and receipts, and orders with available invoices. Then, you can move orders down the line as they progress.
Procurement Flow has a convenient request-for-quote feature that allows you to bundle multiple orders into a single quote request.
Procurement Flow consolidates orders, promotes collaboration, and offers some automation, but the downside is that all orders are displayed in one dashboard.
Orders can easily be overlooked if they’re buried in columns, and if you’re managing a high volume of orders, your dashboard will be cluttered with hundreds of order “cards” of various statuses.
Plus, like eRequisition above, Procurement Flow does not offer features to create a purchasing hub, like punchouts or budgets. The cycle starts by importing a purchase request, so teams still have to complete request forms from templates — manually typing out items and their details and sending requests for review.
For those reasons, this option is best suited for small teams with low purchasing volume or larger teams that centralized buying and purchase request management within a single department.
Notable Features
- Kanban boards for purchase requisition management
- Bulk request for quote features
- PO tracking tools
- Supplier relationship and contract management
- Commenting and team collaboration tools
- Automation
- Mobile apps
- Reporting dashboard
Pricing
Procurement Flow offers four packages to support individuals and various team sizes:
- Individuals or organizations with one buyer can use the platform for $113/month.
- Teams with up to 3 buyers can use the platform for $306/month.
- Teams with 4–7 buyers can subscribe for $528/month. Procurement Flow notes this is their most popular package.
- Teams with 8–20 buyers can use the platform for $833/month.
These packages make Procurement Flow suitable for smaller teams.
4. Tradogram
Tradogram offers a nice entry-level purchase requisition management software that primarily appeals to small teams. The paid package is available at budget-friendly pricing ($168/month), and it includes all features, supports unlimited suppliers and catalogs, and accommodates up to 19 users.
Unlike Procurement Flow above, Tradogram provides tools to create an internal shopping hub and streamline purchasing processes. This enables users to build orders and submit requests in the system. Then, Tradogram offers expected features to manage approvals, dispatch POs, and track orders through delivery.
In addition to the procurement management tools, Tradogram is a full procure-to-pay solution with AP automation to support accounts payable and invoice processing.
Tradogram also provides tools like inventory management to support purchasing and prevent unnecessary spending.
Users note the platform is user-friendly and easy to learn, but it lacks flexibility options to support more complex approval workflows.
Notable Features
- Unlimited number of suppliers & catalogs
- Purchase requisition management
- Purchase order management
- Budgeting tool
- Approval routing
- Reporting
- Vendor management
- Project management
- Inventory management
- Expense management
- AP automation: invoice tracking, two- and three-way invoice matching
- Integrations with accounting software (QuickBooks Online & Desktop, Sage Intacct, Xero, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365)
Pricing
Tradogram offers a free plan to connect vendors, explore features, and process (up to five) orders. You could use this as a free trial.
The paid plan is $168/month and includes access to all features listed above. This package supports up to 19 user seats, which is why it’s popular for smaller teams.
Tradogram also offers custom packages for teams with more than 20 users.
5. Precoro
Precoro is the first in our list of suggestions for mid-size and growing teams.
This procure-to-pay platform offers over 100 features to support purchasing and accounts payable workflows — including multi-currency and multi-location features for enterprises and global teams.
Precoro offers all of the recommended purchase requisition tools: you can create a consolidated purchasing hub, set budgets and create approval trees, automate purchase approvals, and track POs through delivery.
Precoro also includes a spend management dashboard, AP automation, inventory management, and other features to support purchasing.
Precoro is noted as user-friendly, and users say there’s virtually no learning curve to get started.
The con here is expensive pricing — Precoro offers both procurement and AP functionality in both packages, with basic features in the starter package and more advanced tools, like punchouts, in the upgraded package. Most teams need to opt for this more expensive plan, then Precoro charges extra for bells and whistles like custom forms and optical character recognition.
Precoro also offers limited punchout options, only integrating with Amazon and Staples.
Notable Features
- Punchout catalogs with Amazon and Staples
- Custom catalogs
- Purchase requisition management
- Approval workflows
- Purchase order management
- Spend management
- Supplier management
- Inventory management
- Reporting
- AP automation: invoice & receipt management, three-way invoice matching, accounting integrations (QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite)
Pricing
Precoro’s basic package starts at $249/month and the full P2P package starts at $999/month. Note these are starting packages and Precoro charges extra to add features and functionality to its core offerings.
Precoro typically falls on the pricier side and for that reason is popular for mid-size or growing teams.
6. Procurify
Procurify is another popular option for mid-size and scaling teams because it offers features to manage shopping with vendors and virtual spend cards to control other business-related spending (e.g., software subscriptions, travel expenses, or shopping on e-commerce sites that don’t integrate with Procurify).
Procurify offers dozens of punchout options to quickly create a controlled shopping hub and advanced automation to streamline the request management process. It also offers budget controls to limit spending in the portal and restrict how buyers use virtual spend cards.
Procurement managers can monitor all spending in the Procurify dashboard, and the system also offers real-time PO tracking and receipt management.
Like ProcureDesk, Procurify offers AP automation and comprehensive procure-to-pay functionality. The main differentiators are virtual spend cards and pricing. Procurify tends to be more expensive (historically, packages for small teams start at $1K/month).
Notable Features
- Virtual spend cards
- Catalog management
- Purchase requisition management
- PO management
- Budget tracking & spend controls
- Reporting dashboard
- Inventory management with real-time inventory data
- Mobile apps
- AP automation: invoice & receipt management, three-way invoice matching, reimbursement management, integrations with ERPs, accounting systems & project management platforms
Pricing
Procurify offers custom quotes based on your business requirements.
7. Procurement Express
Procurement Express is another popular choice for larger teams, thanks to its extensive feature set and competitive pricing. It offers full procure-to-pay functionality comparable to that of ProcureDesk.
This solution provides 100+ punchout catalogs, request-a-quote features, custom requisition forms, spend controls, automated approval workflows, real-time PO tracking, and an AP automation hub to support invoice processing.
Procurement Express also offers vendor and inventory management in its core packages, making it appealing for larger teams that need tools to monitor contracts and replenish supplies.
However, pricing for this tool can be confusing and expensive, as Procurement Express splits features, punchout options, and integrations across packages. Most teams need a more expensive plan to access their required punchouts and integrations.
This option is popular among enterprises that can afford the premium plan or a custom package.
Notable Features
- Purchase request management & tools to create custom PR forms
- Punchout catalogs
- Custom catalogs
- RFQ/RFP features (to request quotes from suppliers)
- Approval workflows
- Budget tracking
- Vendor management
- Real-time inventory management
- Reporting dashboard
- Mobile apps
- AP automation: invoice scanning, three-way invoice matching, integrations with accounting systems
Pricing
Procurement Express offers three packages — Basic, Better, and Best — and custom enterprise plans. Most users require the Better or Best plan because it offers access to punchout catalogs and other essential purchasing management tools.
- Basic ($365/month): We don’t recommend this plan because it does not include punchout access and only supports basic reporting.
- Better ($730/month): This plan grants access to Amazon punchouts and more advanced financial reports. Most teams start here.
- Best ($1825/month): This plan is better for large or global organizations because it supports up to five companies. This plan unlocks full punchout access and includes with white-glove onboarding.
8. Coupa
The last option on our list, Coupa, offers procure-to-pay software and consulting services to guide procurement and sourcing strategies. It’s recommended for global brands, and its team has experience with names like AstraZeneca, Uber, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Lear, and more.
Purchase requisition management is just the tip of the iceberg with Coupa’s offerings. The procure-to-pay platform offers advanced automation and AI to digitize the entire purchasing process, control spending, automate approvals, track orders, and process invoices, including:
- Open Buy (an advanced API for sourcing and purchasing items from suppliers in real-time)
- Fraud protection
- Transparent spend management tools
- Strategic sourcing
- Supplier risk management
- Supply chain optimization
Teams like Coupa’s AI-powered financial reports because the system can analyze data and summarize key insights. Coupa can suggest reliable, sustainable suppliers to establish contracts, help you reduce spend in specific areas of business, and highlight areas to optimize budgets.
Coupa’s consulting services are helpful for larger teams that have been working with suppliers for years or have dozens of contracts to manage. Their team can help monitor and evaluate those relationships for better cost savings.
Their team can discuss operational challenges and suggest ways to prevent bottlenecks and automate tasks.
The primary downside is that small and mid-size teams are often priced out of Coupa during demo conversations, as this option is geared toward enterprises and comes with a steep price tag.
Additionally, Coupa requires longer onboarding and training times, although the team offers one-on-one implementation support for migration.
Notable Features
- Purchase order software
- Purchase requisition
- PO collaboration tools
- Open Buy
- Budgeting tools
- Purchasing fraud detection with spend guard
- SOW-based spend management
- Supplier management
- Contract management
- Inventory management
- Reporting
- Mobile apps
- AP automation: invoice & receipt management, two- & three-way invoice matching, integrations with ERPs & accounting software
Pricing
Coupa offers custom quotes.