How to Fill Out a PRF

We use the PRF to request both Goods and Services

First check with the purchasing staff in your office.  If they do not have hard-copy, pre-numbered forms, you can use the form we’ve attached to this manual:

Purchase Requisition Form Template

The instructions below refer to the format we’ve attached, but the principles are the same for any form.  You can use these instructions no matter what form you are filling out.   You can get a PDF version of these instructions by clicking here.

Top Section

Dept/Program:

Write the name of the department or section of the office requesting the items or services

Examples:

Are you requesting tea cups for the kitchen?  You would write Facilities

Are you requesting timber for a shelter project?  You would write Shelter

Reason:   

For what specific project do you need the items or services?

Examples:

Tea cups for a new office?  You would write Office Set-up

Timber for a shelter project?  You would write Shelter construction in region X

Deliver when?

When do you need these items or services?

You should discuss your purchase with the Purchasing Department staff before filling out this field.

BE REALISTIC.   If you are ordering a $10,000 technical item, you probably can’t have it tomorrow, or by the end of the week – even in an emergency.

The larger the purchase and the more complicated the item or service you request, the longer it is going to take to find options, compare them, and deliver the item(s) or service(s).

If there are many different dates when you need the items or services (maybe you don’t need all of them on the same day), write down what you need when on a separate piece of paper and attach that paper to the request.  Then, make sure to discuss the issue with the purchasing staff when you turn in your request so that you know they are aware of your requirements.

Deliver where?

Where should the items be delivered or services performed?

At which office?  Warehouse?  Field Site?

If there are many different places where you need the items or services delivered, write down the details of the delivery places, dates, and amounts on a separate piece of paper and attach that paper to the request.  Then, make sure to discuss this with the purchasing department when you turn in the request so that you know they are aware of your needs.

You don’t need to fill in the other three fields at the top of the page.  The Purchasing Department will fill those out when you give them the form.

The Table with Details of Your Request

Qty:

How many do you need?

Unit:  

How are they packaged?

Examples:

Box of 12

50 kg bag

Individual piece

Description:

EXACTLY what are you requesting?  What are ALL the details?  Include specifics about quality.  This description is what the purchasing staff are going to use to look for what you are requesting.

DO

  1. Be very specific

    Not Specific:  Water Container
    Specific:  20 ltr rigid jerry can, round, with CRS Logo

    Not Specific:  Generator
    Specific:  5 kva portable generator with wheels

  2. List each different item on a separate line.
  3. If you run out of lines on this form, get another PRF and continue your list on it.  Make sure to note on both PRFs that they go together (using the PRF numbers).

DON’T

List completely different items on the same PRF.  If you need two things, and you can’t get these things at the same kind of store, you should fill out two separate forms.

For example, if you need to buy farming tools and to have books printed that will show the farmers how to use those tools, fill out one PRF for the tool purchase and a separate PRF printing services.

Estimated Unit Price:  

What is the approximate price of one unit?

You should have this information in the budget for the project.

If you can’t find the value there, use your general knowledge about what things cost.

Purchasing will need this information to know if they are on the right track when they are looking for your items.  You can use the relative unit prices of items in a list to indicate which items must be high quality and which don’t have to be.

Unit:  

Multiply the Estimated Unit Cost time the Qty.

Don’t forget to total things up at the bottom of the table.  The total will tell you whose signatures you need.

Budgets to be Charged

Here you enter information about which budget is paying for this purchase.

Donor Source & Project #:

This will be a code in the form XXXX-YYY-ZZZZ

XXXX = Donor Source Code

YYY = Country Code

ZZZZ = Project Number

GL Account:  

This is a four-digit code indicating what type of expense it is.  It comes from the Chart of Accounts

Blank Columns:  

These are for other “TCodes” that the country program might use to keep track of it’s spending.

Amt to Charge:  

If you are splitting the cost up between multiple Donor Source-Project Number combinations, you use these boxes to indicate how much of the total should be charged to each one.

Suggested Sources

This information is optional.

Here you can list any vendors you know provide the items or services you are requesting.  Purchasing may use this information to help them look.

If you don’t know of any, just leave the section blank.

Approvals

When the rest of the form is complete, you write your name and title on the Requester line, and sign and date the request.

Then you bring the form to your supervisor for his or her approval.

Finally, if your supervisor does not have the authority to sign for the whole value of the requested purchase (see the approval matrix to find out), you bring the form to the person who does have the authority to approve purchases on the budget listed in the “Budgets to be Charged” section above.

Finishing Up

When you have the appropriate signatures, you bring the form to Purchasing.

They will review it, accept it, and start looking for what you need.