--- title: "Purchase Requests With an Order Tab for Finance" description: "Build a purchase request form in SharePoint: a Request tab for employees and an Order tab that only finance edits, with status and PO number in view." url: https://www.virtosoftware.com/use-cases/purchase-request-form/ language: en-US last_modified: 2026-10-14T00:00:00+02:00 translations: de: https://www.virtosoftware.com/de/use-cases/purchase-request-form/index.md --- # Purchase Requests With an Order Tab for Finance A SharePoint list of purchase requests with a form in two tabs: the request an employee fills in, and the order that finance completes. The employee sees the PO number and status but cannot change them. Built with Virto Forms Designer App. Available at: SharePoint Microsoft Teams Microsoft Azure Illustrative purchase request form with the tabs Request and Order, open on Order: Status Ordered and PO number PO-2026-0418. Trusted by Industry Leaders Warner Bros. Disney Sony UC Berkeley Motorola Teck Resources US Treasury University of Pittsburgh NASA Stockholms Stad FedEx Zespri and over 8,000 businesses worldwide ## Ask, Order, Track The screens come from a test list on our own SharePoint site: one item per request and a published Virto form with two layouts, one for the finance team and one for everyone else. The names are invented. Ask ### The employee asks for an item #### A request per item What, how many, how much, for which department and by when: columns of an ordinary SharePoint list item. #### The approver named in the form The approver is a person column, so an approval flow or a reminder knows whom to address. ![Edit form of the Purchase requests list, built with Virto Forms Designer App, on the Request tab: Item 27-inch monitors for the design team, Quantity 4, Estimated amount 1,280, Department Marketing, Supplier Office Supplies GmbH, Needed by 11/6/2026, Approver Daniel Weber, and Why it is needed Two designers share one monitor; four new seats from November](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/purchase-request-form/request-tab.webp) The Request tab: item, quantity, amount, department, supplier, date, approver and the reason in two columns. Track ### The employee sees the order, read-only #### No email to ask where it is Status, PO number and order date are in the same item the employee filled in. #### Visible, not editable The Order tab is read-only in the employee's form. Who may change the data itself is still decided by the list's permissions. ![The Order tab of the same request as the employee sees it, greyed out: Status Ordered, PO number PO-2026-0418, Ordered on 10/14/2026 and Finance notes Within the Q4 marketing budget](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/purchase-request-form/order-requester.webp) The Order tab in the default layout: status, PO number, order date and notes, greyed out for the employee. Order ### Finance completes the order #### A layout for finance Members of the Finance team group open the request in a layout where the Order tab is theirs. #### Notes stay with the request Budget remarks travel with the item instead of a separate spreadsheet. ![The Order tab as a member of the Finance team group sees it, editable: Status Ordered, PO number PO-2026-0418, Ordered on 10/14/2026 and Finance notes Within the Q4 marketing budget](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/purchase-request-form/order-finance.webp) The same tab in the finance layout, where status, PO number, date and notes can be edited. ## Key benefits ### Your data stays in your list Every request is a list item in your tenant, with your permissions, versions and views. ### No code for the layout Tabs, two columns and a layout for finance are set in a drag-and-drop designer. ### Fewer status questions Employees see the order status and PO number in their own request. ### Every change on record Version history shows who changed the amount, the status or the PO number, and when. ### Flows and alerts can react Because the request is a list item, a Power Automate flow or a Virto alert can react to the status or the amount. ### A form, not a lock A read-only tab shapes the form. Who may change the data is still set by the list's permissions. ## What purchasing needs, and what runs it | Real-life scenario | Best fit | Why it works | | --- | --- | --- | | A request and its order details in a single record | Virto Forms Designer App | A Request tab for employees and an Order tab for finance on one list item, with a layout for each, set up without code. | | Cost centres filtered by the chosen department — A cascading drop-down: pick Marketing, see only marketing cost centres. | Virto Forms Designer App | Possible with JavaScript in the form; the designer has no setting for cascading lookups. | | A reminder when the needed-by date comes close | Virto Alerts & Reminder App | A date-based reminder on the Needed by column emails finance or the approver a few days ahead. | | Approval routed by amount | Power Automate | A flow sends requests above a threshold to a second approver and writes the outcome back to the item. | | Orders with many lines, totals and a PDF purchase order | A procurement or ERP system | This form handles one item per request. Multi-line orders, catalogues and supplier integration belong in a procurement system. | ## Related products Explore how our set of productivity tools can transform your task management - [Virto Forms Designer App](https://www.virtosoftware.com/microsoft-365/virto-forms-designer-app/): Rebuild the New, Edit and Display forms of SharePoint lists in a drag-and-drop designer, no code. - [Virto Alerts & Reminder App](https://www.virtosoftware.com/microsoft-365/virto-alerts-and-reminders-app/): Email and Teams alerts when SharePoint list items change, and reminders before the dates they hold—one-off or recurring. - [Virto Form Designer](https://www.virtosoftware.com/sharepoint/sharepoint-forms-designer-web-part/): List forms for SharePoint Server 2013, 2016, 2019 and Subscription Edition: New, Edit and Display forms by drag and drop, with HTML, CSS and JavaScript editors. ## Related use cases Discover our range of use cases to take your planning and coordination to another level ![Employee Onboarding Form in SharePoint](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/employee-onboarding-form.webp) ### Employee Onboarding Form in SharePoint One SharePoint list item per new hire, filled in by HR, IT, facilities and the hiring manager, each in a form of its own built with Virto Forms Designer App. ![IT Change Request Form in SharePoint](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/it-change-request-form.webp) ### IT Change Request Form in SharePoint A SharePoint list of change requests with tabs for the change, its impact and risk, and the CAB decision, which only the change advisory board edits, built with Virto Forms Designer App. ![Expiration & Renewal Reminders](https://www.virtosoftware.com/images/use-cases/expiration-renewal-reminders.webp) ### Expiration & Renewal Reminders Each owner gets an email 90, 60 and 30 days before a contract, certificate or licence ends, and the team lead gets one weekly table — from the SharePoint list you already keep. ## Building SharePoint forms - [SharePoint Forms: How to Create, Customize and Add Approval](https://www.virtosoftware.com/tasks/sharepoint-forms/)