Creating a requisition in Buy2Pay

In order to place an order with a vendor, you’ll have to create a requisition through Buy2Pay using an appropriate cost object. This requisition will then be reviewed and approved, which will create a Purchase Order (PO) that will be sent directly to the vendor.

If the vendor you’re ordering from is in the B2P Catalog, you can use the B2P Catalog Search QuickCard for help navigating the catalog.

If you cannot find your vendor in the B2P Catalog, please refer to the B2P Quickcard on how to Write a Freeform Order, which also has instructions for adding a new supplier into the system if the catering company you’re ordering from is not currently in B2P.

Below is a video guide for writing freeform orders in B2P:

Created By

This will auto-fill with your name.

On Behalf Of

This field is optional, but it’s recommended to fill out who the purchase is being made for if you are an AA or placing the order for someone else. This section is used for determining effort on the billing account, so instead of the purchasing effort of the requester (”Created By”) being checked, the Finance team will instead check the effort of the “On Behalf Of” party. This is especially helpful if you do not have purchasing effort on a research account but are placing the order for someone on the project. It can also be useful to include who requested the order for future reference in case a question comes up about the requisition.

Justification

The justification needs to give the Finance team an understanding of why the item is being purchased. In the above example, we can see that this item is a replacement for a necessary part, which tells us exactly why the purchase is needed and what it’ll be used for. What we’re looking to avoid is a justification like “thin film deposition tool,” which is a description of the item but doesn’t tell us what or how it’ll be used for.

Attachments

In general, it’s recommend to attach any quotes/invoices/email correspondence that will help show why this requisition is being created. For specific questions about Attachments and supporting documentation, please reach out us at dmse-finance@mit.edu.

Attachments Included

Please uncheck this box if there is no supporting documentation you plan to upload, or leave it checked if you attached anything in the above section.

Email Address of Requester

Since you created the requisition, you are the requester, so your email address should autofill in this field.

Comments to Supplier

Anything written in this field will be sent to the vendor once the PO is created. These comments are public.

Notes to Buyer

Anything written in this field will be sent to the MIT Buyer Review team once the PO is created. These comments are private to MIT employees and cannot be seen by the supplier.

Requisition Type

There are two types of requisitions: Standard and Blanket. If the order is a one-time purchase of supplies or services, then it will be a Standard PO. If the requisition is setting up a recurring payment, then it will be a Blanket PO. Most requisitions will be Standard. If you are unsure, please default to Standard.

Address: Attention

If the purchased items should be shipped directly to a particular individual, please include their name in this section.

In this section, click on the Magnifying Glass icon to select your billing account and GL.

The billing account is the account that will be paying for the requisition. This is a 7-digit number that usually starts with a 6- for research accounts or 1- or 2- for non-research accounts. Note that only accounts in DMSE will be routed through the DMSE Finance team for approval.

Buy2Pay will automatically assign a GL to the requisition depending on the item added. This GL is the system’s best guess, and is often incorrect. An incorrect GL can interfere with the proper approval process, so please review the GL before submitting the requisition for approval.

For more information on GL’s, please visit the VPF “General Ledger (G/L) Accounts” page, and I’d recommend bookmarking their Active G/L Accounts pdf.

Some particularly strong chemicals, like Ethanol/Ethyl Alcohol, are automatically restricted by the B2P system.

In order to purchase a restricted chemical, the requester must have one of the following job titles:

If you are purchasing a restricted chemical on behalf of an individual with one of the above titles, please have them fill out an Ethyl Alcohol Purchase Approval form to grant you permission for the purchase. You should include this documentation in your requisition when you submit it for review.