Getting the School to Pay: A Purchase-Order Request You Can Copy

Quick answer: Schools say no to vague requests and yes to specific ones. Give your administrator a one-page email with the exact product, the exact price, the licence type, the need it addresses, and what you will stop asking for if they approve it. The template below is written to be copied, edited in four places, and sent.

Why do purchase requests get refused?

Rarely because of money. Usually because the request created work. An administrator who has to look up the price, guess the licence, and figure out which budget line it comes from will put it aside until it expires quietly.

The second reason is timing. Ask in April and you are asking from a budget that is already spent. Ask in the first six weeks of the fiscal year, or in the last two weeks when departments are looking for ways to use remaining funds, and the same request lands differently.

What has to be in the request?

Six things, none optional: the exact product name and link, the price including any licence uplift, the number of teachers covered, the need it solves in one sentence, whether it recurs, and the date you need it by. Anything else is decoration.

One more line does more work than the rest combined: what this replaces. An administrator approving new spending wants to hear that something else stops. If the purchase removes a copying cost or a subscription, say so with a number.

The template

Replace the bracketed parts and delete the rest of this sentence before you send it.

Subject: Purchase request: [PRODUCT NAME], $[PRICE]

Hi [NAME],

I would like to request a purchase order for instructional materials
for [COURSE / GRADE], to be used from [START DATE].

Product: [PRODUCT NAME]
Vendor: teachlessons.us
Link: [PRODUCT URL]
Price: $[PRICE] (one-time purchase, digital download, no recurring fee)
Licence: [single teacher / X teachers]
Format: PDF and editable files, delivered by download

Why this, and why now:
[ONE SENTENCE ON THE NEED. Example: our Grade 8 world history
sections currently have no shared unit sequence, so the three
teachers are each building material separately.]

What it replaces:
[ONE LINE. Example: this removes roughly 40 pages per student of
copying per semester, and the material I would otherwise buy
personally.]

Students affected: [NUMBER] across [NUMBER] sections.

Payment: The vendor accepts purchase orders and card payment and
issues a W-9 and an itemized invoice on request. Delivery is by
download, so there is no shipping cost or lead time.

Refunds: The vendor offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so the
purchase can be reversed if it does not fit.

I am happy to complete the requisition form or send this to
[BOOKKEEPER NAME] directly. Please let me know which you prefer.

Thank you,
[YOUR NAME]
[ROLE, SCHOOL]

What to do if the answer is no?

Ask which of the six items was the problem. Usually it is the budget line, not the product, and the answer is "resubmit in July." Ask for that date in writing and put it in your calendar.

If the price is the obstacle, propose a smaller version. A $24.99 unit such as The American Dream approved this month is a better position than a $149.90 curriculum refused twice, and it gives you something concrete to point at next time.

Frequently asked questions

Who should I send it to?

Your department head or principal, copying the bookkeeper. The bookkeeper knows which fund can pay.

Will a vendor accept a school purchase order?

Most digital sellers will, and will supply a W-9. Ask before you write the request so you can say so in it.

What if I already bought it myself?

Ask about reimbursement, but expect it to be harder than pre-approval. Keep the itemized receipt either way.

Can I request materials for a colleague too?

Yes, and it usually strengthens the request. Say how many teachers and price the correct licence.

Related posts

• Using Title I Funds for Digital Curriculum: What to Check First
• Single-Teacher Licence vs Site Licence: What a Department Actually Needs
• Writing a DonorsChoose Project for Digital Resources