Purchase requisition, purchase order, and sourcing request states

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated April 14, 2026
  • 10 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Purchase Requisition, Purchase Order, and Sourcing Request States

    Purchase requisitions, purchase orders, and sourcing requests in ServiceNow progress through defined states that represent their current stage in the procurement lifecycle. These states determine the available actions and are automatically calculated based on the statuses of their associated lines and related procurement tasks or cases. Direct manual state changes are not permitted.

    Show full answer Show less

    Purchase Requisition States

    Purchase requisitions move through stages from initial creation to closure, reflecting review, approval, submission, confirmation, revision, cancellation, or completion.

    • Pending Review: Initial state when created or lines require review.
    • Pending Approval: All lines reviewed, awaiting approval.
    • Awaiting Task Completion: All lines approved, but order-dependent cases or tasks remain open.
    • Final Review: Ready for submission after no blocking tasks remain.
    • Pending Submission: Approved and submitted, purchase order in creation.
    • Pending Supplier Confirmation: Awaiting supplier acknowledgment (specific to punchout suppliers).
    • Pending Cancellation / Revision: Cancellation or revision requested and in progress.
    • Closed States (Complete, Canceled, Rejected): Final states indicating fulfillment, cancellation, or rejection of requisition lines.

    Purchase Order States

    Purchase orders reflect processing status, submission to suppliers, delivery progress, payment, returns, cancellation, and closure.

    • Processing: Order being generated or processed via integrations.
    • Pending Submission: Ready to send to suppliers.
    • Pending Revision: Awaiting resubmission post-purchase modification.
    • Pending Supplier Confirmation: Awaiting supplier acknowledgment before confirmation.
    • Ordered / Partially Delivered / Delivered: Tracks receipt of goods or services.
    • Payment Pending / Closed Paid: Invoice handling and payment status.
    • Pending Return / Closed Returned: Return process management via return playbook.
    • Pending Cancellation / Closed Canceled: Cancellation requests and their confirmation.
    • Closed Released: Fully closed after fulfillment and payment.

    Sourcing Request States

    Sourcing requests indicate progress from initial review through supplier qualification, negotiation, evaluation, decision-making, and closure.

    • Pending Review: Initial creation or re-entered during review stages.
    • Pending Approval / Information Needed: Awaiting procurement manager approval or additional request information.
    • Qualification Needed / Qualified: Supplier/item qualification stages.
    • Pending Negotiation / Negotiation in Progress: Negotiation event stages including bid solicitation and collection.
    • Pending Resubmission / Awaiting Supplier Response: Handling bid resubmissions and awaiting final responses.
    • Awaiting Task Completion / Requires Decision: Dependent on completion of procurement cases or tasks before buyer decision.
    • Closed States (Complete, No Decision, Canceled, Rejected): Final outcomes of sourcing requests indicating award acceptance, no decision, cancellation, or rejection.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    Understanding these states enables customers to track procurement progress accurately, identify required actions at each stage, and manage procurement workflows effectively. The automatic state calculations ensure consistency and visibility across requisitions, orders, and sourcing requests, supporting compliance and operational efficiency. Customers should monitor related procurement cases and tasks as they influence state transitions and procurement progress.

    Purchase requisitions, purchase orders, and sourcing requests move through a series of states as they progress through the procurement lifecycle. Each state reflects the current stage of processing and determines what actions are available.

    How states are determined

    The state of a purchase requisition, purchase order, or sourcing request is calculated automatically based on the states of its associated lines. When a line changes state, the system recalculates and updates the parent record's state. You cannot set the state of these records directly.

    When procurement cases or purchasing tasks are associated with a record, the state reflects whether those items are still open. For example, a purchase requisition remains in the Awaiting Task Completion state until all order-dependent cases and tasks are closed.

    Purchase requisition states

    The following table describes each purchase requisition state, when the state is set, and where the purchase requisition can move from that state.

    Table 1. Purchase requisition states
    State When this state is set Next state
    Pending Review Set when the purchase requisition is first created, or when any purchase requisition line requires review. This is the initial state for all purchase requisitions.
    • Pending Approval
    • Awaiting Task Completion
    • Closed Canceled
    • Closed Rejected
    Pending Approval Set when all purchase requisition lines have completed review and are awaiting approval. No lines remain in the Pending Review state.
    • Awaiting Task Completion
    • Final Review
    • Closed Rejected
    Awaiting Task Completion Set when all purchase requisition lines have cleared review and approval (none remain in Pending Review or Pending Approval), at least one line is in an approved state, and one or more order-dependent procurement cases or purchasing tasks are still open. Lines in a Pending Cancellation or Pending Revision state may also exist alongside approved lines without preventing this state from being set. Final Review (when all blocking cases and tasks are closed)
    Final Review Set when all purchase requisition lines have cleared review and approval, at least one line is approved, no open cases or tasks are blocking, and the purchase requisition has not yet been submitted. The purchase requisition is ready for submission.
    • Pending Submission (when buyer submits for non-punchout suppliers)
    • Pending Supplier Confirmation (when buyer submits for punchout suppliers)
    • Pending Revision (if a revision is triggered)
    Pending Submission Set when the purchase requisition has been approved and submitted, and a purchase order is being created or processed. This is an intermediate state during order creation.
    • Closed Complete (when the order is fulfilled)
    • Closed Canceled (if canceled before ordering)
    Pending Supplier Confirmation Set when the associated purchase order has been submitted to the supplier and the system is waiting for an explicit supplier acknowledgment. The purchase requisition reflects this state while the supplier acknowledgment is awaited.
    Note:
    Unlike other purchase requisition states, this state is not derived from purchase requisition line statuses. It is set directly at the point of purchase order creation for punchout suppliers.
    • Pending Submission (if not confirmed)
    • Closed Complete (when confirmed and fulfilled)
    Pending Cancellation Set when a cancellation has been requested for the purchase requisition and one or more lines are awaiting cancellation confirmation. Closed Canceled (when cancellation is confirmed)
    Pending Revision Set when a buyer or procurement specialist triggers a revision of the purchase requisition and one or more lines are in revision. No lines are in a higher-priority state. Pending Review (when the revised purchase requisition is resubmitted)
    Closed Complete Set when all approved purchase requisition lines have reached a closed complete state. Lines that were canceled or rejected during the process do not need to be in this state for the purchase requisition to close. Not applicable. This is the last state.
    Closed Canceled Set when all purchase requisition lines have been canceled and no lines remain in an active state. Not applicable. This is the last state.
    Closed Rejected Set when all purchase requisition lines have been rejected. When the primary line is rejected, all associated lines are also set to rejected. Not applicable. This is the last state.

    Purchase order states

    The following table describes each purchase order state, when the state is set, and where the purchase order can move from that state. Purchase order states are calculated based on the states of the associated purchase order lines.

    Table 2. Purchase order states
    State When this state is set Next state
    Processing Set when the purchase order is being generated or processed by an automated integration, such as an ERP system. This is an intermediate state while external processing completes. Pending Submission (when processing is complete)
    Pending Revision Set when the purchase order has been revised through a purchase modification case and is awaiting resubmission to the supplier. Pending Submission (when the revision is resubmitted)
    Pending Submission Set when purchase order lines are ready to be transmitted to the supplier. Entered from Processing when ERP processing completes, or from Pending Revision after a revision is resubmitted.
    • Ordered (when submission is confirmed)
    • Pending Supplier Confirmation (if supplier acknowledgment is required)
    Pending Supplier Confirmation Set when the purchase order has been submitted to the supplier and the system is waiting for an explicit supplier acknowledgment before the order is treated as confirmed. Ordered (when the supplier confirms)
    Ordered Set when all purchase order lines have been submitted and confirmed by the supplier, or auto-confirmed. No lines are pending, in revision, or partially delivered.
    • Partially Delivered
    • Delivered (as goods or services are received)
    Partially Delivered Set when some purchase order lines have been received and others are still in an ordered state, or when at least one line is explicitly partially delivered. Delivered (when all lines are received)
    Delivered Set when at least one purchase order line has been delivered and no lines remain in an active or in-progress state (such as Ordered, Processing, or Pending Submission). Lines that have already progressed beyond delivery, such as those in Payment Pending or Closed Paid, do not prevent this state from being set. The purchase order is awaiting invoice processing for the remaining delivered lines.
    • Payment Pending (when an invoice is created)
    • Closed Released (if no invoice is required)
    Payment Pending Set when an invoice has been received and matched to the purchase order, and payment is pending. This state is only entered when every line on the purchase order is in the Payment Pending state. If any line remains in a different state, the purchase order reflects that line's state instead. Closed Paid (when the invoice is paid)
    Pending Return Set when a return is confirmed with the supplier and the return playbook progresses to the shipping coordination stage. This state is set directly as part of the return playbook, not through the automated state recalculation from line states. When purchase order lines are in Pending Return, the automated state calculator does not update the purchase order status, and the purchase order header retains its previous state until the playbook advances.
    • Closed Returned (when the return is processed)
    • Ordered (if the return is reversed)
    Pending Cancellation Set when a cancellation has been requested for the purchase order but has not yet been confirmed.
    • Closed Canceled (when cancellation is confirmed)
    • Ordered (if the cancellation is reversed)
    Closed Paid Set when the invoice has been paid and all purchase order lines are in a paid state. Closed Released (after final reconciliation)
    Closed Returned Set when all returned lines have been processed and the return is complete. This state requires every line on the purchase order to be in the Closed Returned state with no lines in any other state. A purchase order with a mix of Closed Returned and Closed Canceled lines, for example, will not enter this state automatically. Not applicable. This is the last state.
    Closed Released Set when the purchase order has been fully closed and released after successful fulfillment and payment. Not applicable. This is the last state.
    Closed Canceled Set when the purchase order has been canceled and all active lines are in a canceled state. Not applicable. This is the last state.

    Sourcing request states

    The following table describes each sourcing request state, when the state is set, and where the sourcing request can move from that state. Sourcing request states reflect the current stage of the sourcing process, from initial review through supplier bid evaluation and award.

    Table 3. Sourcing request states
    State When this state is set Next state
    Pending Review Set when the sourcing request is first created. This is the initial state for all sourcing requests. Also re-entered when a purchase requisition line reverts to a pending review state, or when the primary line's approval cascades a pending review state to all other lines on the sourcing request.
    • Pending Approval
    • Information Needed
    Pending Approval Set when the sourcing request has been submitted for procurement manager approval and at least one purchase requisition line is awaiting approval.
    • Pending Review (when approved and cascaded to lines)
    • Closed Rejected (when rejected)
    Information Needed Set when the buyer requires more information from the requester before the sourcing request can proceed. Pending Review (when the required information is provided)
    Qualification Needed Set when supplier or item qualification is required before bids can be solicited. Qualified (when qualification is complete)
    Qualified Set when qualification is complete and the sourcing request is ready for negotiation setup. Also set during the active negotiation phase when a negotiation event exists but the negotiation has not yet advanced beyond the qualification stage for all lines. In this case, the sourcing request re-enters this state from Negotiation in Progress, not from the initial qualification step. Pending Negotiation
    Pending Negotiation Set when a negotiation event has been created for the sourcing request but has not yet opened for bidding. Negotiation in Progress (when the negotiation event opens)
    Negotiation in Progress Set when a negotiation event is active and supplier bids are being collected. Also set when pricing has been obtained but a negotiation event is not yet fully completed.
    • Awaiting Supplier Response
    • Pending Resubmission
    Pending Resubmission Set when bids have been received but the negotiation event requires suppliers to resubmit revised bids. Awaiting Supplier Response (when the resubmission round closes)
    Awaiting Supplier Response Set when the negotiation event has closed and the system is waiting for supplier bid responses to be evaluated.
    • Requires Decision
    • Closed No Decision
    Awaiting Task Completion Set when pricing has been obtained but one or more active sourcing-dependent procurement cases or purchasing tasks are still open against the sourcing request. The state is updated automatically when all blocking cases and tasks are closed.
    • Requires Decision (when all blocking cases and tasks are closed and no negotiation event is linked to the sourcing request)
    • Negotiation in Progress (when all blocking cases and tasks are closed and a negotiation event is linked)
    Requires Decision Set when pricing has been obtained, no active negotiation event is blocking the sourcing request, and no open cases or tasks remain. A buyer decision is required to award or decline the sourcing.
    • Closed Complete (when the award is accepted)
    • Closed No Decision
    • Closed Canceled
    Closed Complete Set when the sourcing request has been awarded and closed. All pricing has been accepted and the sourcing outcome has been converted, typically to a purchase order. Not applicable. This is the last state.
    Closed No Decision Set when the sourcing request is closed without a sourcing decision being made. All purchase requisition lines have reached a closed no decision state. Not applicable. This is the last state.
    Closed Canceled Set when the sourcing request has been canceled. All active purchase requisition lines are in a canceled state. Not applicable. This is the last state.
    Closed Rejected Set when all purchase requisition lines on the sourcing request have been rejected. When the primary line is rejected, all other lines on the sourcing request are also set to rejected. In workflows where individual line selection is supported (such as the mobile supplier selection experience), rejecting individual lines does not move the sourcing request to Closed Rejected until every line has been rejected. Not applicable. This is the last state.