Free practice resource
Dental supply request template and ordering tracker
A practical Excel workbook for the internal request: what somebody has asked the practice to buy, whether anyone has reviewed it, and whether it was ordered or not required. It is not a form you send to a supplier, and it is not a stocktake.
Free · Excel .xlsx · No sign-up required
Published 20 September 2026 · Last updated 20 September 2026 · Author: Reacting
Supply requests
Why supply requests get lost
A need is mentioned in conversation, in a message, or on a note. Later, the team cannot easily tell whether somebody reviewed it, somebody ordered it, or it was deliberately not required.
The tracker makes that history visible. It does not, by itself, stop a duplicate order.
What the tracker helps organise
Use it to keep the internal ask in one place, without turning it into a stock count or a supplier order form.
- Who requested something
- What they need
- How quickly it needs reviewing
- Whether it is still open, being reviewed, ordered or not required
- What quantity was actually ordered
If you are counting what is physically on the shelf, use the dental stocktake checklist.
A request is not an order
REQUESTED does not mean ORDERED. Recording the ask is a different fact from recording that a purchase was placed.
Qty requested
3
Qty ordered
5
The ordering person may buy a supplier pack quantity, or make a different purchasing decision. Both numbers should remain in the history.
Preferred supplier is optional — the requester does not need to know where the item is bought. Use Brand / Specification when the exact product, size, shade or other specification matters.
Inside the workbook
Four sheets: Start here, Supply requests, Open requests, and Lists. Supply requests is the master table. Open requests shows rows that still need attention.
Supply requests
Open requests
Free · Excel .xlsx · No sign-up required
Request, review, order, close
The workbook follows a simple sequence. Ordered and not-required requests stay in the master table.
Request
Record what is needed.
Review
Confirm specification, quantity and whether it is required.
Order
Record what was actually ordered.
Close
ORDERED or NOT REQUIRED remains in the master history.
Status and Follow-up
Status is chosen by a person. Follow-up is calculated, so the team can see what still needs attention.
Status
Chosen by the team
- REQUESTED
- Recorded; nobody has picked it up yet.
- REVIEWING
- The responsible person is dealing with it.
- ORDERED
- A purchase has been placed.
- NOT REQUIRED
- Will not be ordered; remains in history.
Follow-up
Calculated automatically
- TO REVIEW
- URGENT — REVIEW
- IN REVIEW
- COMPLETE ORDER DETAILS
- ORDERED
- CLOSED
Priority
Priority describes how quickly the request needs reviewing. Routine is the normal ordering cycle. Soon should be reviewed sooner than the normal ordering cycle. Urgent needs prompt review.
Priority does not approve the purchase and is not a clinical-emergency classification.
Spreadsheet limits
When a tracker is not enough
The workbook is a manual request tracker. It does not compare suppliers, prices or quotes. It does not manage purchase orders or receiving.
Once the practice needs to compare suppliers or prices, or turn requests into an ongoing purchasing workflow, that is a different job.
Ongoing purchasing
Dental Assist is designed to connect purchasing requests with supplier comparison, ordering and receiving.
Questions about the supply request template
Straight answers for practices tracking internal supply requests.
An internal record that someone in the practice has asked for something to be bought. This workbook is that record in Excel — not a form you send to a supplier.
Free · Excel .xlsx · No sign-up required