Questions concerning this policy chapter should be directed to:

• Veterans Health Administration
• Veterans Benefits Administration
• National Cemetery Administration
• Debt Management Center
• Financial Services Center
• Construction and Facilities Management
• All others

0101 Overview

This chapter establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) financial policies for establishing, reviewing, and canceling purchase requests (PRs) in VA’s Integrated Financial and Acquisition Management System (iFAMS).

Key points covered in this chapter:

• PRs will only be required for:
• Procurement contracts processed through VA Procurement Offices;
• Assisted acquisitions; and
• Task or delivery orders against existing contracts placed by authorized individuals.
• PRs will not be used for the purpose of reserving funds outside of those items specified above;
• PRs will not be recorded for transactions not specified in this guidance, (e.g., purchase card transactions); and
• Open PRs will be reviewed monthly by both the requestor and Local Finance Office. If a PR is no longer valid, it will be manually canceled by the appropriate office.

0102 Revisions

Section	Revision	Office	Reason for Change	Effective Date
0104	Update R&R to provide clarification	OFP	To ensure it aligns to the appropriate role within a VA organization	April 2026
010502	Provide guidance on the requirements needed prior to establishing PRs	OFP	Provide guidance on properly estimating amounts prior to establishing PRs	April 2026
010503	Clarification on funded and unfunded PRs	OFP	Provide guidance on funded and unfunded PRs	April 2026

For a complete list of previous policy revisions, see Appendix A: Previous Policy Revisions.

0103 Definitions

Assisted Acquisition – A type of interagency acquisition where a servicing agency performs acquisition activities on a requesting agency’s behalf, such as awarding and administering a contract, task order, or delivery order.

Integrated Financial and Acquisition Management System (iFAMS) – The system replacing VA’s legacy accounting system, the Financial Management System (FMS), as the official financial and acquisition system of record. VA is implementing iFAMS in waves beginning in 2020.

Obligation – A legally binding agreement that will result in outlays, immediately or in the future. An obligation is a legal liability of the Government against an available appropriation.

Open Purchase Request – A PR that initiated the acquisition/solicitation process, but for which a contract has not yet been awarded or the funding was not fully utilized on the award.

Purchase Request (PR) – A request for goods or services (funded or unfunded). A funded PR reserves funds in the budget query in iFAMS and posts to the applicable statistical general ledger account once it’s approved and processed. A PR may be unfunded for administrative actions or other non-budgetary purposes, such as contract close-out or modification. A PR is not a legally binding obligation.

Statistical Standard General Ledger (SGL) Account – The 9000 series of general ledger accounts available for agencies to record and maintain agency-specific statistical or memorandum data.

0104 Roles and Responsibilities

Administration and Staff Office CFOs are responsible for the review and approval of all purchase requests equal to or greater than $100 million.

Financial Services Center (FSC) is responsible for the review and approval of all purchase requests equal to or greater than $100 million.

Local Finance Offices are responsible for reviewing and approving PRs; ensuring compliance, completeness, and accuracy of PRs; reviewing open PRs to determine validity; and working with the Requesting and Procurement Offices to ensure that invalid PRs are canceled.

Procurement Offices are responsible for awarding/administering contracts in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and applicable laws, obligating and modifying contracts in VA’s contract writing system, and canceling invalid or unneeded PRs when appropriate.

Requesting Offices are responsible for acquisition planning and conducting market research in accordance with FAR in collaboration with Procurement Offices prior to establishing a PR, submitting timely and accurate PRs, and coordinating with the Finance and Procurement Offices to ensure that invalid PRs are canceled.

0105 Policies

010501 General Policies

1. VA will only reserve funds via a PR when it will specifically lead to the award or modification of a contract, delivery or task order, or assisted acquisition.
2. The Financial Services Center (FSC) will perform reconciliations between the standard general ledger (SGL) statistical accounts and the budget tables, (e.g., between the purchase requests budget reservation table and the applicable purchase requests statistical SGL account).
3. PRs should not be used to set aside funds for a broad purpose such as beneficiary travel, tort payments, or planned future transactions using budgetary allocations or allowances.
4. VA will comply with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedules for financial management and reporting records.
5. See Appendix B: Summary of the PR Process, Standard General Ledger Postings, and Guidance for Specific Activity Categories for a summary of the PR process and standard general ledger postings.

010502 Prior to Establishing PRs

1. Requesting Offices will conduct sufficient market research to develop a reasonably accurate estimate of the funds submitted on the PR. This will ensure that PRs are not significantly under/overestimated.
2. VA will document market research in accordance with NARA record retention requirements.

010503 Establishing PRs

1. VA will use PRs only for the approved uses below:
   • Procurement contracts processed through VA Contracting;
   • Assisted acquisitions; and
   • Task or delivery orders against existing contracts placed by authorized individuals.
2. PRs, when required, will be established in a timely manner.
3. PRs can be funded or unfunded depending upon the availability of budgetary resources and timing required for contract actions. .
4. PRs must be approved prior to posting to VA’s accounting system. The level of approval depends upon the dollar amount of the request. Specifically:
   1. Requests for amounts less than $100 million will be approved by staff in the Administrations and Staff Offices;
   2. Requests for amounts equal to or greater than $100 million but less than $1 billion, must be approved by Administration or Staff Office CFOs. Administration and Staff Office CFOs may re-delegate this approval within their immediate office no lower than the GS-15 level (i.e., this authority may not be re-delegated to an individual that does not report directly to the Administration and Staff Office CFO). After approval by the Administration and Staff Office CFO (or designee), the purchase document will be forwarded manually for review and approval to FSC for PRs generated in Integrated Funds Distribution Control Point Activity (IFCAP) or routed electronically to FSC through the iFAMS workflow configuration. Purchase request documents will be approved by the FSC Senior Advisor, iFAMS Service Director, or Financial Accounting Service (FAS) Director the same day as submitted when possible. This approval may be re-delegated within FSC no lower than the GS-15 level; and
   3. Requests for amounts equal to or greater than $1 billion, Administration and Staff Office CFOs must approve. The Administration and Staff Office CFO may only re-delegate this approval within their immediate office no lower than the SES level. After approval by the Administration and Staff Office CFO (or designee), the purchase request document will be forwarded manually for review and approval to FSC for purchase requests generated in IFCAP or routed electronically to FSC through the iFAMS workflow configuration. Purchase request documents will be approved by the FSC Executive Director (ED) or a delegated Senior Executive Service (SES) equivalent position.
   4. Documentation of delegations must be in writing and maintained in accordance with NARA regulations.

010504 Open PRs

1. Open PRs include those PRs which are not cancelled or closed. Open PRs do not require a dollar value if they are for an administrative action (e.g., Subject to Availability of Funds (SAF) or prior to the opening of the new fiscal year).
2. On a monthly basis, Requestors, the Local Procurement Office, and the Local Finance Office staff must review open PRs.
3. The PR review must determine whether:
   • The PR is still needed; 
   • Open balances are accurate and agree to source documents (i.e., request package);
   • PRs aged over 30 days, or without activity in the past 30 days, are valid and should remain open; and
   • PRs with no residual balance should be marked final and/or cancelled.

010505 Closing PRs

1. PRs must be closed to ensure that residual balances are recouped to make funding available for other requirements.
2. The Procurement Office will close PRs by marking them as ‘Final’ or approving PR amendments, as applicable.
3. The Requesting and Finance Offices will coordinate submittal of PR amendments to close remaining residual balances on open PRs.

010506 Canceling PRs

1. Open PRs will be canceled by the appropriate office (e.g., Requesting Office, Finance Office, or Procurement Office) if no longer valid.
2. PRs that are no longer needed must be cancelled within 30 days by the appropriate office. This will release funds for other requirements.
3. Open PRs in expiring funds that have not been awarded by fiscal year-end will be canceled in the accounting system. PRs pertaining to non-expired multi-year funds, revolving funds, no-year funds, administrative actions, subject to availability of funds (SAF), or contract close-out will not be canceled.

0106 Authorities and References

• United States Code (U.S.C.)
  • 31 U.S.C. § 1104, Budget and appropriations authority of the President
  • 31 U.S.C. § 1301, Application of Appropriations (also known as the Purpose Statute)
  • 31 U.S.C. § 1341, Limitations on Expending and Obligating Amounts
  • 31 U.S.C. § 1553, Availability of appropriation accounts to pay obligations
• Federal Acquisition Regulation
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedule
• OMB Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission and Execution of the Budget
• OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements
• Treasury US Standard General Ledger
• VA Acquisition Regulation
• VA Financial Policy Publications
  • Volume II, Chapter 2 – VA’s Budget Cycle and Fund Symbols
  • Volume II, Chapter 3 – VA Funds Control
  • Volume III, Chapter 2 – Obligations
  • Volume IX, Chapter 4 – Reconciliations

0107 Rescissions

Volume III, Chapter 1 – Purchase Request Policy, June 2025.

Appendix A: Previous Policy Revisions

Section	Revision	Office	Reason for Change	Effective Date
0104	Update R&R to provide clarification on approval threshold	FSC	To ensure it aligns to the appropriate role within a VA organization	June 2025
010501	Add approval threshold requirements in policy section	FSC	Provided guidance on approval requirements for purchase requests in VA’s accounting system	June 2025
010505	Year-end PR cancellation	OFP	Non expired funds exempt from year-end cancellation requirement	May 2025
010503 010505 Appendix B	Updated sections on how to properly close out PRs	OFP	Timely return unused funds prior to expiration	May 2025
Various	Updated terms for ‘open PRs,’ ‘cancelled PRs,’ and ‘closed PRs’ throughout	OFP	Accurately reflect system terminology and business processes	May 2025
Various	Realigned appendices	OFP	Updated policy to latest format	May 2025
Various	Move policy to Volume III Chapter 1	OF (047)	Realignment of obligation policies to Volume III	March 2024
Various	Changed ‘commitment’ terminology to ‘purchase request’ throughout policy/title	OF (047)	General ledger account 470000 will not be used for these transactions. Statistical general ledger accounts will be used; therefore, PR is the correct term.	August 2022
Various	The purchase request will not be used for grant agreements	OF (047)	Policy will not use PRs for grant agreements.	August 2022
0501	Inserted “in statistical general ledger accounts”	OF (047)	To clarify that statistical general ledger accounts will be used to record PRs	August 2022
Appendix A	Inserted “for the following iFAMS document types: IPR (contract request) RRE (assisted acquisition)”	OF (047)	Clarification of applicable iFAMS document types	August 2022
Appendix A	Revised applicable general ledger accounts for recording a purchase request as: Dr. 90014610Non-reimbursable Agreement Funding Available Cr. 90014700 Commitments – Subject to Funds Availability	OF (047)	Statistical general ledger accounts will be used for PRs	August 2022
Various	New Chapter	OFP (047G)	Implementation of the Integrated Financial and Acquisition Management System (iFAMS)	June 2020

Appendix B: Summary of the PR Process, Standard General Ledger Postings, and Guidance for Specific Activity Categories

A. The PR process only impacts the following iFAMS document types:

• IPR (Integrated Purchase Request)
• APR (Acquisition Purchase Request)
• RRE (Reimbursable Request)

B. Summary of the PR Process

Daily Activities:

• Step 1 – The requesting office, within an Administration or Staff Office, identifies the need for a VA Procurement action to obtain goods or services and creates a PR with funded accounting lines. The requesting office uploads supporting documentation including, but not limited to, a Statement of Work, Independent Government Cost Estimate, and Market Analysis. The Requesting Office’s approving official reviews and performs the first-level of approval.

• Step 2 – The Local Finance Office reviews the PR and performs the second level of approval. The Local Finance Office cannot make any adjustments/edits to the PR due to read-only access. PRs containing errors will be returned to the requesting office.

• Step 3 – VA Procurement Office awards a contract (or an authorized individual places an order against an awarded contract), creating an obligation. VA will record an obligation when VA incurs a legally binding agreement with a specified entity. The amount used to fund the obligation will be automatically decreased from the referenced PR. If the obligation amount is less than the PR amount and the unused funds are no longer required, the PR must be marked as “final” within iFAMS when the obligation is awarded so the residual PR balance will be decreased. Otherwise, the excess PR amount must be manually decreased.

Monthly Activities:

• Step 4 – Reconciliation. Monthly, Local Finance Office staff and the Requesting Offices will review open PRs. The Local Finance Office will request that the appropriate office (i.e., Requesting Office and Procurement Office) cancel PRs that are no longer valid.

Year-End Activities:

• Step 5 – Open PRs must be canceled at year-end. iFAMS will automatically cancel any open PRs with balances at year-end. PRs pertaining to non-expired multi-year funds, revolving funds, no-year funds, administrative actions, subject to availability of funds (SAF), or contract close-out will not be canceled.

C. Standard General Ledger (SGL) Postings

1. Create a PR
   • A PR is only recorded in iFAMS if a transaction will be processed by a Contracting Officer (or other authorized individual), or an IAA that involves an assisted acquisition.
   • The PR process ensures funds are available and the correct funding is used. The PR requires approval by the Requesting and Local Finance Office.
   • The following SGL accounts are impacted for the following iFAMS document types:
     • IPR (Integrated Purchase Request)
     • APR (Acquisition Purchase Request)
     • RRE (Reimbursable Request)

Budgetary (creates PR) (primary user entry)
Dr. 90014610Non-reimbursable Agreement Funding Available
        Cr. 90014700 – Commitments – Subject to Funds Availability

2. Create Obligation
   • The obligation records a legally binding agreement that will result in outlays, immediately or in the future.
   • The amount of the PR used to fund the obligation will be automatically decreased from the PR at the time of obligation processing. If the obligation amount is less than the PR amount, the PR must be marked as “final” within iFAMS obligation so the residual PR balance will be automatically decreased (liquidated). Otherwise, the excess PR amount must be manually decreased.
   • The following SGL accounts are impacted.

Budgetary (creates obligation) (primary user entry)
Dr. 46100001 Allotments – Realized
        Cr. 48010001 Undelivered Orders – Obligations, Unpaid

Budgetary (decrease funds) (automated entry generated by referencing)
Dr. 90014700 – Commitments – Subject to Funds Availability
        Cr. 90014610 – Non-reimbursable Agreement Funding Availability

Monthly Activities:

3. Review PRs Monthly
   • Open PRs are reviewed and manually decreased if no longer valid.
   • The following SGL accounts are impacted when decreased.

Budgetary (decrease funds) (primary user entry)
Dr. 90014700 – Commitments – Subject to Funds Availability
        Cr. 90014610 – Non-reimbursable Agreement Funding Availability

Year-End Activities:

4. Cancel Open PRs at Year-end
   • Open PRs at year-end will automatically be canceled. PRs pertaining to non-expired multi-year funds, revolving funds, no-year funds, administrative actions, subject to availability of funds (SAF), or contract close-out will not be canceled.
   • The following SGL accounts are impacted when canceled.

Budgetary (decrease funds) (automated entry generated by the system)
Dr. 90014700 – Commitments – Subject to Funding Available
        Cr. 90014610 – Non-reimbursable Agreement Funding Availability