Why isn't the Business Central requisition worksheet suggesting purchases?

When the Business Central requisition worksheet returns no purchase suggestions, the cause is almost always item setup: a blank Reordering Policy, a Replenishment System other than Purchase, no reorder point or safety stock, or a planning date range that misses the demand. Check the Planning Error Log first, then work through the causes below.

What should you check first?

Run Calculate Plan again with Stop and Show First Error cleared and read the result. If any item failed, Business Central reports how many were affected and opens the Planning Error Log, which links to each item card. Fix those errors before you look further.

Then pick one item you are sure should be ordered, filter the worksheet to that item, and test each cause below against it. One item at a time is far faster than reviewing the whole catalog.

Is the item actually included in planning?

An item with a blank Reordering Policy is not planned at all. This is the most common cause, and it explains many "the worksheet ignores my reorder point" forum questions: a reorder point does nothing until a policy that uses it is set.

1. Open the item card and go to the Planning FastTab.
2. Check Reordering Policy. If it is blank, choose one. Use Fixed Reorder Qty. or Maximum Qty. if you rely on a reorder point, or Lot-for-Lot if you plan from demand.
3. On the Replenishment FastTab, confirm Replenishment System is Purchase (or Transfer for items moved between locations). The requisition worksheet plans only those two.
4. If you use stockkeeping units, repeat the check on the SKU card for the location. SKU settings override the item card.

Our guide to choosing a reordering policy explains which policy to pick.

Is there anything for planning to react to?

Planning only suggests supply when something creates demand or a stock target is breached. If projected inventory never drops below the reorder point or safety stock, and there is no open sales order, forecast or component need, a correct setup still produces an empty worksheet.

Check these in order:

• Reorder Point and Safety Stock Quantity. With a reorder-point policy and both fields at zero, stock must fall to zero before anything is suggested. If Reorder Point is blank, Safety Stock Quantity acts as the reorder point.
• Open supply. Fixed Reorder Qty. and Maximum Qty. skip a new order when a purchase already on order will bring stock back to the reorder point within the lead time. Look at open purchase orders and transfers for the item.
• Forecasts. Lot-for-Lot reacts to sales orders, blanket orders and forecasts; Order reacts to specific demand lines such as sales orders. A demand forecast only counts if it is selected for the planning run, and Microsoft notes that forecast for periods before the planning start date is not used.

Do the planning dates cover the demand?

Business Central treats everything dated before the planning starting date as already in inventory or already shipped, and ignores everything after the ending date. Demand outside that window produces no suggestion.

Set the starting date to today and the ending date far enough out to cover your longest lead time. Microsoft warns that a horizon that is too short leaves long lead-time items unordered. Past-due demand is still covered in a few cases, most commonly: if projected inventory is negative at the start, planning suggests an emergency order for the shortage.

Is a reservation or time bucket hiding the need?

Two settings can delay or hide suggestions on items with a reorder point.

• Reserve. Microsoft recommends Reserve = Never for items planned with a reorder point. Reserving stock for a distant order can leave projected inventory above the reorder point while the stock is not really free, so no order is suggested in time.
• Time Bucket. With a time bucket of one week, inventory can sit below the reorder point for up to a week before the system reacts. Microsoft's best practice is to leave Time Bucket blank so the level is checked every day.

Are locations and SKUs set up the way planning expects?

When demand is at a location with no SKU for the item, the Missing SKU Planning Policy field on the Location Card decides what happens. If it is set to Don't Plan, the item is skipped at that location and an entry is written to the Planning Error Log. Microsoft made this field generally available on April 1, 2026, in the 2026 release wave 1 update.

With the default setting, an item at a location without a SKU may be planned with a minimal Lot-for-Lot setup rather than your item card parameters, which can make suggestions look wrong rather than missing. If you plan by location, Microsoft recommends a SKU per location and a Location Code on all demand.

Did the lines get created but not carried out?

Sometimes the suggestions exist but never become purchase orders. Lines with an Emergency, Exception or Attention warning come with Accept Action Message cleared, because Microsoft expects a person to review them, so Carry Out Action Message leaves them in the worksheet.

Also check the batch. Since April 1, 2026, a requisition worksheet batch can be sent for approval; while an approval request is pending, its lines cannot be inserted, changed or deleted. See our guide to the purchase order approval workflow.

Where does ReorderOwl fit?

Most of these causes are setup gaps that hide themselves: a blank field produces silence, not an error. ReorderOwl takes a different route. It reads sales history, stock on hand, open purchase orders, vendors and lead times from Business Central and forecasts every item from its sales, so it does not need a reordering policy or reorder point on the item card to make a suggestion. Its Excel workbook explains every line. Where Business Central has no vendor lead time for an item, ReorderOwl falls back to a default and the workbook shows which items are missing one, so you can fill them in.

It drafts purchase orders that are saved in Business Central only after you confirm, and nothing goes to a vendor until someone on your team sends it. The connection is built and tested against Business Central test systems; we connect it to yours with you during setup. See ReorderOwl for Business Central and Business Central planning vs ReorderOwl.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the requisition worksheet ignore my reorder point?

Most often the Reordering Policy is blank or set to a policy that does not use a reorder point. Only Fixed Reorder Qty. and Maximum Qty. act on the reorder point.

Does the requisition worksheet plan manufactured items?

No. It plans only items and SKUs with Replenishment System set to Purchase or Transfer. Use the planning worksheet for produced items.

Where do I see why an item wasn't planned?

In the Planning Error Log, which opens after Calculate Plan finishes with errors. Items skipped by a Don't Plan location setting are logged there too.

Why are some suggested lines not turned into purchase orders?

Lines with warnings have Accept Action Message cleared so you can review them. Select the field on the lines you want, then run Carry Out Action Message again.

Does Business Central use my sales history to suggest purchases?

Not directly. Planning reacts to open demand, forecasts you enter and the stock levels you set. Sales history only matters if you use it to set reorder points or build a demand forecast.

Sources

1. Design details - Planning parameters, Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-01
2. Design details - Handling reordering policies, Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-01
3. Run full planning, MPS, or MRP, Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-01
4. About planning functionality, Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-01
5. Design details - Balancing supply and demand, Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-01
6. Setup best practices - Planning parameters, Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-01
7. New and planned features for Business Central, 2026 release wave 1, Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-01
8. Approve requisition worksheets and item journals, Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-01