IT request form: one front door for hardware, access and support requests

An IT request form is the single place staff go to ask IT for something: new equipment, access to a system, a software install, or help with a problem. Small teams often run IT through chat messages and hallway conversations, which works until someone is on leave and nobody knows what was promised. A form gives every request a reference, a category and an owner — and it collects the details that otherwise take three follow-up messages.

What an IT request form should include

• Requester name, team, and who the request is for if different — new starters rarely raise their own.
• Request type: hardware, software, access, account change, incident or other.
• Description of what is needed or what is wrong.
• Urgency and business impact, defined so everything is not marked urgent.
• Required-by date for planned requests such as new starters.
• Approver where the request needs one — a manager for access, a budget holder for purchases.
• Attachments: screenshots, error messages, quotes.

Separate requests from incidents

A request asks for something new — a laptop, an account, a licence. An incident reports that something is broken. They need different handling: requests are planned and often need approval, incidents need a fast response. Use one form with the request type as the first question, and let the answer decide which questions follow and where the submission goes. Detailed tracking of broken-things work then lives in your help desk or support ticket process.

Put new-starter IT requests on a fixed lead time — for example, five working days before the start date. Most "urgent" IT requests are new starters nobody told IT about.

Route by category

1. Hardware requests go to whoever manages stock and purchasing, with the IT asset record updated on issue.
2. Software requests follow the software request form route, with security review where data is involved.
3. Access requests need approval from the system or data owner before IT grants anything.
4. Account changes for joiners, movers and leavers link to HR dates.
5. Incidents go straight to support with the urgency set.
6. Anything uncategorised is triaged daily so it cannot sit unowned.

Keep the queue visible

Ettex Forms captures the IT request with conditional sections per request type, and each submission becomes a row in Ettex Records with status, owner and due date. A small IT function can then see open requests by type and age, and requesters can see where theirs is without asking. Where a request needs manager or budget sign-off, the approval sits on the same record rather than in a separate email chain.

Approving a request is only the first half. Software license management is the other half: entitlements compared with actual use, so seats are reclaimed when people leave and renewals are sized from evidence.

Measure what matters

• Requests by type per month, to plan capacity and stock.
• Time from request to completion, split by type.
• Requests returned for missing information — a sign the form needs a better question.
• New-starter requests completed before the start date.
• Repeat requests from the same team, which often point to a missing standard setup.