PO Approvals

The PO Approvals process allows for an intermediate approval step between a request to order a part and a live purchase order. This gives you more control over the ordering process.

If the PO business rule for allowing approval processing is set to Yes, an Order Request must be approved before the request is turned into an actual purchase order. When a request completes an approval route, it becomes a live order.

A requester may enter a new Order Request and submit the request for approval. The next approver in line in the route selected will approve or decline the request, then the next user in line in the route and so on, until the final approver approves the request to become a live Purchase Order. Approving a request will create a live order and update the inventory on‐order quantities.

The PO Approval functions will only display requests, not active purchase orders, when you use them.

You may also use the Approval Request View to review and approve or decline the order request.

For Requirements Planning and Reorder Processing, PO Order Requests are grouped with PO Requisitions.

PO Approval Process

Once you set up request users who can request and/or approve order requests and requisitions, you can set up request routes, which will determine the path(s) a request will take on its way to becoming a live purchase order.

Once you have set up users who can request, approve, or perform both actions, and you have routes set up to process requests, you are ready to utilize the PO Approvals process. You can enter order requests directly through the Order Requests function, or you can generate an order request from the Requisitions function.

To create a new order request:

  • The user must be designated as a 'requester' or 'Both' a requester and an approver.
  • Enter the new order request on the Order Request screen OR generate a request from the Requisitions screen.
  • Submit the request from the Order Requests screen OR the Open Request View screen once it is complete to send it to the first approver on the selected route.

To approve an order request:

  • The user must be designated as an 'Approver' or 'Both' a requester and an approver.
  • Select the order request number on the Order Request screen OR use the Approval Request View to select a request to approve.
  • Approve the request to send it to the next approver on the selected route.
  • The last approver on the route, upon approving the request, will have the option to convert the request into a live purchase order.

For more information about the PO approval process, see the PO Approvals Overview.

Routing and Approval Setup Examples

Route A is set up as (all amounts are inclusive):

  • User 1 -- approve $50 or more
  • User 2 -- approve $100 or more
  • User 3 -- approve $200 or more
  • User 4 -- approve $400 or more
  • User 5 -- approve $500 or more and budget approval

Example 1:

A request is placed for a total of $325 (including sales tax, misc, and freight amounts).

User 1 would receive an email that the request was placed.

Users 1, 2, 3, and 5 would all see the request (User 5 can see it because of the budget check) on their Approval Request View.

After User 1 approves it, an email would be sent to User 2. Alternately, User 3, without waiting for User 1, could approve it and it would become a PO assuming it does not exceed the budget.

Example 2:

A request is submitted for a total of $49.99. When submitted, it will immediately become a PO assuming it does not exceed budget.

Example 3:

A request is submitted for a total of $400 that is within budget.

User 3 approves the request immediately, jumping over User 1 and User 2. User 4 will then be notified.