The main workflow, step by step
Follow one requisition below, from the request to the purchase order and its audit record. Each step opens the screen that role would see. The departments, suppliers and amounts are invented for the demonstration.
New requisition
PR-7730Draft- Need
- Replacement laptops for the design team
- Category
- IT equipment
- Cost centre
- Design, operating budget
- Value band
- Above department limit
Off the pathA request that matches an existing contract is offered that contract's items first, which shortens the route.
Approval route
PR-7730Route set| Stage | Approver | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget holder | Head of design | Owns the cost centre |
| IT | IT manager | Category rule |
| Finance | Finance director | Value band |
Off the pathIf an approver is away, the request goes to their named delegate, and the record shows that it did.
Quotation review
PR-7730Recommendation made| Supplier | Delivery | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Aldgate Systems | From stock | Recommended |
| Brightwell IT | On order | Lower price, slower |
| Corvid Supply | From stock | Above budget |
Off the pathChoosing a supplier other than the lowest quotation requires a written reason, which travels with the request.
Your approval
PR-7730Waiting for you- Requested by
- Design team lead
- Budget left after this
- Shown against the cost centre
- Recommendation
- Aldgate Systems, from stock
Off the pathAn approver may send the request back with a question. It returns to the same stage once answered, not to the start.
Approved
PO-4418Order raised| Event | By |
|---|---|
| Requisition raised | Design team lead |
| Three stages approved | Named approvers |
| Order created in ERP | System |
Off the pathIf the final price differs from the approved amount beyond a set tolerance, the order pauses for re-approval.
Who uses it, and what each role can do
Almost everyone in a company touches purchasing occasionally, and a few people live in it. The roles reflect that difference in how much each person needs to see.
| Role | Sees | Can do |
|---|---|---|
| Requester | Their own requests and where each one is | Raise, answer questions and withdraw a request |
| Budget holder | Requests against their cost centres and the budget left | Approve, reject or return with a question |
| Purchasing officer | All open requests and supplier quotations | Request quotations, compare, recommend and raise orders |
| Finance approver | Requests above the value thresholds | Approve, reject and grant a budget exception |
| Auditor | Every request with its full history, read only | Search, filter and export records |
| Administrator | Thresholds, categories, delegates and routes | Change the rules, with each change recorded |
When the work leaves the usual path
Approval systems fail when the only way to handle an unusual purchase is to go around them. Each exception below has a legitimate route inside the system.
| Situation | What the system does | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Approver unavailable | Passes to the named delegate and records it | The delegate |
| Urgent purchase | Offers an emergency route with fewer stages | Finance approver |
| Budget exceeded | Stops the request and asks for an exception | Finance approver |
| Single supplier, no comparison | Requires a justification before approval | Purchasing officer |
| Price changed after approval | Pauses the order beyond the tolerance | Budget holder |
| Request split to avoid a threshold | Flags related requests to purchasing | Purchasing officer |
What it connects to
Budgets, suppliers and orders are kept in your finance system. The approval system sits in front of it and passes on only what has been approved.
| System | What moves | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| ERP or finance system | Suppliers, cost centres, budgets, and approved purchase orders | Both ways |
| Directory and sign-in | Staff, managers and reporting lines for routing | Into the system |
| Email and chat tools | Approval requests that can be answered in place | Both ways |
| Supplier catalogues | Contract items and agreed prices | Into the system |
| Document storage | Quotations and justifications kept with the request | Out of the system |
What a first release includes
Requisition forms
Short forms by category, with contract items offered first and the cost centre checked as the request is written.
Routing rules
Approval routes worked out from value, category, cost centre and reporting line, with delegates for absence.
Quotation comparison
Requests to suppliers, quotations recorded side by side and a recommendation with its reason.
Approvals anywhere
Decisions by phone, email or chat with the facts an approver needs on one screen.
Order creation
Purchase orders raised in the ERP from approved requests, with tolerance checks on the final price.
Audit record
A readable history of every request, decision, change of rule and exception, searchable and exportable.
Often added after the first release
- Goods received and invoice matching
- Spend reporting by category and supplier
- Supplier onboarding linked to first purchase
- Contract renewals and reminders
- Recurring requests for regular purchases
What we need from you
- Your approval policy as written, and how it is applied in practice
- Value thresholds, categories and the people behind each role
- A test copy of the finance system with cost centres and budgets
- Recent examples of purchases that went wrong or went around the process
- A sponsor in finance and one in purchasing
Ownership and licensing terms are defined in the project agreement.
What to do next
Send us your approval policy and a handful of recent requests. We map the routes, point out where the policy and practice differ, and come back with a scope and a proposal. Start a conversation or book a 30-minute call.
Common questions
Our ERP already has purchase approvals, why build this?
It may be enough, and we will say so if it is. Companies come to us when the ERP's approvals are hard to use for occasional requesters, cannot express their routing rules, do not cover quotation comparison or keep approvers waiting until they are at a desk. A separate front end keeps the ERP as the system of record and gives everyone else something quicker to use.
How flexible are the approval rules?
Rules combine the things policies are usually written in: value bands, category, cost centre, project, reporting line and supplier status. Your administrators change thresholds and approvers themselves, and each change is recorded with its date and author. Unusual policies, such as two approvers for certain categories, are handled as additional rules. We model your real policy before building.
What will an auditor be able to see?
For any purchase, the original request, each approver with the time of their decision, the quotations considered, the reason for the chosen supplier, any exception and who granted it, and the order that resulted. Changes to the rules themselves are logged too. The auditor role is read only and can export records for a period or a category.
Will people actually use it instead of emailing?
They do when it is quicker than email. That means a short request form, approvals that take one tap from a notification and a clear view of where a request is stuck. It also helps that purchasing will not raise an order without an approved request. We design the first version around the most common purchases so the habit forms early.