Purchase Approval Process: From Request to Order

A tidy purchasing process links four documents: the request, the quote, the order and the goods/service receipt. Once that chain exists, “who asked for this, why was this supplier chosen, does what arrived match what was ordered?” can be answered from a single record. This guide explains, step by step, how to set up a purchasing process with tiered approvals.

What belongs on a purchase request form?

An automatic request number, subject, requester, request date and need-by date, justification, a list of line items (product/service, quantity and estimated price on each row), estimated total, budget line, and urgency (normal, urgent, critical — work is stopped). Entering items row by row instead of as free text lets the estimated total calculate itself and be compared with the order later. Recording a rejection reason stops the same request being raised again and again.

How many approval levels should there be?

In Tenderely BPM’s Purchasing module the flow has two levels: first the unit manager’s approval (2-business-day deadline), then management approval (3 business days). An approved request becomes a “move to procurement” task. If you want small amounts to skip the second level, add a conditional branch: when the estimated total is below your threshold, the request goes straight to procurement. Every approval that misses its deadline triggers a warning notification.

How are quotes compared?

Each supplier quote is a separate record linked to the request: supplier, quote date, validity date, amount, delivery time (days), payment terms, warranty and the quote file. The chosen quote is flagged and the reason for the choice is written down. Keeping the reason on record means that, months later, you can still explain why the cheapest quote was not chosen — which matters for internal audit and supplier relationships alike.

Why are ordering and goods receipt separate steps?

What was ordered is not always what arrives. The goods/service receipt is linked to the order and records who received it, the delivery note number, the accepted amount, whether quantity and quality were acceptable, a description of missing or damaged items, and a photo. The person in the warehouse fills this in on the mobile app while receiving the goods. When the purchase invoice is linked to the order as well, request, order, receipt and invoice appear in one chain.

Which numbers should you track?

Time from request to order, the number of approvals that missed their deadline, the share of rejected requests and their reasons, delivery time per supplier, and deliveries that failed the receipt check. Dashboards compute these live from the records, with no spreadsheet merging.

Common mistakes in purchasing

1) Raising requests without line items: a one-line request titled “office supplies” cannot be compared with the order. 2) Leaving quotes as email attachments: the reason for the choice is lost and has to be reconstructed for an audit. 3) Skipping goods receipt: the invoice gets paid but missing or damaged items go unnoticed. 4) Running the same approval chain for every amount: small purchases occupy senior management and slow everything down; threshold-based branching removes that load. 5) Not measuring urgency: if every request is marked urgent, urgency means nothing; tracking the share of urgent requests on a dashboard makes the habit visible.

Frequently Asked Questions