Purchase Order Approval Workflow SuiteApp States
The Purchase Order Approval Workflow SuiteApp is initiated upon creation of a purchase order. It goes through the Main workflow for initial validation before it is transferred to the Employee Center workflow.
PO Approval — Main
Check User Role
When a purchase order is created, the workflow verifies that the account of the creator is assigned the Employee Center role. Only valid requests are transferred to the Employee Center workflow. Other requests are transferred to the Exit state.
Initiate PO Approval – Employee Center
In the Initiate PO Approval state, valid purchase orders are transferred to the Employee Center workflow.
Exit – Non Employee Center
In the Exit state, requests from non-Employee Center roles are automatically set to Approved status.
PO Approval — Employee Center
Check Immediate Approver
Requests transferred from the Main workflow enter the Check Immediate Approver state. The workflow verifies that the purchase order creator has an assigned supervisor, purchase approver, or both. Without an assigned approver, the request is transferred to the Approved state.
Check User Purchase Limit
In the Check User Purchase Limit state, the total requested amount is compared with the creator’s purchase limit. If the requested amount exceeds the purchase limit, the request is set to Pending Approval status. A request with this status is transferred to the Entry state. Otherwise, the request is set to Approved status and is transferred to the Approved state.
Entry
In the Entry state, the workflow identifies the initial approver of the purchase order. The purchase approver is assigned as the approver, whether a supervisor is indicated on the employee record. If there is no purchase approver, the supervisor is automatically selected as the approver. The workflow also compares the approval limit with the total requested amount to identify the initial approver. The designated approver is sent an email notification regarding the request for approval.
Pending Approval
The identified approver is given the option to approve or reject the request. In the Pending Approval state, the Approve and Reject buttons are enabled and the request is locked to prevent changes from users. Only the administrator can make changes to the record.
Approved requests are transferred to the Set Next Approver state and those that are not approved go to the Rejected state.
Set Next Approver
When transferred to the Set Next Approver state, the workflow determines if there is a next approver in the hierarchy chain. A next approver is required if the approval limit of the initial or previous approver is less than the total requested amount. If an employee has a designated purchase approver and supervisor, the purchase approver that meets the condition is set as the next approver. The next approver is sent an email regarding the pending approval request. The request is sent back to the Pending Approval state.
If no further approval is required, the request is transferred to the Approved state.
Approved
Requests are transferred to the Approved state due to the following conditions:
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Approved by a supervisor or purchase approver and no further approvers have been identified
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The requested amount does not exceed the creator’s purchase limit
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The creator has no assigned supervisor and purchase approver
The creator is sent an email to confirm the approval of the request. The purchase order is locked to prevent updates and changes.
Rejected
Requests that are not approved are automatically transferred to the Rejected state. The creator is notified through email regarding the rejected purchase order request.
Additional Information
Related Topics
- Purchase Order Approval Workflow Setup
- Customizing the Purchase Order Approval Workflow SuiteApp
- Creating a Custom Purchase Order Approval Workflow
- Custom Workflow-based Approvals for Purchases
- Switching From the Approval Routing Feature to SuiteFlow for Purchases
- Purchase Order Approval Workflow SuiteApp