How to set up purchase order approval workflows

In this article, you’ll learn how to enable and manage approval workflows for purchase orders in Planyard.

Introduction

The purchase order (PO) approval workflow helps you maintain control over procurement by requiring approval before any PO is issued to a vendor. This is especially useful in projects where team members (e.g., site engineers) create orders but require approval from a project manager or other decision-maker.

Once activated, all purchase orders must be reviewed and approved before they can be sent out. The full approval process is tracked, ensuring transparency and accountability across your projects.

1. Activate the approval workflow feature

Before configuring purchase order approvals, the Approval workflow feature must be enabled.

1. Click Company in the top menu.
2. Click Settings on the far right.
3. Open the Company-wide features tab.
4. Enable Approval workflow.

Once activated, a new Approvals button will appear in the top header:

• Approvers will see all documents waiting for their review.
• Users with the correct permissions can see everything pending approval across the company.

2. Activate purchase order approval

To require approvals before POs can be issued:

1. Stay in Company-wide features.
2. Scroll to Purchase order approval workflow.
3. Toggle the setting to enable it.

Note: Only users with permission to edit company settings can activate this feature.

Once enabled, PO approval becomes mandatory for all projects in the account.

3. How the approval workflow works

After activation, a required Approver field will appear whenever a purchase order is created.

1. The user creating the PO selects an approver before submitting.
2. Once submitted, the approver receives a notification via email and in-app.
3. The approver can:
   • Review and approve the PO directly from the Approvals section.
   • Reject it if changes are needed.
4. Upon approval, the purchase order can be issued directly from Planyard.

All POs awaiting approval are listed in the Approvals overview for easy tracking and action.