Workflow Template
Material Order and Purchase Approval Workflow
Captures material order requests for jobs, routes for approval based on cost threshold (operations manager over $5,000, supervisor at or below), then manages purchasing, delivery confirmation, and supplier issue resolution through to final receipt.
Material orders for jobs often get approved informally, leaving no record of who signed off spend or what happened with delivery problems. This workflow captures each order request, routes it to the operations manager or supervisor based on the estimated cost, then manages purchasing, delivery confirmation and supplier issue resolution through to final receipt. Requesters, supervisors, operations managers and purchasing staff each work from tasks and forms tied to a single record.
Business Outcomes
- Fewer material orders placed without the right level of approval
- Clearer visibility into order status from submission to final receipt
- Faster turnaround on purchasing tasks with built-in due dates
- Reduced back-and-forth on short or damaged deliveries with a defined resolution step
- A consistent record of costs, purchase orders and delivery outcomes for every job
Workflow Steps
Steps
- 1Create Material Order Recordcreate record
Registers the submitted material order request as a record.
- 2Set Status to Submittedupdate record
Marks the order status as Submitted.
- 3Email Acknowledgementsend email
Sends the requester an acknowledgement email with their order reference number.
- 4Route by Estimated Cost
Routes to operations manager approval if cost exceeds 5,000, otherwise to supervisor approval.
estimated_cost: "5000"→Operations Manager ApprovalDefault→Supervisor Approval - 5Operations Manager Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval
Requests approval from the operations manager for orders over 5,000.
- 6Route Operations Manager Outcome
Branches based on the operations manager's approval decision.
approval_status: "approved"→Set Status to Approvedapproval_status: "rejected"→Set Status to RejectedDefault→End - 7Supervisor Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval
Requests approval from the supervisor for orders of 5,000 or less.
- 8Route Supervisor Outcome
Branches based on the supervisor's approval decision.
approval_status: "approved"→Set Status to Approvedapproval_status: "rejected"→Set Status to RejectedDefault→End - 9Set Status to Rejectedupdate record
Marks the order status as Rejected.
- 10Email Rejection Noticesend email
Notifies the requester that the order was not approved.
- 11Set Status to Approvedupdate record
Marks the order status as Approved.
- 12Purchasing: Place Ordercreate task
Assigns purchasing a task, due in 1 day, to place the order and record the purchase order details.
- 13Save Purchase Order Detailsupdate record
Persists the purchase order number, confirmed cost, and expected delivery date to the record.
- 14Set Status to Orderedupdate record
Marks the order status as Ordered.
- 15Email Purchase Order Detailssend email
Sends the requester the purchase order number and expected delivery date.
- 16Requester: Confirm Deliverycreate task
Assigns the requester a task with no due date to record the delivery outcome and notes.
- 17Save Delivery Detailsupdate record
Persists the delivery result and notes to the record.
- 18Route Delivery Result
Branches based on whether the delivery was received in full or short/damaged.
delivery_result: "Received in full"→Set Status to Receiveddelivery_result: "Short or damaged"→Set Status to Supplier IssueDefault→End - 19Set Status to Receivedupdate record
Marks the order status as Received after a full delivery.
- 20Set Status to Supplier Issueupdate record
Marks the order status as Supplier Issue due to a short or damaged delivery.
- 21Purchasing: Resolve Supplier Issuecreate task
Assigns purchasing a task, due in 3 days, to resolve the short/damaged delivery with a replacement date or credit.
- 22Save Resolution Detailsupdate record
Persists the resolution type, replacement date, and credit notes to the record.
- 23Set Status to Receivedupdate record
Marks the order status as Received after the supplier issue is resolved.
Fields
Show all 19 fieldsShow fewer fields
FormMaterial Order Request
- Requester Name*· Text
- Requester Email*· Email
- Job Reference*· Text
- Site Address*· Text
- Supplier*· Text
- Items and Quantities*· Long text
- Estimated Cost*· Number
- Required-By Date*· Date
- Delivery Method*· Choice
- Supplier Quote· File upload
TaskPurchasing: Place Order
- Purchase Order Number*· Text
- Confirmed Cost*· Number
- Expected Delivery Date*· Date
TaskRequester: Confirm Delivery
- Delivery Result*· Choice
- Delivery Notes· Long text
TaskPurchasing: Resolve Supplier Issue
- Resolution Type*· Choice
- Resolution Replacement Date· Date
- Resolution Credit Notes· Long text
Other fields
- Order Status· Choice
- Requester Name*
- Requester Email*
- Job Reference*
- Site Address*
- Supplier*
- Items and Quantities*
Forms
Material Order Request
10 fields
Data Views
Material Orders
job_reference, supplier, estimated_cost, purchase_order_number +2 more
Dashboard Widgets
Recommended integrations
Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.
Send email in the workflow
AWS SES
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FAQs
How do I set up the cost threshold for approvals?
The $5,000 threshold is a step in the workflow that routes orders to the operations manager above that amount and to the supervisor at or below it. You can change this threshold at any time by describing the change in plain English or editing the routing step directly in the workflow editor. Earlier versions of the workflow are kept if you need to revert.
Who needs an account to use this workflow?
Only workspace users involved in approvals and purchasing need to be set up as admins or members, since tasks and approvals are assigned to them. Requesters submit material orders through a public request form and respond to any follow-up tasks by email, without needing an account.
How long does it take to get this workflow running?
The template is ready to use, so a workspace can publish it and start capturing live material order requests within minutes. There's no installation or development project involved.
What happens if an order is rejected?
If either the operations manager or the supervisor rejects the order, the record's status is set to Rejected and the requester is automatically emailed a rejection notice. The full decision and status history remain visible in the record's timeline.
Who handles placing the order once it's approved?
Once an order is approved, purchasing is assigned a task, due in one day, to place the order and record the purchase order number, confirmed cost and expected delivery date. These details are saved to the record and the requester is emailed the purchase order information automatically.
How does the workflow handle short or damaged deliveries?
The requester confirms delivery through a task, recording the delivery result and any notes. If the delivery is marked as short or damaged, the record's status changes to Supplier Issue and purchasing is assigned a task, due in three days, to resolve it with a replacement date or credit, after which the record's status is set to Received.
Can I customise the request form fields?
Yes, the fields on the public request form, such as Job Reference, Site Address, Supplier and Estimated Cost, can be adjusted to match how your team tracks material orders. Changes can be made by editing the workflow's steps directly or by describing the change you want in plain English.
What information does the requester see throughout the process?
The requester gets an acknowledgement email with their order reference number when the request is submitted, and a further email with the purchase order number and expected delivery date once the order is placed. If the order is rejected, they receive a rejection notice instead.
What gets recorded for reporting or audit purposes?
Every material order is a record with a reference number, a status such as Submitted, Approved, Ordered, Received or Supplier Issue, and a timeline showing what happened at each step. Table views and dashboards show records by status, and workspace activity is logged, though each business should confirm what record-keeping its own compliance obligations require.
Ready to use this workflow?
Create a free account and customise this workflow for your business.