Purchase Order Approval Workflow

How long does it take to get this workflow live?

You publish the template in assess.one and it is live in minutes. There is no implementation project, no external software to install, and no developer involvement required. Your team can run the first real purchase order through the live process immediately after publishing.

How do I set up the AI approval routing step?

The AI routing step is configured directly inside assess.one. You define the criteria — such as spend thresholds, cost centre rules, or supplier type — and the AI routes each PO to either the delegated manager path or the finance/procurement review path automatically. No third-party AI tools or external configuration are needed.

What do I need to prepare before publishing this workflow?

You need to know your approval thresholds, the roles involved (requesters, delegated managers, finance/procurement reviewers), and any mandatory fields for submission such as cost centre codes or quote requirements. All of this is configured inside assess.one before you publish. Most teams have this ready in under an hour.

How do I customise the approval steps for our delegation of authority policy?

You edit the approval logic, role assignments, and routing conditions directly in the workflow builder inside assess.one. You can set spend limits that trigger delegated approval versus full finance review, assign specific individuals or teams to each approval role, and adjust those rules at any time without republishing from scratch.

Who needs access to run this workflow?

You assign roles inside assess.one — typically requesters, delegated managers, finance/procurement reviewers, and a workflow administrator. Each role only sees and acts on the steps relevant to them. Access is managed within the platform and does not require separate user accounts in external systems.

What happens when the AI routing step cannot determine the correct approval path?

The workflow includes a Manual Triage step that catches cases the AI cannot confidently route. A designated triage owner reviews the PO and manually assigns the correct approval path. The triage outcome is persisted in the record so the decision is documented and auditable.

How does the revision loop work when finance sends a PO back to the requester?

If finance identifies issues during review, the workflow routes the PO back to the requester with the reviewer's comments. The requester updates the relevant details, those changes are persisted in the record, and the PO automatically re-enters the finance review stage. No manual re-routing or email threads are needed.

How do I configure submission confirmation and approval notifications?

Email and Slack notifications are configured inside assess.one at each relevant step — submission confirmation, approval requests, revision requests, and PO issuance. You set the message content, recipients, and triggers directly in the platform without any third-party integration development.

Does this workflow support compliance and audit requirements?

Yes. Every step — submission, routing decision, approval or rejection, revision, and final issuance — is recorded with a timestamp and the acting user. The persisted triage and finance review outcomes mean every routing decision is documented. This gives you a complete, tamper-evident audit trail for internal controls or external audit purposes.

Can this workflow handle both small delegated purchases and large finance-approved orders in the same process?

That is exactly what it is designed to do. The AI routing and manual triage steps split each PO onto the appropriate path based on your defined rules. Low-value or pre-approved spend goes to the delegated manager for a fast approval, while higher-value or complex orders go through the full finance and procurement review and formal approval steps.