What a purchase request system can do: quotes, approvals and receiving
Staff submit a request, purchasing collects quotations, and an approved order moves through receiving. See how an internal purchasing system connects the forms, attachments, approvals and follow-up work.
Buying equipment, materials or office supplies involves different people: the colleague making the request, purchasing, the approver and receiving staff. If the request is in a spreadsheet, the quote in an email and the approval in another conversation, each handover starts with finding the information again. An internal purchase request system can keep those steps in one record.
Staff describe what they need on a request form. Purchasing adds supplier quotations, an approver reviews the terms, and receiving staff record what arrived and its condition. Finance can find the purchase order, delivery note and invoice under the same reference. The following screens show how that workflow can fit together.
Procurement community: PO process and tools · Procurement community: quotation collection and email replies
A request form that keeps staff informed
The requester enters the item, quantity, purpose, delivery location, required date, cost centre and contact, with specifications, images or a reference link. Equipment may need a model and installation details; materials may need dimensions or pack sizes. Fields can change with the category rather than make everyone complete a long form.
Submission creates a request number. Staff can open their own list to see Needs information, Awaiting quotes, Awaiting approval or Awaiting receipt. Purchasing can ask a specific question on an incomplete request; the requester adds the detail and resubmits it, keeping the attachments and conversation together.
Compare quotations and their delivery terms
Purchasing can upload PDFs or spreadsheets received by email and compare the items, specifications, quantities, unit prices, delivery and installation charges, lead times, warranty, payment terms and validity dates. Each quotation keeps a link to its source file for checking.
For the same equipment, A might exclude installation, B include delivery and installation, and C leave warranty terms unanswered. An unquoted charge should appear as To confirm rather than zero in the total. Purchasing can select a proposed supplier and record the reason. The number of quotations and required details follow the company’s purchasing process.
Keep earlier versions when a supplier revises a quotation and identify the current one. If document extraction is added, check item names, quantities and charges before using them in the comparison. A 2024 software review reported SKUs and descriptions landing in the wrong fields, reinforcing the value of the source file and an editable review step.
Record approvals, returns and comments in the request
The system can route a request to its designated approver by department, amount or category. The approval page brings together the purpose, items, cost, proposed supplier, comparison notes and attachments. It can be viewed on a phone, with Approve, Return for information and Reject actions.
A returned request explains what needs to be added. The requester or purchasing colleague completes it under the same number. Approval saves the time, comments and quotation version. Material changes to approved items or amounts can trigger another approval under the configured rules. Notifications link back to the request and its attachments.
Connect purchase orders with partial and complete deliveries
Approved items and terms can populate the company’s purchase-order template and produce a PDF. Record the issue date, supplier contact and expected delivery. Suppliers can continue replying by email, with purchasing adding their confirmation to the record; an internal system need not require every supplier to register.
Receiving staff record delivered and accepted quantities, damage and delivery notes or photos against each order line. Partial deliveries retain their individual dates. Missing items, replacements and unfinished installation stay on the open-work list rather than closing the entire purchase after the first delivery.
Finance can find the approved cost, purchase order, receiving status and invoice in the same record before following the company’s payment process. If an accounting connection is needed, define the fields, matching reference numbers and which system maintains each piece of data.
Give each role its own queue and access
Requesters mainly need their own requests. Purchasing handles assigned quotations and orders; approvers see pending decisions; receiving records arrivals; finance gets the payment records. Configure which fields each role can view and when it can edit them, including access to supplier documents.
Shared lists can be searched by request number, department, supplier, date and status to find who acts next and what is outstanding. Common request and receipt data can be exported. Keeping attachments and approval records with the request makes a past purchase easier to trace.
Connect the parts your existing tools already cover
Microsoft Power Automate supports approval workflows with responses from email, its approval centre or app. Odoo documents side-by-side comparison of alternative quotations. If the company already uses these tools, check which steps they cover before adding a request portal, specific comparison fields, receiving records or connections. Confirm capabilities and integrations against the actual account plan.
Microsoft: create and test an approval workflow · Odoo 19: alternative RFQs and product-line comparison
See the Demo before paying and walk through the workflow
ProApp offers a Demo before you pay so you can see whether the screens and workflow fit. A current request form, redacted quotation samples, a purchase-order template and the approval arrangement provide a useful starting point for discussing the company’s process.
Start the Demo with a staff request. Add quotations, return the request for information, resubmit it, approve it, produce the purchase order and record a partial delivery. Colleagues who would use the system can check that each role can find its tasks, information and next step.
- Requesters can find the status and any missing information.
- Purchasing can check the terms, source files and quotation versions.
- Approvers can see the information for a decision and record their response.
- Receiving and finance can follow the order, arrivals and invoice.
