Zoomed Image
USA
800 691 9120
UK
01225 704844

Procurement Process

xAssets Procurement Guide
Procurement Process

Procurement Process

This page describes the end-to-end procurement workflow in xAssets, from initial request through to asset deployment, and explains how each step maps to PO status changes.

Prerequisites

Before starting the procurement process, ensure that:

The End-to-End Workflow

The procurement process follows these steps:

  1. Raise a Purchase Request — a user creates a purchase request for one or more of a specific asset type, specifying make, model, quantity, and estimated cost. The asset record is created with a status of Purchase Request.

  2. Create a Purchase Order — one or more purchase requests for the same supplier are grouped onto a single purchase order. The PO status is New.

  3. Submit for Approval — if approval is required (based on configured rules), the PO is submitted. xAssets supports up to 6 levels of approval. The PO status changes to Awaiting Approval.

  4. Approve or Reject — each authorized approver reviews the PO and either approves it or rejects it. Rejection sends the PO back to the requester for revision. If rejected, the PO returns to New status and must be resubmitted after corrections.

  5. Place the Order — once fully approved (or if no approval is required), the order can be placed with the supplier. The PO status changes to Order Placed. Only a user with a Custodian record can set this status.

  6. Receive Assets — as assets arrive, they are marked as received on the PO. The PO status changes to Partially Received or Received depending on whether all lines are complete. Each received asset's status is updated to Received.

  7. Complete the Order — once all lines are received, the purchase order status is set to Complete. Received assets can then be deployed and placed into service.

  8. Handle Returns (if needed) — individual assets on a PO can be returned to the supplier with an optional RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization).

Practical Example

A finance team needs 3 new laptops:

  1. The finance manager creates a purchase request: Category = Laptop, Make = Dell, Model = Latitude 5540, Quantity = 3, Amount = $3,600.
  2. The purchasing department creates a PO for the preferred supplier, adding the laptop request as an order line.
  3. The PO total ($3,600) exceeds the POAPPROVALMINVALUE threshold of $2,000, so it requires approval. The purchasing department submits the PO.
  4. The IT Director (an approver at Level 1) reviews and approves the PO.
  5. The purchasing department places the order with the supplier and records the supplier's PO reference number.
  6. Two weeks later, 2 laptops arrive. They are marked as received. The PO status changes to Partially Received.
  7. A week later, the final laptop arrives. It is marked as received. The PO status changes to Received, then Complete.
  8. Each laptop is split from the quantity-3 line into individual asset records, assigned barcodes, and deployed to the finance team.

Warning: When receiving assets from a multi-quantity order line, you must split the line before marking a partial delivery as received. If you mark the entire line as received when only some units have arrived, all units will be recorded as received.

For details on each PO status, see Purchase Order Status.