Standard Purchase Approval
This page explains Standard Purchase Approval — the simplest and most common form of purchase order approval in xAssets — and how to configure it.
How Standard Purchase Approval Works
Standard Purchase Approval operates at Level 6 (the final level in the approval chain) and is based on the total asset value of the purchase order. This total does not include labour, taxes, or shipping costs — only the sum of the amounts on the PO's order lines.
When a PO is submitted and its total asset value meets or exceeds the configured threshold, the PO enters Awaiting Approval status. Only members of the designated approver user group can then approve or reject the PO.
Setup
Two settings control Standard Purchase Approval. Configure them via the system options (see Procurement Configuration Options):
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
| POAPPROVALMINVALUE | The minimum total asset value on a PO that triggers approval. Set to 0 to require approval for all POs. To disable this level entirely, set it to a value higher than any PO your organization would create. |
| POAPPROVERUSERGROUP | The user group whose members can approve POs at this level. Only users in this group can approve or reject POs past the Awaiting Approval status. |
Setup Steps
- Navigate to the system settings.
- Set POAPPROVALMINVALUE to the minimum order value that requires approval. For example, set it to 500 if all orders of $500 or above need sign-off.
- Set POAPPROVERUSERGROUP to the name of the user group containing your approvers.
- Verify that every user in the approver group has an associated Custodian record.
Warning: Users in the approval group must be associated with a Custodian record. If no users in the group have custodian records, POs that require approval at this level will be stuck in the Awaiting Approval status with no one able to approve them. This is a common setup error.
Self-Approval
By default, users cannot approve POs they created. To allow self-approval, create the USERCANAPPROVEOWNPO option and check it. This is useful in small teams where the purchaser and approver may be the same person, but should be avoided in organizations that require segregation of duties.
Use as a Catch-All
Because Standard Purchase Approval is the last level evaluated (Level 6) in a multi-level approval workflow, it works well as a final catch-all — ensuring that any PO above a certain value receives at least one level of sign-off, regardless of whether earlier levels applied.
For example, you might configure Level 2 for line-manager approval on all POs, and Level 6 (Standard) as a catch-all for POs over $10,000 requiring finance director sign-off.
Practical Example
An organization sets POAPPROVALMINVALUE to 1000 and POAPPROVERUSERGROUP to "PO Approvers". A purchase order for $800 is submitted — it bypasses approval and can be placed immediately. A purchase order for $1,500 is submitted — it enters Awaiting Approval and must be approved by a member of the PO Approvers group before it can be placed with the supplier.
For the full list of procurement settings, see Procurement Configuration Options.
Related Articles
- Procurement Process — The end-to-end procurement workflow
- Purchase Order Approval Levels — Configuring approval levels
- Multi-Level Approval — Overview of multi-level approval
- Purchase Order Status — The lifecycle of a purchase order
- Procurement Configuration Options — Detailed configuration options