Purchase requests with quotes
Staff submit what they need, with quotes and documents attached, before anything is created in your books.
Purchase Order (PO) Approval Software for Xero and QuickBooks
Every purchase is requested, approved, and checked against budget before a PO is raised. When the supplier’s bill arrives, it’s matched to the approved PO before anything is paid.
What is a purchase order approval workflow?
A purchase order (PO) approval workflow is the set of checks a purchase goes through before a PO goes to a supplier. The right people review the request, it’s checked against budget, and only then is it turned into a purchase order.
Without one, POs get raised on a verbal “yes”, approvals get lost in email and chat, and you find the budget blowout at month end. With one, spend is controlled at the point it’s committed, not after the bill has already landed in Xero.
How the PO approval process works in ApprovalPro
One flow from purchase request to paid bill, with nothing re-keyed along the way.
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Request
Staff raise a purchase request and attach quotes, before anything is ordered.
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Approve
The request goes through your multi-tier approval workflow, with an email to each approver.
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Check budget
Approvers see the budget impact before they sign off, while there’s still time to say no.
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Raise the PO
The approved request becomes a purchase order in Xero or QuickBooks automatically.
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Match the bill
The supplier’s bill is matched to the PO and held until it’s approved.
See the PO approval software in action
Watch a purchase request go through approval, become a purchase order, and have its supplier invoice approved and synced to Xero.
Supplier bills can be forwarded or uploaded, and AI invoice capture reads the details for you.
Budget control built into every PO
Most tools only see the spend when the bill arrives. ApprovalPro checks budget when the purchase is requested, before the PO exists.
- Every purchase request is checked against budget before it’s approved
- Threshold rules send bigger purchases to more senior approvers
- Real-time budget tracking, with no month-end spreadsheet
- Nothing posts to Xero or QuickBooks unless it’s approved and in budget
Budget checks and custom routing rules are part of the Flat Rate plan. Purchase request and PO approval with multi-tier approval are included on the Free plan.
PO approval features for finance teams
Proper purchasing controls without slowing your team down.
Multi-level PO approval
Sequential or parallel approval chains, with as many levels as your organisation needs.
Automatic PO creation
Approved requests become purchase orders in Xero or QuickBooks, so nobody has to re-key them.
3-way matching
Supplier bills are matched to the PO and receipt, and payment is held until the bill is approved.
Complete audit trail
Every request, approval, and comment is time-stamped. Know who approved what, when, and why.
Separation of duties
Role-based access controls who can request, approve, and post, so duties stay properly separated.
PO approval software FAQ
A purchase order (PO) approval workflow is the set of steps a purchase goes through before a PO is sent to a supplier. The request is reviewed by the right approvers, checked against budget, and only then turned into a PO. When the supplier’s bill arrives, it’s matched to the approved PO before it’s paid.
Staff raise a purchase request and attach any quotes. Once every required approver has signed off, the approved request becomes a purchase order in Xero or QuickBooks automatically, so nobody has to re-key it.
Yes. Multi-level approval is included on every plan, including Free. Custom routing rules by amount, department, or document type are part of the Flat Rate plan, so larger purchases can go to more senior approvers.
Yes. On the Flat Rate plan, every purchase request is checked against budget before it’s approved, so approvers see the budget impact while there’s still time to say no.
The bill is matched to the original PO using 3-way matching (PO, receipt, and bill) and held until it’s approved. Only approved bills post to Xero or QuickBooks.
Yes. ApprovalPro works with both Xero and QuickBooks Online, and approved purchase orders and bills sync to either.