How to create a purchase order (PO) in ApprovalMax

Two things need to be in place. An approval workflow has to be active for Purchase Orders in your organisation, and you have to be one of the Requesters in that workflow's creation step, because nobody else can create requests. The New request pop-up shows the active workflows and request types open to you, so if Purchase Order isn't listed, check those two conditions first.

Gather what the order needs before you open the form: the supplier, which ApprovalMax lists as the Contact, the items you're ordering with their quantities, and any documents you'd like attached. If you're unsure what to enter in any of a line's details, check with your accountant before submitting.

Decide too whether the supplier should get the PO by email. The form has an option to email approved Purchase Orders to the supplier automatically.

1. Click + NEW REQUEST in the top right-hand corner, next to your avatar.
2. Choose Purchase Order for the right organisation from the list, then click CREATE A REQUEST.
3. Fill in the order details: the Contact, the date, and the item details and quantity on each line, plus any other fields the form requires.
4. Use +Add a line for every extra line. To reorder lines, drag one by its icon; to copy or remove a line, use the icon on that line.
5. Attach any documents that should travel with the order.
6. Choose whether ApprovalMax should email the PO to the supplier automatically once it's approved.
7. Click SUBMIT FOR APPROVAL.

Submitting sends the PO into its approval workflow. It stays in ApprovalMax while the approvals are collected, and ApprovalMax pushes it automatically to Xero once it's fully approved. If you chose automatic email, the supplier is sent the approved order.

Until that final approval you can still change your PO. With the PO open, use the EDIT button at the top left, update what needs changing, then use Resubmit for approval at the top right. A confirmation pop-up lets you add a comment explaining what changed before you click Resubmit. The order then goes through approval again from the start, any approvals already given are reset, and the changes are recorded in the request's Audit Trail.

After the final approval ApprovalMax won't take changes, so any correction is made in Xero instead. Where the workflow has the fraud detection setting for changes after approval turned on, edits made in Xero sync back to ApprovalMax and Organisation Administrators are notified about them.

To stop an order rather than change it, see the how-to on cancelling a purchase order, which sets out which orders can be cancelled.