Purchase Order Workflow by Role

Overview

The Purchase Order (PO) Module has many different steps that can involve many different personnel at your school.  Relevant roles can include the PO Requestors, those that make the requests and submit Purchase Requisitions, the Approvers, those that approve the requests, and then the PO Managers within the Business Office that finish the processing.   The Purchase Order Cycle has many steps and depending on your point of view will depend on your responsibilities.  Please see below for an overview of the potential responsibilities that these roles can have.

Purchase Order Requestors 

The Purchase Order Requestors are the first line of this workflow.  These individuals will request to purchase goods or services is initiated by creating a purchase requisition.  A purchase requisition can be generated directly by staff and faculty members or strictly by accounting department users.  A purchase requisition is used to define who is making the request; what they would like to purchase; when they would like their goods or services to be delivered; and the quantity and price of the items to be purchased.

Videos: How to Enter a Purchase Requisition

Purchase Requisitions can be added by non-business office users on the Axiom Main Homepage and by Business Office Users on the Purchase Order Homepage.  

Purchase Order Approvers

A certain group of users will be authorized to review and either approve or disapprove purchase requisitions. These users can reject the requisition entirely by setting a “rejected” flag; they can approve the requisition as entered by the requester, or they can make modifications to alter information that was erroneously entered or omitted by the requestor.  If they make modifications, they may subsequently mark the requisition as “approved”.

Videos: How to Approve a Purchase Requisition

When a requisition is “approved”, the system records the person who approved it and the date of the approval.  In addition, the system automatically assigns a PO number and PO date to the requisition.  At that point, the transaction is no longer a requisition but has been transformed into an official Purchase Order.

Business Office PO Manager

The Business Office Purchase Order Team may have several different roles and relationships to the Purchase Order workflow based on configuration.  

The Business Office PO Manager can review and post Purchase Orders and can also be responsible for marking items as received. Additionally, they can utilize multiple reports on the Purchase Order homepage to help process and review Purchase Orders currently in process. 

To view how to post Purchase Orders, please review this article. 

Attaching Files to a Purchase Order 

Business Office PO Managers may also want to attach files to Purchase Orders, such as the physical copy of the invoice.  To attach a file to a Purchase Order:

1. Navigate to the Purchase Order Record, Files Tab
2. Click Attach Files 
3. Browse/Drop Files and choose the correct File Type from the Drop Down
4. It will now appear on the File Tab

To learn more about File Types and Security review this documentation.

Additionally, here are some video guides on potential Business Office PO Manager workflows.

How to Receive Goods 

Purchase Order Reports Review