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Overview
Volopay’s procurement approval policies ensure that every Purchase Order (PO) follows a clearly defined, accountable workflow. Whether it’s a company-wide policy or a customized workflow for specific departments or projects, these approval policies help streamline governance, reduce procurement risks, and maintain tight budget control.
This article will explore why approval policies are important, how they work, and the steps to set them up effectively in Volopay.
Approval Policies in Procurement
Approval policies in Volopay provide several benefits to organizations:
Enforce Compliance: Ensure all purchases adhere to internal procurement rules and guidelines.
Route Approvals to the Right Stakeholders: Automatically assign the right people to approve transactions based on predefined workflows.
Customize Flows: Create custom workflows tailored for specific departments or project teams.
Improve Audit Trails and Accountability: Keep a record of who approved each transaction, improving transparency and reducing the chance of fraud.
Volopay simplifies the creation of approval workflows by allowing admins to designate individuals who can approve transactions based on the purchase amount. The approval policies cover:
Approving or Rejecting Purchase Orders: Ensuring that POs are reviewed and either approved or rejected according to predefined guidelines.
Maintaining Standard Workflows: Establishing a standard workflow based on the value of the order, ensuring larger or higher-priority purchases undergo additional scrutiny.
Types of Approval Policies
There are three primary types of approval policies that can be applied:
1. Company Approval Policy
This serves as the default approval policy for all departments and projects within the organization. It applies universally, regardless of the department or team making the purchase.
2. Custom Approval Policies
Custom policies can be tailored for specific departments or projects. These policies define which individuals are authorized to approve each module transaction or request.
Use Cases:
Set multi-layer approvals for large-value POs.
Create project-based approval rules for temporary or client-specific teams.
Setting Company-Level Approval Policies
Company-level approval policies are designed to be applied organization-wide. These policies ensure that every purchase order follows the same approval process, providing consistency and control. For example, a PO above a certain value will go through a multi-layer approval process.
Step-by-Step Setup:
Go to Settings
Navigate to Procurement > Settings.Access Spend Controls
Click on Spend Controls > Company Approval Policies.Configure Approval Layers
Define the approval layers based on the value of the purchase order. For example:Layer 1: Manager
Layer 2: Finance
Layer 3: Department Head (for POs above a certain threshold)
Note: You can set up to 5 layers of approval depending on the value of the PO.
Assign Stakeholders
Add users or roles who are responsible for each approval layer.Save the Policy
Click Save to apply the policy. The approval flow will immediately apply to all purchase orders created moving forward.
Custom Approval Policies for Departments and Projects
If your organization needs specialized workflows for specific departments or projects, you can create custom approval policies that apply only to those teams. This ensures that each department or project follows the appropriate approval process tailored to its needs.
Step-by-Step Setup:
Go to Custom Approval Policies
Navigate to Settings > Custom Approval Policies.Choose the Option
Select either Departments or Projects, depending on your requirement.Edit the Policy
Click Edit Policy for the department or project.Select Procurement Policy
Choose Procurement as the policy to configure PO approvals.Define Approval Layers
Just like the company-level flow, add approval layers based on the department or project hierarchy.Save the Policy
Click Save to apply the specific workflow for the selected department or project.
By creating a custom approval flow, you ensure that each team or project adheres to the appropriate approval structure and that POs are properly supervised and vetted for quality and compliance.