Purchase settings, approval tiers and feature switches
Configure the company's purchasing rules, the number of approvals by order size, and which Purchasing features are on.
Required permission: purchase.configure, purchase.policy.approve
Before you begin
- Purchase settings switches need purchase.configure. Approval tiers need purchase.policy.approve. Anyone with purchase.view can open the page, but the controls are disabled for them.
- Feature switches are under Administration > Applications > Purchasing > Features and need a company administrator.
Set the purchase rules
- Open Purchase > Configuration > Purchase settings.
- Choose among the check boxes:
| Setting | Effect when on | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Require the supplier's invoice number on every bill | A bill without the number does not post. | Off |
| Post each supplier invoice number once | A second bill from the same supplier with the same number is refused. | On |
| A buyer may not approve their own purchase order | Whoever raised an order cannot confirm it. | Off |
| Post receipts to Goods received not invoiced (GRNI) | A receipt credits the GRNI account; the bill clears it. Only for orders received after you turn it on. | Off |
| Commit only to approved suppliers | Awards and order confirmations need a valid qualification. | Off |
| Enforce the supplier's terms on purchase orders | Refuses a quantity below the supplier minimum and asks a reason for a price above the supplier's list. | Off |
| Accept supplier registrations | Makes the public registration link. | Off |
- Press Save. The page confirms 'Saved.' and shows Last changed by. The change is kept in the audit trail.
GRNI needs a GRNI account in Finance > Configuration > Posting accounts. Without it: 'No account fills Goods received not invoiced. Set it under Finance, Configuration, Posting accounts first.'
Set the approval tiers
- On the same page, under Purchase order approval tiers, press Add a tier.
- Enter From amount (order total including tax, 0 or more) and Approvals (1 to 5).
- Repeat for each size band, up to ten tiers.
- Press Save tiers. The whole list replaces the old one.
Worked example. Tiers: 0 needs 1, 10,000 needs 2, 50,000 needs 3. An order of 5,000 needs 1 approval. An order of exactly 10,000.00 needs 2, because a tier applies from its amount. An order of 60,000 needs 3, always from people other than the author. With no tiers, an order needs none.
Turn features and fields on or off
- Open Administration > Applications > Purchasing > Features.
- Switch off what you do not use: Purchase requisitions, Calls for tenders, Purchase agreements, Supplier rebates, Shipping notices (ASN), Retentions on bills, Supplier portal and applications, Reverse auctions, Punch-out catalogues, Early payment offers, Supplier qualification.
- Set field rules to Hidden, Optional or Required for Supplier reference and Requested receipt date (on purchase orders) and Department (on requisitions).
What happens next
- A switched-off feature loses its menu, and new entries and changes are refused. Existing data stays readable.
- Supplier portal and applications covers four things: portal logins, supplier applications, supplier changes and the supplier's My details.
- Required fields block order confirmation: 'Supplier reference is required by this company before this step.' Hidden refuses a value: 'Supplier reference is turned off for this company.'
Good to know
- Two people saving at once: the second gets 'This record changed; reload it and try again.'
- Tier errors: 'Two tiers start at the same amount.', 'Enter at most 5.', 'Enter up to ten tiers.'
- No second person approves a change to the tiers or the settings. Restrict those two permissions to few people.
- Purchase orders, receipts, vendor bills and the three-way match cannot be turned off.