Odoo Approval Workflows: Purchases, Bills and More

Approvals protect cash and control spending, but slow approvals frustrate everyone. Odoo offers several ways to add approvals. Choose the simplest one that meets the control.

Purchase order approvals

In Purchase settings you can turn on order approval and set a minimum amount. Orders above it go to "To Approve" and need a purchase manager to confirm. This covers most small and mid-sized companies.

Vendor bill approvals

For accounts payable, common patterns are:

• Only accounting managers can post bills
• Bills linked to purchase orders are checked against received quantities
• Bills over a threshold need a second check

With three-way matching (order, receipt, bill), many bills can be posted with little review because the data already agrees.

The Approvals app

The Approvals app handles requests that are not standard documents: travel, equipment, budgets, overtime and more. For each category you set:

• Who approves
• How many approvals are needed
• Which fields are required, such as amount or date
• Whether the request creates a purchase order

Automation rules for custom approvals

When you need an approval on a document that does not have one, such as discounts over 15% on a quote, automation rules can:

• Detect the condition
• Set a status or activity for a manager
• Block confirmation until approved

Complex rules, such as approval by amount and department, may need a small module. Keep the logic simple so users understand it. See our Odoo automation rules guide.

Keeping approvals fast

• Use activities so approvers see requests in their to-do list
• Allow approval from the mobile app or email
• Set reasonable thresholds; approving every small order wastes time
• Review approval times monthly

Audit trail

Every approval is logged in the chatter with the user and time. This is what auditors look for. Avoid workarounds such as shared manager logins, which break the trail.

Getting started

Map current approvals on paper first: what needs approval, by whom and above what amount. Then pick the Odoo feature that fits each one. We design these flows as part of our business process automation work.