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Purchase Requests vs. Purchase Orders
Purchase Requests vs. Purchase Orders

Learn the Difference Between Purchase Requests and Purchase Orders in Limble

Ty Houy avatar
Written by Ty Houy
Updated over a week ago

Overview

Purchase requests in Limble are a streamlined way to submit a request and get approval for an expense - such as a part, service, or other item - for users who don't have permission to create purchase orders.

Limble converts purchase requests into purchase orders when they are approved.

This article covers the differences between purchase requests and purchase orders in Limble.

Table of Contents

Basic Comparison of Purchase Requests and POs

Purchase Requests

A purchase request is a simplified way for a user who does not have permission to create a purchase order to request goods or services. They differ from purchase orders in three ways:

  1. Purchase requests only require basic information, such as vendor name, part or service needed, estimated cost, and the reason for the request.

  2. Purchase requests have a mandatory approval process.

  3. Once a purchase request is approved, it automatically becomes a purchase order.

Here is an example of a purchase request:

Purchase Orders

A purchase order (PO) is a form outlining the details of an actual purchase. This is the official purchase document that gets submitted to the vendor. Here is an example of a PO:

Disabling Users from Starting a PO

By default, users with a Manager and Technician role can submit purchase orders. This can be turned off by disabling permission #144 'Start a PO' in the roles tab of your account settings.

To disable the “Start PO” permission, go to Settings > Roles in the left navigation column.

Select the Technician role, scroll down to the “POs” section, and uncheck the box next to “Start a PO.”

Be sure to keep the “Request Purchases” box checked to ensure that technicians can still submit purchase requests.

Starting Purchase Requests and POs

By default, managers and technicians can start a purchase request or a PO from a task.

To submit a purchase request from a task, click on the green action button. From the new list of options, select the shopping cart icon.

To start a purchase order from a task, click on the green action button. From the new list of options, select the shopping cart icon.

Once a PO is created, it becomes an official purchase document – meaning it can be shared with a vendor or audited.

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Still don’t see what you’re looking for? Check out our YouTube channel for more tips and tricks! You can also reach out to us anytime at support@limblecmms.com.

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