Approve a purchase above the limit

When to use

A purchase request lands and its estimated amount is above the owner-set approval limit. Not for purchases under the limit — the requester buys directly and the agent only records. Not for recurring supplier contracts and their renewal — use ops.contract-renewal-watch; if the request would add a *new* supplier, run ops.new-supplier after (or instead of) this playbook.

Before you start

• The approval limit and who may approve are known (spend policy; if not set, the owner sets one first —
• The budget line is named by the requester; "general" is not a line.
• The agent can read the cash position and the current month's committed spend in the money module.

What a run requires3

The trail7 steps

1. S1

   Classify the requestagent

   Read the request: what, how many, needed-by, estimated amount, budget line, requester. Reject back to the requester if any field is missing — do not fill it in for them.

   Done when the request is complete or returned with what is missing.

2. S2

   Check the budget and the cashagent

   Read the budget line's remaining amount for the period and the 13-week cash view. Write next to the request: remaining budget, cash position, and whether other approved-but-unpaid purchases already commit the same line.

   Done when the request carries a written budget and cash statement with a date.

   ⛔ A budget line can look free because earlier approvals are not yet paid — check commitments, not just the ledger.

3. S3

   Gather quotesagent

   For purchases above the limit, get at least two written quotes (supplier list first; a new supplier needs ops.new-supplier). For a single-source purchase (the only maker, an existing licence, an emergency), record why no second quote exists.

   Done when two quotes, or one quote plus a written single-source reason, are attached to the request.

4. S4

   Decideownerneeds approval · owner

   Approval · S4 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

   Present the request with quotes, budget/cash statement, and a recommendation in one page. The owner chooses a supplier and an amount, or declines.

   Done when the decision, the approver's name and the date are recorded on the request.

   ⛔ If the real price exceeds the approved amount by more than 10%, stop and re-approve — do not absorb the difference silently.

5. S5

   Orderagentneeds approval · ownerirreversible

   Approval · S5 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

   Irreversible · S5 — an agent never closes it alone

   Place the order with the chosen supplier using the company's details and a role e-mail, never a personal mailbox. Record the order reference and the promised delivery date.

   Done when the order confirmation exists and is attached to the request.

6. S6

   Receive and matchagent

   When the goods or service arrive, check them against the order and the invoice: quantity, price, supplier details. Any difference goes back to the supplier before payment.

   Done when order, delivery and invoice agree, or the discrepancy is logged and resolved.

7. S7

   Hand to payment and recordagent

   Pass the matched invoice into money.process-incoming-invoice; link the invoice and the payment to the request; write the actual amount against the budget line; notify the requester.

   Done when the request shows its invoice, payment status and actual spend.

Checks — how we know it worked

• The request shows: approver's name, decision date, chosen quote, actual amount.
• Actual amount ≤ approved amount, or a re-approval is recorded.
• The invoice is linked to the request (an invoice without a request above the limit is a control failure).
• The spend appears on the named budget line in the money module.
• If the supplier was new: it is now in the supplier list with its review date.

If it goes wrong

What each step leaves behind

1. S1the request is complete or returned with what is missing.
2. S2the request carries a written budget and cash statement with a date.
3. S3two quotes, or one quote plus a written single-source reason, are attached to the request.
4. S4the decision, the approver's name and the date are recorded on the request.
5. S5the order confirmation exists and is attached to the request.
6. S6order, delivery and invoice agree, or the discrepancy is logged and resolved.
7. S7the request shows its invoice, payment status and actual spend.

Evidence to keep

The original request · the budget/cash statement with date · both quotes (or the single-source reason) · the owner's decision with name and date · order confirmation · the matched invoice and payment reference · the actual spend against the budget line.

How this playbook improves

After every 10 runs ask: how many days from request to decision, and where did it wait? How often did the chosen quote beat the alternative on price, and how often not? How many purchases were later found unnecessary, and what would have caught them at S1? If splitting under the limit was attempted, the owner revisits the limit itself — a limit nobody routes around is set right; one everybody routes around is wrong.