Request intake

A request needs a recognizable number and a named owner before an approver can judge it. Give the request a clear name, then record its business unit, requested amount and intended route. The owner remains the person responsible for explaining the request even when another person is assigned to approve it. Keeping those responsibilities visible makes a returned question easier to resolve.

Start with a bounded request such as replacing a damaged workstation. The Request Owner explains what is being requested, attaches the supporting quotation and checks which business unit owns the expense. The request can remain Draft while that preparation is underway. Submission hands the prepared request to the approval team for route resolution and review.

• Request context. Keep the request number, name and amount together. Put the detailed explanation in supporting material attached to that request, so the reviewer can open it from the case being decided.
• Named responsibility. Record the Request Owner separately from the assigned Approver. Approval Coordinator checks that the selected people and business unit match the intended route before review begins.
• Visible handoff. Distinguish Draft preparation from Submitted work and work under review. A submitted request needs attention even when the next person still has a question about the supporting document.

Agree how the team numbers requests, who may prepare them and which business units participate in the pilot. Set the meaning of the requested amount and its currency using the owning business unit’s currency. If source material uses another currency, agree the conversion outside the approval record before presenting an amount for a decision.

Decide which supporting documents the reviewer needs for the first request type. Agree who checks a changed amount and when a corrected request needs another review. Use the request revision to identify the version under discussion. Confirm the people-to-account mapping before relying on personal request lists, and test access with the Request Owner’s ordinary account.

A workstation request is submitted with a quotation for a replacement model. Before the Approver decides, the owner discovers that the quotation excludes an accessory. The team needs to settle the amount and supporting document together so the reviewer knows which purchase they are being asked to authorize.

Walk the request from Draft to Submitted and through route resolution into review. Ask Approval Coordinator to identify the assigned Approver and due date. Ask the Approver to open the evidence and explain the amount under review. The request number should take each person to the same business case, while the revision identifies the version being considered.

Repeat with an owner from another business unit. During the rehearsal, confirm that their access follows the agreed scope and that personal lists resolve the intended person. Keep an unresolved ownership question with the request until the team can make a clear handoff.

• My approval requests — Follow requests you own, including their current state and due date.
• Open approval requests — Review prepared and submitted work with its owner and assigned approver.
• Submitted approval inbox — Find requests ready for the approval team to inspect.

Submit and resolve a request explains the route handoff. Use the implementation plan to agree the first request type.