Procure to pay

Authorize the purchase, match accepted quantities and release a payment instruction with the right independent reviewer.

10 stages · 6 approvals

Roles and responsibilities

Employee Warehouse Operator Quality Inspector Finance Clerk Controller Employeeor Buyeror Controller Buyeror Controller Employeeor Controller System 1 Requisition Requisitions 2 Approve requisition Requisitions 3 Purchase order PurchaseOrders 4 Receive goods GoodsReceipts 5 Accept service ServiceAcceptances 6 Inspect goods QualityInspections 7 Match Bills 8 Approve bill Bills 9 Release payment PaymentRuns 10 Reconcilesettlement PaymentsMade
  1. Step 1Requisition
    MRP ExceptionsProposed
    Planned Order NumberTypeProductQuantity
    Purchase
  2. Step 2Approve requisition
    My ApprovalsPending
    Approval NumberDocument TypeDocument IDEntity
    Purchase Order
  3. Step 3Purchase order
    Pending PO ApprovalsSubmitted
    Purchase Order NumberVendorOrder DateRequired Date
  4. Step 7Match
    Bills Awaiting ApprovalPendingApproval
    Bill NumberDocument TypeVendorVendor Invoice Number
    Vendor Credit Note
  5. Step 8Approve bill
    Bills Awaiting ApprovalPendingApproval
    Bill NumberDocument TypeVendorVendor Invoice Number
    Vendor Credit Note
  6. Step 9Release payment
    My ApprovalsPending
    Approval NumberDocument TypeDocument IDEntity
    Purchase Order
Red diamonds require approval.Rows show responsibility for each step.

Process steps

Follow the process from start to finish. Select a step to see who acts and what changes.

Requisition

Employee submits product, service or expense scope with cost centre, quantity, date and estimated value. Production Planner uses the same route for planned purchases. Description-only services require no fictitious stocked product.

Responsible
Employee
Records
RequisitionsRequisitionItemsPlannedOrders
Effect
Request purchasing scope
Approval required

Approve requisition

The assigned cost-centre manager acts through Employee authority, or an eligible Buyer or Controller reviews within scope and limit. The signer is independent of the requester and approves the frozen revision.

Responsible
Employee or Buyer or Controller
Records
RequisitionsApprovals
Effect
Authorize the request
Approval required

Purchase order

Buyer prepares the supplier order. Another eligible Buyer or Controller approves it, including within-limit orders. The creator cannot approve or receive their own PO. Changed quantity, price or currency requires renewed review before sending.

Responsible
Buyer or Controller
Records
PurchaseOrdersPurchaseOrderItemsApprovals
Effect
Authorize the supplier commitment

Receive goods

Warehouse Operator records arrivals by order line and stock identity, independently of the PO buyer. Pending or rejected custody stays outside owned inventory. Drop-ship uses verified title-transfer/customer-delivery events, without fabricated warehouse receipts. Required quality review remains with Quality Inspector.

Responsible
Warehouse Operator
Records
GoodsReceiptsReceiptAcceptancesStockEvents
Effect
Record arrival or direct-delivery evidence
Approval required

Accept service

An authorized Employee confirms the delivered non-stock portion with its completion evidence. The requester may confirm their own service delivery under this explicit exception, but cannot approve their own PO or bill. No warehouse stock is created.

Responsible
Employee · for service confirmation
Records
ServiceAcceptancesPurchaseOrderItems
Effect
Confirm delivered service scope
Approval required

Inspect goods

Quality Inspector decides the presented quantities. Accepted owned stock posts inventory and GRNI. Returning never-accepted goods removes custody without reversing value that never posted; accepted returns retain original cost and financial reconciliation.

Responsible
Quality Inspector · when required
Records
QualityInspectionsReceiptAcceptancesVendorReturns
Effect
Decide quality and accepted stock

Match

Finance Clerk matches each bill portion cumulatively against the approved order and accepted goods or service. Eligible matches use the defined automatic path. Buyer resolves disputes through evidence or authorized amendment; a PO edit cannot silently approve variance.

Responsible
Finance Clerk
Records
BillsBillItemsBillMatchAllocations
Effect
Consume matching scope once
Approval required

Approve bill

An assigned Employee manager or Controller approves non-order or variance scope within authority, independently of its preparer. Stock clears GRNI; services expense, capital assets and tax follow distinct mappings. Finance Clerk cannot approve the captured bill.

Responsible
Employee or Controller · when required
Records
BillsApprovalsFixedAssets
Effect
Recognize the approved payable
Approval required

Release payment

Controller releases the clerk-prepared obligations and bank instructions within authority, independently of the preparer and bill approvers. Delegates need the required role, limit and active scope. Release authorizes an instruction; it does not establish cash settlement.

Responsible
Controller
Records
PaymentRunsPaymentInstructionsApprovals
Effect
Authorize reserved bank instructions

Reconcile settlement

Finance Clerk records confirmed bank outcomes against the original instruction. Pending or uncertain outcomes retain reservations. Settlement uses its currency and carrying basis; reconciliation precedes retry so another payment is not created.

Responsible
Finance Clerk
Records
PaymentsMadePaymentAllocationsIntegrationEvents
Effect
Record the confirmed financial outcome
Approvals and exception handling

6 approvals required in this process

  • Approve requisition Employee or Buyer or Controller signs · purchase order waitsRequisitions, Approvals
  • Purchase order Buyer or Controller signs · receive goods waitsPurchaseOrders, PurchaseOrderItems, Approvals
  • Accept service Employee signs for service confirmation · inspect goods waitsServiceAcceptances, PurchaseOrderItems
  • Inspect goods Quality Inspector signs when required · match waitsQualityInspections, ReceiptAcceptances, VendorReturns
  • Approve bill Employee or Controller signs when required · release payment waitsBills, Approvals, FixedAssets
  • Release payment Controller signs · reconcile settlement waitsPaymentRuns, PaymentInstructions, Approvals
  • Enforce specific conflictsRequester versus approver, PO creator versus approver/receiver, bill preparer versus approver, and bill approver or run preparer versus releaser.
  • Prior bills, returnsPartial acceptance reduce matchable scope. Another bill cannot reuse the full original receipt.
  • Service acceptance is an evidenced delivery confirmationSeparate from independent commercial approval.
  • Vendor bank changes need independent confirmation before a reviewed instruction changes.
  • Physical returnCredit and cash settlement have distinct effects. Stable source identities prevent duplicate posting or payment.

When the process needs attention

  • reject Receive goods

    Pending or rejected custody stays outside owned inventory.

  • exception Accept service

    The requester may confirm their own service delivery under this explicit exception, but cannot approve their own PO or bill.

  • variance Match

    Buyer resolves disputes through evidence or authorized amendment; a PO edit cannot silently approve variance.

  • variance Approve bill

    An assigned Employee manager or Controller approves non-order or variance scope within authority, independently of its preparer.

Records and postings

StageRecordsEffect
1 Requisition RequisitionsRequisitionItemsPlannedOrders Request purchasing scope
2 Approve requisition RequisitionsApprovals Authorize the request
3 Purchase order PurchaseOrdersPurchaseOrderItemsApprovals Authorize the supplier commitment
4 Receive goods GoodsReceiptsReceiptAcceptancesStockEvents Record arrival or direct-delivery evidence
5 Accept service ServiceAcceptancesPurchaseOrderItems Confirm delivered service scope
6 Inspect goods QualityInspectionsReceiptAcceptancesVendorReturns Decide quality and accepted stock
7 Match BillsBillItemsBillMatchAllocations Consume matching scope once
8 Approve bill BillsApprovalsFixedAssets Recognize the approved payable
9 Release payment PaymentRunsPaymentInstructionsApprovals Authorize reserved bank instructions
10 Reconcile settlement PaymentsMadePaymentAllocationsIntegrationEvents Record the confirmed financial outcome
Data model →

Process reports

All reports

Procurement Spend

Approved PO commitment, net accepted receipt/service value and posted bill/credit spend shown as separate populations; cumulative matched quantities prevent duplicate full-PO spend, price variance uses equivalent quantity/UOM/currency, on-time acceptance compares original promise and quality rejection uses inspected population with no-history coverage shown.

Run by an agent

Agent support

An assistant cannot turn its user's authority into an unattended human approval. Purchase approval, quote or order decisions, payroll approval, payment release and period close remain with the accountable people described by the process. Service access cannot bypass credit limits, document revisions, independence rules or payroll privacy. Uncertain bank responses require reconciliation before a retry can create another instruction.

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# Example after configuration $ curl -fsSL https://www.erp.ai/skill.md | paste into your agent › procure to pay · requisition on Requisitions, RequisitionItems, PlannedOrders ✓ Employee submits product, service or expense scope with cost centre, quantity, date and estimated value. › procure to pay · approve requisition on Requisitions, Approvals ⏸ approval · waiting for the employee or buyer or controller # 8 more stages after approval: purchase order, receive goods, accept service, inspect goods, match, approve bill, release payment, reconcile settlement

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