A purchase request is not approval. An order is not a receipt. A delivered box is not proof that its contents are acceptable. A procurement process flowchart should make these moments separate, with their owners and evidence.
Use the English procurement worksheet as a process and test model. It does not establish an implemented system or prescribe accounting decisions.
Define the case and authority
Start with a recorded need and finish with accepted receipt or a resolved discrepancy. Contract strategy and payment can be separate processes. Use one case identifier to connect request, approval, order and receipt.
Create lanes for requester, budget holder, purchaser and recipient. Place decisions with the actual authority. This also exposes where a person requests and approves the same purchase, so the organisation can assess that against its own arrangements.
Separate approval from ordering
The request describes what is needed, why and when. The budget holder assesses amount and authority. Missing information returns for clarification; rejection ends with a recorded reason.
After approval, the purchaser records the permitted supplier, item, quantity, price basis and delivery agreement. Only an approved request proceeds. An undocumented verbal agreement remains an open control issue.
Separate physical receipt from acceptance
Compare delivered quantity, item type and visible condition with the order. Missing, damaged or incorrect goods enter an exception path; they must not silently become a complete receipt.
Define the subsequent invoice check
Where required by the agreed workflow, compare order line, accepted receipt and invoice line as separate evidence before allowing the next financial step. Define who may accept a discrepancy rather than letting a status update close it.
Worked example: ten cable sets
An imaginary order requests ten sets at an approved unit price P. Eight correct sets and one incorrect set arrive; one set is missing. Eight accepted, one incorrect and one missing account for the ten ordered sets.
The accepted receipt is eight sets with order basis 8 × P. An invoice for ten sets at a different unit price Q introduces two separate discrepancies: price and unaccepted quantity. Its total 10 × Q does not establish correctness.
| Evidence | Fictional result | Required next step |
|---|---|---|
| Request and approval | Ten sets at P | Preserve the approved version |
| Order | Ten sets at P | Await receipt |
| Physical count | Nine present | Record the missing set |
| Item check | Eight correct, one wrong | Keep two exceptions open |
| Supplier resolution | Replacement or credit unresolved | Retain partial status |
| Invoice | Ten sets at Q | Route price and quantity differences for review |
Assign authority over unresolved differences
The purchaser seeks a corrected invoice or evidenced resolution. A genuine price-basis change needs the organisation's authorised decision. These quantities and symbols form a fictional exercise, not an actual supplier dispute or price indication.
Test all important paths
Walk through a normal purchase, budget rejection, receipt difference and invoice difference. Stop if evidence or an owner is missing, a partial delivery becomes complete or the next financial action bypasses the agreed checks.
Map the broader boundary with embedded process research. For implementation, see business process automation. Use administrative task automation to define the subsequent recording handoff after the discrepancy decision has an owner.