---
title: Approve a purchase order
summary: Check a pending purchase order, then approve or reject it. Approved orders can receive deliveries.
order: 2
menu: Procurements > Purchase Orders
route: /po/view
who: People who are approvers of the order and have the Approve permission on Purchase Orders. Anyone with the View Purchase Orders permission can read the order.
---

A purchase order that is saved with **Save** has the status **Pending**. An approver must approve it before the site can receive deliveries against it. This page shows how to check an order and decide.

## Before you start

- You must have the Approve permission on Purchase Orders and be an approver of the order. If the project has an approval workflow, the workflow decides who the approvers are.
- The order must not be a draft. A draft is not sent for approval.

## How to approve a purchase order

1. Open **Procurements > Purchase Orders**.
2. To find the orders that wait for you, look at the tile **Pending approval**. You can also choose **Active** and read the **Status** column.
3. Point at the row and click the **Approve / Reject** icon (mark 1 in the first picture) in the **Actions** column. You can also open the details of the order and click **Approve / Reject** there.
4. Read the screen. See "How to read the approval screen".
5. If a check box says that you accept a higher budget, tick it (mark 1 in the second picture). See "How to accept a higher budget rate".
6. Click **Approve** (mark 2) under **Resource Details**. The button changes to **Approved**. Then click **Approve** under **Basic Details**. A window **Confirm Approval** opens.
7. Type a remark if you want. The field **Remarks (optional)** is not required.
8. Click **Confirm**.

The list opens again with the project filter. The order now has the status **Accepted**.

![The Purchase Orders list. Mark 1 is the Approve / Reject icon of a row.](../media/po-list-approve-icon.png)

![The end of the card Resource Details. Mark 1 is the budget check box. Mark 2 is the Approve button. Mark 3 is the Reject button. The Basic Details card below has its own two buttons.](../media/po-approve-view.png)

You must approve both cards. The window opens when you approve the second card. The order of the cards does not matter.

## How to read the approval screen

The top card shows the project, the supplier, the status and the order number.

The card **Resource Details** shows the lines. When the order is not a revision, the table also shows a column **Ref. Rate**. This is the rate used earlier for the same material, with its source. A coloured arrow next to **Rate with Tax** shows the change in percent. A red arrow up means the rate is higher.

If the order is a revision, the table has two blocks: **Original** (or the earlier revision) and the new **Revision** with its number. For each line you see the quantity, rate, amount, whether a delivery schedule is needed, the specifications, and whether the line is closed. Cells that changed are shaded. See [Revise a purchase order and compare revisions](revise-purchase-order.md).

The card **Basic Details** shows the dates, the references, the notes, the amounts and the **Specifications & Conditions**.

## How to accept a higher budget rate

Sometimes a rate in the order is higher than the rate analysis of the project. Then a check box appears above the **Approve** button of the first card. It says that you accept that the budget may increase. Tick it. Until you do, the first **Approve** button stays grey.

## How to reject a purchase order

1. Click **Reject** (mark 3) on either card.
2. The window **Confirm Rejection** opens. Type a reason in **Remarks (compulsory)**.
3. Click **Confirm**. The button stays grey until you type a remark.

The order gets the status **Rejected**. The person who made it can edit it and send it again. See [Create a purchase order](create-purchase-order.md).

## Rules to know

- **Approve** is offered when the order is **Pending** or **Rejected**. **Reject** is offered when it is **Pending** or **Accepted**.
- You cannot approve an order if a line has a quantity below the quantity already delivered. The screen shows "Cannot Approve Purchase Order as PO Quantity is less than Delivered Quantity for :" and names the materials.
- A remark is optional when you approve and compulsory when you reject.
- After the decision, the screen returns to the list of the project.
- If you save an order with **Save and approve**, you do not need this step. That button is offered only when the project has no approval workflow.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| No **Approve / Reject** icon | The order is a draft, or you are not an approver of it. |
| **Approve** is grey | Tick the check box that accepts the higher budget. |
| **Confirm** is grey in the rejection window | Type a remark. |
| Cannot Approve Purchase Order as PO Quantity is less than Delivered Quantity for : | Edit the order and raise the quantity of the materials named. |

## Related pages

- [Purchase orders](index.md)
- [Create a purchase order](create-purchase-order.md)
- [Revise a purchase order and compare revisions](revise-purchase-order.md)