Set up purchase order authorisation rules

Find this screen

Open: Settings > Purchase Orders > Authorisation Setup.

How to

Add a new authorisation rule

Select Add to create a new rule.
In the Rule Values section, set the lower and upper limits of the gross order value in the base currency. The authorisation rule will be applied to order amounts in this range.
- If both values are set to zero, the rule will apply to all orders.
- If the Value greater or equal to amount is zero, the rule will apply to all orders up to the Value less than amount.
- If the Value less than amount is zero, the rule will apply to all orders above the Value greater or equal to amount.
If required, enter a Rule Group (from 0-9).

You can use groups if your purchase orders need to be authorised by more than one person. Any purchase order that is covered by a rule in more than one group, has to be authorised by someone in each group.
Set up the list of authorisers in the Configure authorisers section. These are the people who will be able to authorise the orders which match this rule.
- Select users in the left-hand list, then use the Add buttons to include them in the right-hand list of Authorisers included in this rule.
- To include everybody that uses Sage 200, select Anyone.
Set up the list of order originators in the Configure Order Originators section. This rule will only be applied to orders which have been raised by these people.

The order originator is the person who originally made the request for the goods/order. This can be a different person to the order taker who entered the purchase order into Sage 200.
- Select users in the left-hand list, then use the Add buttons to include them in the right-hand list of Order originators included in this rule.
- To include everybody that uses Sage 200, select Anyone.
  
  Note: If you select Anyone, this includes any Sage 200 user account as listed in Sage Provisioning Portal, and may include users who are not assigned to this particular company.
- Use Unknown Originator for when the originator name is not a Sage 200 user or is left blank.
To save the rule, click OK.

Tip: When you return to the list of rules, you can click Test to check your new authorisation rule.

Edit an authorisation rule

To change an authorisation rule, select the rule and click Edit.

If you edit or delete an authorisation rule, it will not be applied to any existing purchase orders retrospectively.

The change to your rule will only apply when you create new orders, or when you amend an existing order.

Note: If a person included in the rule no longer has access to the company in Sage 200, they will be displayed as Invalid. You will be asked if you want to remove these users from the rule.

Delete an authorisation rule

To remove an authorisation rule, select the rule and click Delete.

If you delete a rule, it will not be applied to any existing purchase orders retrospectively.

Any purchase orders that are waiting for authorisation under this rule must still be authorised.

If you do not want existing orders under this rule to be authorised, you must amend each relevant order. Once you have amended the order, it will be processed using the current authorisation rules.

Test your authorisation rules

Enter some test purchase orders to make sure that you have set up your rules correctly.

Click Test.
Enter the Total Order Value of the test order.

The value is the gross order amount in the base currency.
Select the Order Originator, who is the person requesting the order.

This is different to the order taker, who is the person who enters the purchase order in Sage 200.
Click Test.
A list of all the rules which would be applied for this order are displayed in Order Authorisers.
- The Group is the rule group for this authorisation rule.
- The Authority shows who can authorise the order.
  Note: If this shows [Anyone], then it means any Sage 200 user. This includes any Sage 200 user account as listed in Sage Provisioning Portal, and may include users who are not assigned to this particular company.

Set up alternative authorisers

If you have set up authorisation rules for purchase orders or requisitions, you can choose alternative authorisers who can authorise an order or requisition on behalf of the original authoriser. This is useful when people are not available due to sickness or holiday.

An alternative authoriser can view and authorise any order or requisition that can be authorised by the original person (set in the authorisation rule).
If the alternative authoriser also sets up an alternative, this new authoriser becomes the alternative authoriser for both people.
If the original person is a Super Authoriser who can authorise any order or requisition, the alternative authoriser does not inherit their permission to view and authorise any order or requisition.

To set up alternative authorisers, click Alternative Authorisers.

See Alternative and out of office authorisers for purchase orders and requisitions.

Useful info

About authorisation rules

Authorisation rules control which purchase orders require authorisation and who can authorise them.

You can set up the authorisation rule to specify:

The value of the purchase orders, by setting a lower and upper limit.
Who can authorise the order (the Authoriser or Authority).
Who initiated the order (the Order Originator), so the rule can apply to orders from particular people.
Whether the purchase order has to be authorised by more than one person (Authoriser), which is set up by using Rule Groups.

Using groups for authorisation by more than one person

If your purchase orders need to be authorised by more than one person (or a group of people), you can handle this by setting up your authorisation rules in Rule Groups.

When you create an authorisation rule, you can set a Rule Group number (0-9). The rules from each group will be applied to the purchase order, so it must be authorised by someone in each rule group before the order can be processed.

For example, high value purchase orders over £10,000 have to be authorised by both Anne and Bob. You create a rule that orders over £10,000 have to be authorised by Anne in rule group 1, and then create the same rule for Bob in rule group 2. When you enter a purchase order with a value over £10,000, it will have to be authorised by both Anne (in group 1) and Bob (in group 2) before it can be processed.

Examples of authorisation rules

Example of authorisation rules based on order value

Purchase orders up to £10,000 must be authorised by Anne the department manager. Orders of over £10,000 must be authorised by Charlie the finance director.

The following authorisation rules are set up.

Authorisers	Lower value >=	Upper value <	Order originators	Rule Group
Anne (department manager)	£0	£10,000	[Anyone]	0
Charlie (finance director)	£10,000	-	[Anyone]	0

These rules will mean that:

Orders from £0 and less than £10000 must be authorised by Anne (department manager).
Orders of £10000 and above must be authorised by Charlie (finance director).

Two purchase orders are entered. One for £500 and one for £12,000. The authorisation status of both orders is Not authorised.
Anne is logged into Sage 200. She wants to check whether he needs to authorise any purchase orders. She opens the Authorise Orders window. She authorises the order. The authorisation status of the order changes to Authorised.

Anne cannot authorise the purchase order for £12,000, as it must be authorised by Charlie.
Charlie opens the Authorise Orders window and authorises the outstanding order of £12,000.

Example of authorisation rules based on order value and the order originator

Purchase orders up to £10,000 are authorised by the relevant department manager. Adele and Alan work department A, which is managed by Anne. Bella and Brian work in department B, which is managed by Bob. Orders over £10,000 are authorised by Charlie the finance director.

The following authorisation rules are set up:

Authorisers	Lower value >=	Upper value <	Order originators
Anne (department A manager)	£0	£10,000	Adele, Alan
Bob (department B manager)	£0	£10,000	Bella, Brian
Charlie (finance director)	£10,000	-	[Anyone]

These rules mean that:

Orders up to £10,000 placed by Adele or Alan, must be authorised by Anne.
Orders up to £10,000 placed by Bella or Brian, must be authorised by Bob.
All orders over £10,000, must be authorised by Charlie (finance director).

Three purchase orders are entered:
1. One for £500 by Adele.
2. One for £6,000 by Brian.
3. One for £12,000 Alan.
Anne opens the Authorise Orders window and authorises the order of £500 for Adele in her department. The status of the order changes to Authorised.
Bob opens the Purchase Order Authorisation workspace and authorises the order of £6,000 for Brian in his department.
Charlie opens the Authorise Orders window and authorises the outstanding order of £12,000 for Alan.

Example of authorisation rules using rule groups

Purchase orders of over £10,000 have to be authorised by Charlie the finance director.

Purchase orders over £20,000 have to be authorised by Charlie and also Diane the managing director.

The following authorisation rules are set up:

Authorisers	Lower value >=	Upper value <	Order originators	Rule group
Charlie (finance director)	£10,000	-	Anyone	1
Diane (managing director)	£20,000	-	Anyone	2

Authorisers

Lower value

Upper value

Order originators

Rule group

Charlie (finance director)

£10,000

Anyone

Diane (managing director)

£20,000

Anyone

These rules mean that:

Orders over £10,000, placed by anyone, must be authorised by Charlie (finance director).
Orders over £20,000, placed by anyone, must be authorised by both Charlie and Diane (managing director).

The following orders are entered:
- An order of £12,000.
- An order of £25,000.
Charlie opens the Authorise orders windows and authorises both of the orders.
- The status of the £12,000 order changes to Authorised.
- The status of the £25,000 order remains as Not authorised, because this order is more than £20,000 and must also be authorised by Diane.
Diane opens the Authorise orders window and authorises the order for £25,000. This order status now changes to Authorised.

Set user access to authorisation rules

It is a good idea to control who can access to the screens that allow you to set alternative authorisers and set up authorisation rules.

Note: Restricting access to the Maintain Alternative Authorisers screen doesn't stop people setting up an alternative authoriser for themselves, as they can still use the Authorisation Out of Office screen.

To set user access to these screens:

Open: Settings > Organisational and Financial > User Access.

Choose which users can have access to these features:
- Set alternative authorisers for anyone, for both purchase orders and requisitions, using Maintain Alternative Authorisers.
  Purchase Order Processing > Administration > POP Alternative Authorisers.
- Set purchase order authorisation rules.
  Purchase Order Processing > Administration > POP Authorisation Rules.

What happens

When I edit or delete authorisation rules?

If you edit or delete a rule, the change in the rules will not be applied to any existing purchase orders retrospectively.

All existing purchase orders that already require authorisation must still be authorised according to the original rules.

If you want your new rules to be applied on any existing orders, you must amend each relevant order. Once an order is amended, the current set of authorisation rules are applied.