Submit your Suggestions for Spectrum

We have instituted the explicit use of two-step purchase orders across several departments. While this works well for tangible items (where a packing list is provided), challenges arise with POs for non-tangible purchases such as vehicle or equipment service, online subscriptions, or training events. In these cases, the PO creator does not receive a prompt to create a packing list receipt. The issue is only discovered once A/P attempts to match the invoice and finds no receipt available.

This creates extra work for both A/P and the PO creator:

• A/P must hold the invoice until the receipt is entered.

• The PO creator must interrupt their work to go back and process the receipt.

Proposed Solution:
Add a step to the PO approval workflow so that once a PO is approved/opened, it routes back to the originator’s workflow dashboard widget with a status such as "Open".

• For non-tangible POs, this would serve as the originator’s trigger to create a receipt when appropriate.

• For tangible POs, it would act as a reminder that receipts will need to be processed once items are received.

This change would:

• Reduce delays in A/P invoice processing and back-and-forth between A/P and departments.

• Provide a clear notification to PO creators about their responsibility for receipts.

• Help maintain consistency across both tangible and non-tangible POs.