The four design decisions
- Who approves: a role, not a named person. People go on vacation.
- Within what limits: up to $3,000 the department head approves; above that, leadership too.
- What is needed to ask for it: three quotes, the receipt or the budget attached.
- What happens if nobody answers: a reminder and, after the deadline, a stand-in.
An example
A $4,500 purchase request comes in through a form with three supplier quotes attached. The purchasing manager approves it and, since it is over $3,000, so does leadership. Once approved, the purchase order to the supplier is created. If leadership does not answer within two days, they get a reminder.
Approving is not signing
An approval is an internal record that someone authorized something. A contract with a third party usually also needs an electronic signature, which carries different legal weight.
The usual mistake
Approving by email. The “OK” stays in someone’s inbox, nobody knows which version was approved and, when that person leaves, the trail leaves with them. The approval has to live on the document being approved.