Each lab's purchasing workflow is different. Make sure all your purchases are reviewed by the appropriate people by creating customized, tiered approval flows! Read below to learn more about common approval workflows and how to set them up for your lab.
User threshold-based approval routing
Labs on Quartzy frequently want to create tiered approval flows where higher cost items are forwarded to users with higher levels of approval authority.
Example:
- Requests for items under $500 are approved automatically
- Andy approves requests up to $1,500
- Taylor approves requests up to $5,000
- Angela approves anything over $5,000 (no limit)
To set up a user threshold-based approval workflow, follow the steps below:
1. From the Approvals tab, select the second option under Which workflow best describes the ordering process in your lab? - where there is an Approved status between New and Ordered.
Then, select "Automatically approve requests when the total is below" under When is approval required on requests? and enter the appropriate amount in the text field.
2. Click the Add Workflow button at the bottom of your page.
3. Create your approval steps:
- Select "not already approved" for the For requests field
- Select the appropriate approver for the send an approval request to field
- Enter the appropriate dollar amount (limit) in the who can fully approve requests up to field
- Click +Add Step to add your next step(s)!
- When you're done, click the Save Workflow button to save your lab's new approval workflow
Budget-based approval routing
Another common approval workflow is routing approvals based on the budget (Grant ID, Fund, Project, or Account) associated with a request.
Example:
- Andy approves requests associated with Project A
- Eddie approves requests associated with Project B
- Jonathan approves requests associated with Project C
To set up a budget-based approval workflow, follow the steps below:
1. Add your Budgets and assign Owners as needed. Follow our guide here: Add & Customize Budgets (formerly Spend Tracking Codes)
2. Click the Add Workflow button at the bottom of your page.
3. Create your approval step:
- Select "with a budget" for the For requests field
- Click the Save Workflow button to save your lab's new approval workflow
Safety or hazardous item based routing
Another common approval workflow is implementing a hazardous item review step.
Example:
- The lab's safety manager, Taylor, reviews and approves all hazardous items before they're ordered
To set up a hazardous item or safety-based approval workflow, follow the steps below:
1. First, be sure you have a Hazardous item Type set up for your lab. Quartzy's Chemical - Hazardous Type is a great place to start!
Follow our guide here to add Types if needed: Manage Labs - Inventory Types and Custom Fields
2. Back on the Approvals page, click the Add Workflow button at the bottom.
3. Create your approval step:
- Select "of item type > [your lab's hazardous item type]" for the For requests field
- Click the Save Workflow button to save your lab's new approval workflow
Next Up: Learn more about how to add and manage Budgets in your lab
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