Raising a purchase order means writing down what you are buying, from whom and at what price and getting sign-off before you order. What is purchase order?
Before you start
- Purchasing permissions
- Approval workflow
The Business Central way
Where to find it: Purchase Orders
- Search for Approval User Setup. Create the approver first, then the purchaser with that approver. Tick Unlimited Purchase Approval or set limits.
- Choose Notification Setup for an approver. Set Notification Type to Approval and Method to Note or Email. Then add a Notification Schedule such as Instantly.
- Search for Workflows. Choose New Workflow from Template and pick Purchase Order Approval Workflow. The new code ends in -01.
- Turn on the Enabled toggle on the Workflow page.
- On the purchase order choose Send Approval Request. The approval status goes from Created to Open and the order from Open to Pending Approval.
- The approver uses Requests to Approve. Once approved the order is Released and can be sent or received against.
Limits in Business Central
- The order is locked for processing while it is Pending Approval. Choose Cancel Approval Request to edit it, then send the request again.
Good to know in Business Central
- The template is called Purchase Order Approval Workflow.
- You can add a workflow response step to tell the sender when a request is approved or rejected.
- Power Automate flows can also define workflows. Any flow template you make is added to the workflow templates list in Business Central.
- Approval workflows for purchase documents, sales documents, payment journals, customer cards and item cards are ready to start as guides.
Words Business Central uses
- Workflow. A set of steps that start on an event, such as sending an invoice for approval.
- Approval User Setup. The page where each user gets an approver and an amount limit.
The Pulsify way
- Raise and approve the purchase order in Business Central as usual.
- When the invoice arrives, Pulsify links it to the purchase order and matches the lines.
- Differences in quantity or price are flagged for review before approval.
Pulsify connects to Business Central. We set up the connection for you.
What Pulsify does not do here
- Raising and creating POs in Pulsify works with Xero only today. For Business Central, Pulsify matches bills to the POs you raise there.
Common mistakes
- Receiving against an order that is not yet Released.
- Sending an approval request before the approval workflow is set up.
More help
- How to raise a purchase order and get it approved in MYOB Acumatica
- How to raise a purchase order and get it approved in Sage 200
- How to raise a purchase order and get it approved in Sage 300
- How to match a purchase invoice to a purchase order in Business Central
- How to handle a partial delivery against a purchase order in Business Central
- How to set up purchase invoice approval in Business Central
- All Business Central how-to guides
- Pulsify setup guides
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-19. Confidence: confirmed.
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/walkthrough-setting-up-and-using-a-purchase-approval-workflow
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/across-how-use-approval-workflows
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/across-how-to-set-up-approval-users
Also confirmed by
Common questions
How do I get a purchase order approved?
Create the purchase order and use Send Approval Request. The approver uses Requests to Approve. Once Released, send or receive against the order.
Which workflow template is it?
The template is called Purchase Order Approval Workflow.
What do I need first?
Purchasing permissions and an approval workflow.
Does Pulsify raise POs?
Pulsify raises and approves POs and creates them in Xero. For other systems, raise the PO in Business Central and Pulsify matches the bill to it.
Pulsify setup guides
Want this done for you?
Book a call to see how Pulsify handles supplier bills in Business Central.