Order authorization

Authorization workflows and levels

Authorization workflows determine who must authorize orders. Each authorization workflow has an order type. Each authorization workflow can have multiple authorization levels. The levels might be defined numerically or as different roles such as purchasing agent, purchasing manager, finance manager, with each level having an approval limit in dollar value. For some workflows, authorization might be required from more than one level.

Sample authorization workflow
Authorization workflow	Order type	Authorization level	Limit price
PURCHASE (Purchase authorization)	PURCHASE	Purchasing agent	24,999
		Supervisor	49,999
		Manager	99,999
		Director	499,999
		Vice-president	999,999,999

After you create an order, if you have the necessary authorization level for the value of the order, you can authorize the order and the authorization status changes to APPROVED. You can also authorize and issue an order at the same time, if you have the necessary authorization level for the value of the order. If you don't have the necessary authorization level, you request authorization. The order is approved up to your authorization level and the request is submitted to a person with the next level and so on until the order is approved by a person with the necessary authorization level for the value of the order. You can see the authorization history on the Order Details page, Authorization tab.

If an order will pass through multiple levels, you can shorten the process by contacting someone with the necessary level. It is sufficient for only the person with the necessary authorization level to authorize the order. You can see the necessary level when you request authorization.

When you request authorization for an order, you select the appropriate order authorization flow. Different workflows require different levels of authorization. The authorization flows are defined by your organization and loaded into the database using the Baseline Loader or insertion scripts.

Depending how Maintenix is configured, if authorized orders are edited, they might require authorization again or they might require authorization again only if the price change is beyond the specified tolerance.

Administrators can assign authorization levels to users. For more information see the Maintenix Administration Guide.

Authorization status

You can track the authorization progress of an order by checking its authorization status. Orders can have the following authorization statuses:

PENDING: Authorization hasn't been requested.
REQUESTED: Authorization was requested.
APPROVED: The order is authorized and can be issued.
REJECTED: The authorizing authority did not approve the order. It must be revised and submitted for authorization again.
BYPASSED: Orders can have the BYPASSED status in two workflows:
- Parts are urgently needed for an AOG priority request and a user with permissions clicks the AOG Authorization Override button and circumvents the normal authorization process.
- Orders are automatically created and issued as a result of stock low actions.
OVERRIDDEN: If you have a budget approval integration with an external system and the budget for the order is rejected, user with permissions can override the budget rejection and the order authorization status is OVERRIDDEN.

Authorizing orders

You can authorize purchase, consignment, repair or exchange orders that are sent to you. If the budget check is active, you cannot authorize an order until the budget has been approved. Orders that have not been approved by budget do not appear on the Authorization Required Orders tab, but you can find these in an order search.

Orders that require authorization are displayed on the To-Do List, Authorization Required Orders tab. When the Only show orders that require your attention check box is selected, authorizations that have not been authorized by lower levels first or that do not require authorization by the current user are not displayed.

You can authorize orders using the Authorize Order button on this tab or alternatively authorize and issue an order using the Authorize and Issue button, provided that in the latter case you have the permission to issue orders as well.

Purchase orders that are automatically created and issued as a result of POREQ or SHIPREQ stock low actions are automatically authorized by the system user MXPURCHASE.