To view the properties of the PO Approval process, select the process in the navigator tree, then choose Properties from the Edit menu. The PO Approval process has a result type of PO Main Requisition Approval Process Result, indicating that when the process completes, it has a result of Approved, Invalid Action, No Approver Available, or Rejected. These results correspond to the lookup codes in the PO Main Requisition Approval Process Result lookup type in the PO Standard item type.

This process activity is not runnable, indicating that it cannot be initiated as a top-level process to run, but rather can be run only as a subprocess when called by a higher-level process.

The PO Approval Process is initiated when a new purchase order is submitted for approval or when changes to a purchase order require going through the full approval process.

The workflow begins at node 1.

If the purchase order passes verification at node 2, node 4 checks if Owner Can Approve in the Document Types window is enabled for the document type. If node 5 finds that the owner has approval authority, node 6 checks if the owner has provided an additional forward-to approver. If so, node 7 approves and forwards the purchase order, and node 8 notifies the approver. Otherwise, the workflow begins to approve the document at node 9.

If the approver approves, or approves and forwards the document, node 12 checks if the resulting document status is Pre-Approved. A pre-approved document is one that has been approved by the final approver, but also forwarded to an additional approver, or one that has been authorized for approval but for which funds have not yet been reserved, if you use encumbrance accounting. In this process, even after the document is approved, it is still considered pre-approved until the subprocess at node 9 or 23 sets its status to Approved. If the document is not pre-approved, the workflow verifies the approver's current approval authority at node 5.

The Find Approver subprocess at node 13 begins if the approver forwards the document for additional approval or does not respond, or if the activities at nodes 4 or 5 find that the document owner does not have approval authority. If an approver is found at node 13, node 16 checks if the user name of the approver is valid. If so, node 17 forwards the purchase order to the approver. If the Find Approver activity is not successful, or if the approver user name is invalid, the purchase order is returned to the submitter at node 14.

Once an approver is found, the workflow branches differently depending on how the approver responds in the subprocess at node 8-with Forward, Timeout (no response), Approve, Approve And Forward, or Reject. If the approver rejects the document, a notification as such is sent to the buyer (document owner) at node 21.

Once all approvers have approved the document, node 9 attempts to reserve funds for the document before approval if encumbrance accounting is being used and funds for the document are not already reserved. Then, node 23 approves the purchase order, sends a document-approved notification to the document owner at node 25, and prints the document at node 26 if Print was selected in the Approve Document window when the purchase order was first submitted. If a facsimile number was entered in the Approve Document window, node 27 sends a facsimile of the purchase order.