Setup Approval Levels in DPO

The Approval Levels feature allows you to define automated, multi-step approval workflows based on amount, department, or user roles. This ensures that purchase orders, invoices, and expenses are reviewed by the right people without manual handovers.

Where Approval Levels Are Configured

Approval levels are set up separately for:

Approval Levels (P.O.s)

Invoices

Expenses

You can find them in your settings.

How Approval Assignment Works

There are two main ways to configure approvals:

1. Approval by Department

Use this option when users should only approve items from specific departments:

• Assign departments in the user profile
• Enable “Approval by Department only” in the approval level

2. Approving across all departments:

Use this when a user should approve everything (e.g. Production Manager):

• No need to assign departments to the user
• Leave “Approval by Department only” unchecked
• Place the user in a separate approval level

Approval Rules and Department Settings

• Users can set up custom email notifications in their account to be informed about activities such as new documents or approval requests
• When a P.O., Expense, or Invoice is created within a department, all users assigned to that department in their profile, as well as any users without a department who hold approval level 1, 2, 3, etc. in the approval chain, will be required to approve it.
• If you need to limit a user’s access within a department, create a separate department. For instance, if two people work in the same department but shouldn’t see each other’s items, place them in different departments
• If you do not enter a department in Invoices or Expenses, the approval chain will be followed with all assigned users, without any conditions.
• Note: If a person appears twice in the approval chain, their second appearance will be skipped automatically

Amount-Based Approval

You can define approval levels based on amount:

• Above a certain value
• Below a certain value

This allows for more granular control over approvals

How to Build an Approval Chain

Step 1: Open Approval Levels

1. Open Settings > Approval Levels (P.O.), Invoices, or the Expenses tab

Step 2: Create Approval Levels

1. Choose the number of approval levels you need
2. Click: “+ Add Approval Level”

Step 3: Arrange Approval Levels

• Use the up and down arrows to reorder the levels
• Click on the right side of a level to view assigned approvers

Step 4: Add Approvers

1. Search for the user in: “Add New Approver”
2. Click the plus (+) icon

Note

If multiple users are assigned to the same approval level and department:

The first available user will complete the approval.

Step 5: Enable Department Approval

Enable: “Approval by Department only”

if the user should only approve documents from their assigned department.

Red Highlight

If a level is marked red:

The checkbox is enabled, but the user in the approval level has no department assigned.

Step 6: Define Conditions

For each approval level, you can define conditions such as:

• Applies to all Purchase Orders, Invoices, or Topsheets
• (Applies to special P.O.s only)
• If Purchase Orders, Invoices, or Topsheets net total is equal to or greater than [amount]
• If Purchase Orders, Invoices, or Topsheets net total is less than [amount]

Activate the Approval Workflow

• Make sure each approval level has at least one assigned user
• Click Save

Once all levels are configured, the automated approval workflow will be activated.

Questions or need help?

Our customer support is always available to help with any questions or setup assistance

Contact us

Email: support@digitalpurchaseorder.com

Support: +1 888 DPO 7254

Support Int'l: +44 20 331 88 338

Berlin Office: +49 (0)30 55 572 5956

Or book a personalized support call

We look forward to hearing from you.

Updated on: 29/05/2026