Purchase Order and Bill Approval Setup in QuickBooks Enterprise 22.0
Enterprise 22.0 users can route purchase orders and bills through approval, but the workflow is limited to Diamond and Platinum subscriptions.
QuickBooks Enterprise 22.0 teams that want purchase orders and bills signed off before payment keep asking the same question: where does that control live? We traced the accepted community answer, and it points to a built-in approval workflow rather than a workaround. One gate stands in front: the feature ships only with Enterprise Diamond or Platinum subscriptions.
The question that produced the answer came from a user on version 22.0. On tiers without the feature, the symptoms of the gap are familiar. Bills post before anyone with authority reviews them, and purchase orders go out without a second look.
The setup path from the Company menu
Configuration begins under the Company menu, in a choice called Set Up Approval Processes. Select Get Started, then choose Set up on the card that matches the document you want to govern. There is one card for purchase orders and another for bills, so each type can carry its own rules. The software then asks for a sign-in with administrator credentials. Past that point, you reach a creation screen where the process gets a name and a description.
Conditions that send a document for approval
The core of any approval process is its trigger. Enterprise offers three condition fields: the transaction amount, the vendor name, and the vendor type. A common pattern sets a dollar threshold, so only larger purchases demand a manager’s eye. You can also aim a rule at one vendor, or at a whole category of vendors.
Next comes the human side. Pick an approver by name and supply that person’s email address. The notification itself is customizable, from subject line to message body. A second address can be attached as well, which suits a supervisor who wants copies of every request without being the approver of record.
Activation reaches only new documents
The save step ends with an activation choice, and activation applies to documents created from that moment forward. Anything already in the system keeps whatever rules were in place when it was entered. Later revisions respect the same boundary. Change the conditions, and only future purchase orders and bills inherit the change.
Turning a process off follows the same logic. New documents skip approval entirely, while anything already waiting still needs a decision. Deleting a process demands one extra step first: clear the transactions that still await approval, then remove the process itself.
Exemptions built into the design
Several behaviors surprise teams new to the feature. Documents entered by an administrator never require approval, so whoever configures the rules is also exempt from them. Editing the memo or the address block does not push a document back into the queue. A bill created from an item receipt bypasses the workflow too. None of this signals a defect. These are deliberate boundaries, and knowing them up front prevents confusion during rollout.
Approve now or hold as a draft
When a clerk saves a document that meets the conditions, two options appear. Send it for approval, or hold it as a draft. A draft stays out of the register entirely, so nothing posts while a decision is pending. That holding state matters when the approver is out of the office, since the books remain untouched in the meantime.
How does an approver clear the queue?
Approvers work from the same Company menu, under Track and Approve Transactions. A sign-in prompt may appear again, this time for the approver’s own credentials. The screen then sorts every assigned document by status. Pending items wait for a decision, rejected items show what was denied, and approved items list what already cleared. A fourth view shows everything regardless of state. Opening a pending document reveals the two choices, approve or reject, and each takes effect on the spot.
For teams on the right tier, the resolution is configuration rather than repair. Set the conditions, name the approver, and activate the process. Enterprise then mirrors the purchasing discipline the organization already follows on paper, with every qualifying document waiting its turn.