Procurement & Budgets

Manage suppliers, budgets, purchase orders, and supplier invoices in one place. The procurement module gives you full visibility into committed and actual spend, with automatic variance matching against configured tolerance thresholds.

What is Procurement?

Procurement is the end-to-end flow of buying goods and services from suppliers, from setting up a cost centre and budget, through raising a purchase order, to receiving the supplier invoice and approving it for payment. Suppliers differ from Contractors: Contractors are labour providers, while Suppliers sell goods, parts, or services on a purchase order basis.

The 4-Step Flow

1. Set up a cost centre. Go to Finance → Cost Centres and create a hierarchical grouping such as "Open Plan Office, Level 1" or "Plant Room, Mechanical". Cost centres let you allocate budget to a specific area of the building or scope of work.
2. Set up a supplier. Go to Finance → Suppliers and add the supplier you intend to buy from. Capture the supplier name, contact details, payment terms, and any reference numbers you need.
3. Create a budget. Go to Finance → Budgets and allocate an annual amount to a cost centre. A budget is a yearly envelope, and you can create as many as you need per cost centre.
4. Create a PO and receive the invoice. From Finance → Purchase Orders, raise a PO against a cost centre budget. When the supplier delivers and sends an invoice, record it as a Received Invoice against the PO. The system will then run variance matching.

Budget Encumbrance

Each budget tracks three amounts:

• Total allocated: the annual amount set when the budget was created.
• Encumbered: funds committed via issued purchase orders. When a PO moves to issued, the PO total is encumbered against the budget.
• Actual spend: funds released from encumbrance when a received invoice is approved. Approved invoices convert the encumbered amount into actual.

The available balance at any time is total allocated − encumbered − actual spend. When a PO is cancelled, its encumbrance is released back to the available balance.

PO Status Lifecycle

A purchase order moves through the following statuses:

• Draft: the PO is being prepared and has not been sent.
• Pending approval: submitted for sign-off by an approver.
• Issued: sent to the supplier. Funds are now encumbered on the budget.
• Fulfilled: goods or services received and an invoice has been approved.
• Cancelled: the PO was cancelled. Any encumbrance is released.

Variance Matching & Tolerance

When a received invoice is entered, the system compares the invoice total to the associated PO and computes the variance. Company-level tolerance configuration (default: 5% and £50) determines what happens next:

• Within both thresholds: the invoice is auto-approved.
• Exceeds either threshold: the invoice is placed on variance hold and routed to a finance admin for review.

Finance admins can approve or reject variance-hold invoices from the invoice detail page. Approval converts the encumbrance into actual spend; rejection releases the encumbrance.

Notifications

When a variance is detected, an in-app notification is created for every finance admin and facilities manager in the company, and an email is sent. The bell icon in the top bar of the admin area shows your unread count.

Permissions Overview

• Facilities managers and finance admins: full access: create cost centres, suppliers, budgets, POs, and invoices. Approve variance-hold invoices and manage tolerance configuration.
• Site managers: view budgets, suppliers, POs, and invoices. Create POs and receive invoices. Can approve variance holds but cannot change tolerance.
• All other roles: no access to the procurement module.

Common Questions

Can I edit a PO after it has been issued?

No. Once a PO is issued, the funds are encumbered and the PO is locked from edits. If the order needs to change, cancel the PO and raise a new one. Cancelling releases the original encumbrance.

What happens if I receive an invoice with no PO?

The system requires every received invoice to be linked to a PO. The PO is what encumbers the budget, so without one there is nothing to match the invoice against. Raise a PO first, then record the invoice against it.

How do I change the tolerance thresholds?

Tolerance is configured per company at Finance → Tolerance. The two thresholds (percentage and absolute amount) both apply: a variance within both is auto-approved, exceeding either triggers variance hold.

Why is my budget showing a negative available balance?

A negative available balance means encumbrances plus actual spend exceed the total allocation. This is allowed (the system will not block the over-commit), but it signals that the budget needs review. Either increase the allocation, or cancel outstanding POs to release encumbered funds.

What's the difference between a Supplier and a Contractor?

Suppliers sell goods or services on a purchase order basis and are managed through the procurement flow. Contractors provide labour, are tracked with insurance and trade information, and are assigned to work orders. The two are kept separate in the system.