How to Use Order Approval
Overview
The Order Approval feature allows account Administrators to designate specific users as Approvers and Purchasers on behalf of a company. This ensures that orders placed on ferguson.com are approved prior to being submitted to Ferguson. It also allows the company to keep track of what is being ordered by their Purchasers and ensures products on their online orders meet job specifications.
Navigate to Order Approval
There are multiple ways to access Order Approval:
Dashboard – My Pending Orders
Whether you are a Purchaser or an Approver, the “My Pending Orders” section displays on your Dashboard. When orders are submitted for approval, they will appear on the Dashboard under “My Pending Orders” for up to seven days in addition to the Order Approval tab on the Orders page.
Orders Page – Order Approval Tab
Purchasers and Approvers can view order approvals from the Order Approval tab on the Orders page.
Message Center Notifications
When a Purchaser submits an order for approval, the Approver receives a notification in Message Center as well as via email. The Approver can click on the notification to be taken directly to the order requiring approval.
Approver Notifications
If the employee is set up as an Approver, he/she will receive a notification in the Message Center and via email when an order is submitted for approval.
Purchaser Notifications
If the employee is set up as the Purchaser, he/she will receive the following notifications in Message Center and via email:
Approved orders
Rejected orders
Successfully submitted orders
Setting Up an Approver
There are two roles within Order Approval:
Purchaser – This is the employee purchasing items for the company. The Purchaser must be set up with the ability to purchase on the company’s account.
Approver – This is the employee from the company set up to approve the Purchaser’s order.
Setting Up an Approver for a Purchaser
Only an Administrator can set up an Approver for a specific Purchaser in your company. Once set up, the Approver must approve all orders for the Purchaser. It is important that the Approver is given the same access to any job accounts as the Purchaser to avoid any delay in approvals.
Setting up a New Employee
To set up an Approver for a new employee, click “Add Employee” under Company Settings. After entering the employee’s information, check the “This person requires approvers” box. You can then select an Approver’s name from a drop-down of current users in your company to designate as the Primary Approver and/or Secondary Approver. The setup process then resumes as normal.
Setting up an Existing Employee
To set up an Approver for a new employee, click “Add Employee” under Company Settings. After entering the employee’s information, check the “This person requires approvers” box. You can then select an Approver’s name from a drop-down of current users in your company to designate as the Primary Approver and/or Secondary Approver. The setup process then resumes as normal.
Primary and Secondary Approvers
While Primary and Secondary Approvers can be set up, there are no differences between the two roles. Each receives all the communications regarding order approvals, and each can see the items requiring approval on their Dashboard. Primary and Secondary Approvers both receive notifications. The Secondary Approver can approve orders in the same capacity as the Primary Approver and can serve as a backup if the Primary Approver is out of the office or otherwise unavailable.
When an Approver gets deleted from Company Settings
If an Administrator deletes the only Approver for a Purchaser, the Administrator is shown a pop-up box informing them that the selected person is an Approver for the listed employees. This information is also sent to the Administrator via a notification in the Message Center so another Approver can be set up for the listed employees.
Order Approval Process
An Approver can update the following items on an order requiring approval without having to send the order back to the Purchaser (reject order):
Add Purchase Order number (PO #)
Add Job Name
Add or edit payment methods
Add, edit or remove products
Approve or reject order
Purchaser’s Role in Order Approval
A Purchaser can do the following:
Update the quantity and products any time before the order is approved
Update the payment terms any time before the order is approved
Cancel an order at any point before it is approved/rejected
Add a PO and Job Name, if required
Edit the order if it is rejected by the Approver
Order Is Approved
When a Purchaser submits an order for approval, the Approver receives a notification in the Message Center as well as via email. The Approver can click on the notification to be taken directly to the order requiring approval. The Approver can then click “Approve” to approve the order and submit it to Ferguson.
Once an order is approved by the Approver, the Purchaser receives a notification that the order has been approved. The order then moves from the Order Approval tab to the Orders tab in Orders when it is submitted.
Order is Rejected
If an order is rejected by the Purchaser, he/she may enter a comment as to why the order was rejected. The Purchaser must then decide to update the order or cancel it. If the Purchaser decides to update the order, he/she must click “Continue Shopping” and work through the entire order process to re-submit the order. If the Purchaser adds products intended for another order, they will be added to the current rejected order. Once the Purchaser starts the revision process, they must finish it before continuing with another order.
Order Approval Details
The Order Approval tab displays pending orders for the entire company. Once the order is approved, it moves from the Order Approval tab to the Orders tab.
Search
Click the drop-down menu to the left of the search box to select the order information to search by. Options include:
Web Order #
Job Name
PO #
You can also use the search box and search for specific web orders.
Job Menu – Click the Job drop-down menu to select a specific job account to view Order Approval.
Status Menu – Click the Status drop-down menu to select a specific status to view Order Approval.
The statuses include:
All
Pending Approval
Rejection
You can also use the search box and search for specific web orders.
Web Order # – Click the Web Order number to view order details. Once you click Web Order number, you are taken to the pending order. You can then see order details, including who submitted the order, date submitted, order total, products, quantities, etc.
Status – Displays the Order Approval statuses, which include Pending Approval and Rejection.
Ordered – Displays the date the order was submitted for approval.
PO # – Displays the purchase order number, if entered on the order submitted.
Job Name – Displays the Job Name, if entered on the order submitted.
Assigned – Displays the Approver assigned to the submitted order.
Needed – Displays the date the customer needs the order.
Total – Displays the order total.