From the purchase request to the approved purchase order
The department that needs the material opens a purchase request, the buyer approves it and turns it into a request for quotation, compares prices from several vendors and confirms the winning order after the approvals of its value range.
Before you start
The product must be registered and enabled for purchase, with the reference cost, and the vendors must have CNPJ, state registration and tax profile. The administrator registers once the approval levels: the approver of purchase requests and the approvers of each value range of the purchase order. To compare vendors, enable Purchase Alternatives in the Purchase settings. This applies in Brazil with configuration: the request for quotation and the order bring the purchase fiscal operation and calculate ICMS, IPI, PIS, COFINS, CBS and IBS on the line, like any purchase order.
Step by step
1. Open the purchase request
In the Purchase Requests app, click New. In Approver, choose the buyer, and in Description, inform the department and the reason. Click Add a line, choose the product and inform the quantity, the date it is needed and the estimated cost. Save and click Request Validation. Example: Diego, from the Operations department of Guatambu Móveis, asks for 10 cardboard boxes for deliveries, with an estimated cost of 125.00, for the approval of the buyer André.
2. Approve the request and create the request for quotation
The buyer opens Purchase Requests with the To Review filter, opens the request and clicks Validate and then Confirm. Click Create RFQ, choose the vendor and turn on Copy the estimated cost to the new PO so the quotation uses the estimated cost as the price. Click Create RFQ: the quotation opens with the purchase fiscal operation, the CFOP and the taxes of the line, which can be checked on the Taxes tab of the item.
3. Group requests from several departments
When several departments ask for the same product, open Purchase Request Lines, select the approved lines and, in Actions, choose Create RFQ. The same product becomes a single line with the added quantity, and each request stays linked to the quotation. Example: 10 boxes for Operations and 6 for the Administrative department become one quotation of 16 boxes to Atacado Horizonte.
4. Compare vendors and choose the winner
In the quotation, on the Alternatives tab, click Create Alternative, choose another vendor and keep Copy Products checked. Inform the unit price offered by each vendor and save. Click Compare Product Lines to see the proposals side by side and click Choose on the best one. Each quotation calculates the taxes by the state of its vendor. Example: 214.40 from Atacado Horizonte, in São Paulo, 222.40 from Pitangueira Distribuidora de Utilidades, in Belo Horizonte, and 227.20 from Quaresmeira Distribuidora de Utilidades, in Curitiba.
5. Get the approvals of the value range and confirm
Open the chosen quotation and click Request Validation. The Reviews tab shows the approvals of the value range of the order, in sequence: each approver opens the order with the To Review filter and clicks Validate. After the approvals, click Confirm Order and then Cancel Alternatives, so the other quotations are cancelled. Example: an order of 18,000.00 is in the range from 5,000.01 to 20,000.00 and needs the purchasing coordinator and the finance management.
Expected result
The purchase order is confirmed with the chosen vendor, approved by everyone in its value range, with the taxes calculated on the lines and linked to the purchase requests of each department. The other quotations are cancelled.
If something goes wrong
If the request does not appear with the To Review filter, ask the requester to click Request Validation. If the quotation comes out with the vendor list price instead of the estimated cost, inform the price on the line or create the quotation again with Copy the estimated cost to the new PO turned on. If the quotation comes out without the taxes on the line, define the purchase operation in the company and the tax profile in the vendor. If Confirm Order asks for validation, check on the Reviews tab which approval of the value range is still missing.
Odoo 18 manual
Standard Odoo 18 features used in this task, from the official manual.