Concur Invoice Approval Workflow Design Purchase order requester to approve invoice

[catherine2255]

We are currently designing our invoice approval workflow and would like to confirm whether the following setup is possible.

Our intended process is:

1. If an invoice is linked to a purchase order, it should be approved by the purchase order requestor
2. If an invoice does not have a purchase order, it should be approved by the relevant cost centre approver

We have successfully configured the second scenario, but we are unsure how to configure the first—specifically, how to route invoices with a purchase order to the original requestor for approval.

The rationale behind this approach is that many of our invoices relate to services. The requestor has already gone through the purchase approval process, manages the supplier relationship, and is best placed to confirm that the invoice is accurate before approval.

Could you please advise whether this setup is supported and, if so, how best to configure it?

[KevinD · Accepted solution]

@catherine2255 After a good amount of thought, I don't think what you are asking is possible. 

I don't see any way for the system to read the name of the person who requested the PO and have it go into a queue for that person to approve. 

Maybe someone else knows how to do this, but the only option I can think of is a manual process where the person reviewing the invoice, looks at the person who requested the PO and sends the invoice to them for approval. 

[PoojaKumatkar · Accepted solution]

Hi @catherine2255 ,

For point #1If an invoice is linked to a purchase order, it should be approved by the purchase order requestor

Yes, with this setting enabled, the invoice will be automatically assigned to the PO Owner if it contains a valid PO number that exists in the Concur system.

Based on your screenshot, it appears you are using Concur Invoice Standard Edition, where this setting is located under the Approval Routing section. In the Professional Edition, however, there is a separate section called “Invoice Settings” where this option is configured. Refer below screenshot.

In the Professional Edition, the typical process works as follows:

1. A Purchase Requisition (PR) is created and submitted.
2. The PR is approved, and a Purchase Order (PO) is automatically generated.
3. If needed, the PO Owner or “Requested By” field can be updated. The PO is then approved and transmitted to the vendor.
4. The invoice is received at the capture stage, where all details are extracted using OCR.
5. If the invoice contains a valid PO number, it is automatically assigned to the PO Owner by default.

If this setting is disabled, the Invoice Owner or Processor can manually assign the invoice to the appropriate PO Owner.

Professional Edition Workflow behavior:

Scenario 1 - If the invoice matches the PO, it bypasses manager or additional approval steps and is routed directly to the Invoice Processor, since the PR/PO has already been approved.
Scenario 2 - If the invoice does not match the PO, or if it is a non-PO invoice, it must go through all required managerial or additional approval steps.

Note: This reflects the standard invoice workflow process.
Also, as mentioned by @KevinD there is no available option or setting to route the invoice to the original PO Owner within the workflow itself. This assignment occurs before the invoice enters the workflow. 

Regarding your requirement: if this setting is enabled, the system will automatically assign the incoming invoice to the original PO Owner. The PO Owner will review the invoice before it is submitted, so no additional workflow step is required for this purpose, as the invoice is already reviewed by the appropriate PO Owner.

Attaching screenshot from Concur Invoice Professional standard document:

If this answers your query, then please marks solution as accepted.

[PoojaKumatkar · Accepted solution]

Hi @catherine2255 ,

You can try adding the following skip condition at the COA step in the workflow.

If this answers your query, then please mark solution as accepted.

[KevinD · Accepted solution]

@catherine2255 After a good amount of thought, I don't think what you are asking is possible. 

I don't see any way for the system to read the name of the person who requested the PO and have it go into a queue for that person to approve. 

Maybe someone else knows how to do this, but the only option I can think of is a manual process where the person reviewing the invoice, looks at the person who requested the PO and sends the invoice to them for approval. 

[catherine2255]

Thanks for Looking into it Kevin

[catherine2255]

In the approval workflow, step 2 
There is an option to assign invoice to Purchase Request Owner, do you know how that process works?  Just wondering if this is what we need

[PoojaKumatkar · Accepted solution]

Hi @catherine2255 ,

For point #1If an invoice is linked to a purchase order, it should be approved by the purchase order requestor

Yes, with this setting enabled, the invoice will be automatically assigned to the PO Owner if it contains a valid PO number that exists in the Concur system.

Based on your screenshot, it appears you are using Concur Invoice Standard Edition, where this setting is located under the Approval Routing section. In the Professional Edition, however, there is a separate section called “Invoice Settings” where this option is configured. Refer below screenshot.

In the Professional Edition, the typical process works as follows:

1. A Purchase Requisition (PR) is created and submitted.
2. The PR is approved, and a Purchase Order (PO) is automatically generated.
3. If needed, the PO Owner or “Requested By” field can be updated. The PO is then approved and transmitted to the vendor.
4. The invoice is received at the capture stage, where all details are extracted using OCR.
5. If the invoice contains a valid PO number, it is automatically assigned to the PO Owner by default.

If this setting is disabled, the Invoice Owner or Processor can manually assign the invoice to the appropriate PO Owner.

Professional Edition Workflow behavior:

Scenario 1 - If the invoice matches the PO, it bypasses manager or additional approval steps and is routed directly to the Invoice Processor, since the PR/PO has already been approved.
Scenario 2 - If the invoice does not match the PO, or if it is a non-PO invoice, it must go through all required managerial or additional approval steps.

Note: This reflects the standard invoice workflow process.
Also, as mentioned by @KevinD there is no available option or setting to route the invoice to the original PO Owner within the workflow itself. This assignment occurs before the invoice enters the workflow. 

Regarding your requirement: if this setting is enabled, the system will automatically assign the incoming invoice to the original PO Owner. The PO Owner will review the invoice before it is submitted, so no additional workflow step is required for this purpose, as the invoice is already reviewed by the appropriate PO Owner.

Attaching screenshot from Concur Invoice Professional standard document:

If this answers your query, then please marks solution as accepted.

[catherine2255]

thanks Pooja, if the invoice is  reviewed and accepted by the Purchase request owner, how would I setup the approval process to bypass the cost centre approver for step 2 and go straight to processor?

[PoojaKumatkar · Accepted solution]

Hi @catherine2255 ,

You can try adding the following skip condition at the COA step in the workflow.

If this answers your query, then please mark solution as accepted.

[catherine2255]

Thanks Pooja, just one more question, sorry we are still learning the system, if the invoice is assigned to the purchase order requester, would they need to action anything to submit the invoice to the approval process, once we have matched the invoice to the purchase order when we upload the invoice?

[PoojaKumatkar · Accepted solution]

Hi @catherine2255 ,

Once the invoice is assigned to the Invoice Owner/PO Owner, they are responsible for performing the following activities:

1. Match the Invoice with the PO
   • In some cases, the invoice line item sequence may differ from the PO line item sequence. In such scenarios, the Invoice/PO Owner must manually match the correct invoice lines with the corresponding PO lines.
   • If the line item sequence matches correctly, no manual intervention is required, as the system will automatically match the line items sequentially.
2. Validate policy checks and correct errors
   • If there are any policy-based restrictions configured and errors are triggered due to incorrect entries, the user must correct the invoice.
   • Ensure that all header-level and line-item amounts are accurate, and that there is no pending amount left to be itemized (i.e., the remaining amount should be 0.00).
   • Some clients may require additional details at the header or line-item level. In such cases, the user must complete all mandatory fields. This requirement may vary from client to client.
3. Submit the invoice
   • After completing all validations and checks, the user can proceed to submit the invoice.

If the invoice is successfully matched with the PO, you will see a green check indicator.

Sample PO invoice:

If this answers your query, then please mark solution as accepted.