Why follow a fixed process?
Most donor money is spent through purchases. A fixed process makes sure each purchase is needed, fairly priced, approved by the right person, and delivered as ordered. It also gives you proof. When a donor or auditor asks why you bought something from one supplier, the file should answer without anyone needing to remember.
The steps below suit most NGOs. Adjust the thresholds and names to your own policy.
What are the steps?
- Identify the need. A programme or operations team decides what it needs, how much, and by when.
- Raise a requisition. The requester writes down the item, quantity, estimated cost, project and budget line. See what a purchase requisition is.
- Get quotations. Ask enough suppliers for a price, based on the value of the purchase.
- Approve and order. An approver at the right level signs, and the buyer issues a purchase order to the chosen supplier.
- Receive the goods or service. The receiving officer checks what arrived and records it. See what a goods received note is.
- Check the invoice. Compare the invoice with the order and the receipt before you pay. See what a three-way match is.
- Approve payment and file. An authorised person approves payment, and the full set of documents is stored with the purchase.
What controls belong at each step?
| Step | Main control |
|---|---|
| Need and requisition | The request names a project and budget line, so money is checked first |
| Quotations | Enough quotes for the value; the choice is explained in writing |
| Approval and order | Approver is not the requester; the limit matches the purchase value |
| Receipt | Someone other than the buyer checks the goods |
| Invoice check | Order, receipt and invoice agree, or the difference is explained |
| Payment | The payer is not the person who approved the order |
Our article on approval limits shows how to set the amount bands behind the approval step.
How do quotations work?
The number of quotations usually rises with the value. A common pattern is one quote for very small items, three for mid-range items, and a formal tender for large ones. The exact thresholds are yours to set, and some donors set their own. Where a donor’s rule is stricter than your policy, follow the donor’s rule for purchases charged to that grant.
Keep the quotes, a short comparison and the reason for your choice. The lowest price is often the winner, but not always. Delivery time, quality and past performance can justify another choice if you write down why.
What do you do with exceptions?
Some purchases cannot follow the full path. An emergency may need a fast order, or only one supplier may exist for a specialist item. Treat these as exceptions, not shortcuts:
- Write the reason before or at the time of purchase, not afterwards.
- Get approval from a higher level than normal.
- Record the exception in the purchase file.
- Review exceptions every quarter. A rising number points to a weak plan, not bad luck.
What should the final file contain?
When the purchase is complete, one file should hold:
- The requisition and its approval.
- The quotations and the comparison.
- The purchase order.
- The goods received note.
- The supplier invoice.
- The payment approval.
- Any notes on differences or exceptions.
If an auditor can follow the chain in one sitting, the process works.
A short example. A country office with three field sites needs 20 water containers for a hygiene campaign. The programme officer raises a requisition against the campaign’s budget line. The procurement lead sees that the value falls in the middle band, so she asks three suppliers for quotes. The field office manager approves the choice, and the buyer issues a purchase order. When the containers arrive, the store officer counts them and records two damaged units. Finance sees the damage on the receipt, pays only for the accepted units, and files all seven documents together. Nothing in this example is unusual. The control comes from each person doing one step and leaving a record.
How long should each step take? Agree service times, such as two working days for an approval and five for quotes on mid-range items. Slow steps push staff toward shortcuts. If one step is always late, fix that step: add a delegate, simplify a form, or raise a low approval band so fewer items queue for senior staff.
What should you review each quarter? Pick a small sample of closed purchases and trace each from request to payment. Look for missing quotes, orders dated after delivery, and receipts signed by the buyer. Report the findings to management and agree one fix per finding.
Where EMPOBase fits
In EMPOBase, Procurement records the requisition, the purchase order, the goods receipt and the payment approval against one project, with approval levels L1 to L5 set by your organization. The purchase order keeps committed funds visible against the project budget, and approved requests post to the ledger once. EMPOBase does not make bank transfers and has no settlement or proof-of-payment record, so the payment itself stays with your bank process. See the procure-to-pay workflow for the full chain.