# How to Set Up Purchase Order and Bill Approval in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

> Set approval rules for purchase orders and bills in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, send them for approval, approve or reject, and see what skips approval.

- URL: https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/purchase-order-bill-approval-enterprise/
- Section: QuickBooks Desktop Guides, Purchasing
- Applies to: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Platinum, Enterprise Diamond
- Steps checked against: Intuit's QuickBooks Desktop help articles, updated August 2026
- Updated: 2026-10-21

**Short answer:** To set up purchase order and bill approval in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, go to Company > Set Up Approval Processes. Intuit says it's available only in Enterprise Diamond or Platinum. Sign in to your Intuit account as an admin, set conditions on amount, vendor name or vendor type, and choose the approver. Users then send matching transactions for approval, and approvers act on them at Company > Track and Approve Transactions.

## Before you start

- Intuit's approval article carries the note "Available only in QuickBooks Enterprise Diamond or Platinum." The article's title names Enterprise 22.0.
- Only the admin and the primary admin in the Intuit account can create an approval process, Intuit says. During setup you sign in to your Intuit account as an admin.
- Intuit says transactions you create as an admin won't need approval. So we suggest giving the people who enter purchase orders and bills their own users and roles. Only an admin can add them, at Company > Users > Set Up Users and Roles.
- In Intuit's steps, users are prompted to sign in to an Intuit account when a transaction needs approval, and approvers sign in to approve. An admin invites Intuit account users at Company > Users > Intuit Account User Management.
- We suggest deciding the rules before you build them: which amounts, vendors or vendor types need approval, and who approves each.

Setting up users and roles is covered in [How to set up users, roles and permissions in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/users-roles-permissions-enterprise/). To compare subscriptions, see [QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise editions](https://logistify.ai/compare/quickbooks-desktop-enterprise-editions/).

This guide covers only the approval process in Intuit's QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise article, not approval features in other QuickBooks products.

## How approval works

| Stage | Where | Who |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Set up the rule | Company > Set Up Approval Processes | The admin or the Intuit account primary admin |
| Send for approval | When QuickBooks finds that a new purchase order or bill needs approval | The user entering it |
| Approve or reject | Company > Track and Approve Transactions | The approver named in the rule |

*Based on Intuit's article on purchase order and bill approval in Enterprise 22.0.*

## Step 1: Create the approval process

1. Go to Company > Set Up Approval Processes.
2. Select Get Started, then Set up on the purchase order/bill template card.
3. Sign in to your Intuit account as an admin if you haven't already. The approval process creation screen opens.
4. Enter a name and description for the process.
5. Set the conditions that trigger approval. Intuit lists Amount, Vendor name and Vendor type.
6. Choose the approver name and enter the approver's email address.
7. Change the email subject and message if you want. To notify someone else as well, add their email address.
8. Select Save & Activate. Or save the process and activate it later from the Approval processes tab.

Intuit says an active process applies to newly created purchase orders and bills.

## Step 2: Send a purchase order or bill for approval

1. Create the purchase order or bill as usual.
2. When QuickBooks finds it needs approval, sign in to your Intuit account if asked.
3. Select Yes, send for approval to send it to the approver.
4. Or select No, save as draft to keep it as a draft. A draft doesn't affect the register.

Entering the transactions themselves is covered in [How to create purchase orders for items below their reorder point](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/create-purchase-orders-from-reorder-report/) and [How to enter and pay bills](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/enter-and-pay-bills/).

### What doesn't go for approval

- Purchase orders and bills created as an admin.
- Bills created from an item receipt.
- Edits to a transaction's memo or address. Intuit says these don't start the approval process again.

The item receipt rule matters if you receive stock before the bill arrives. Intuit's Enter Bills against Inventory steps convert an item receipt into a bill. Its approval article says a bill created from an item receipt isn't sent for approval. If you want those bills reviewed, we suggest a separate check.

## Step 3: Approve or reject

1. The approver goes to Company > Track and Approve Transactions and signs in if asked.
2. The list shows the purchase orders and bills assigned to them under Pending, Rejected, Approved and All.
3. Select each pending purchase order or bill, then select Approve, or Reject to deny it.

Intuit says the approval list shows only the first 101 transactions. Past that, the admin can't see every pending one. Approving or rejecting transactions makes room for more to appear.

## What happens to transactions that aren't approved

- Drafts: a purchase order or bill saved as a draft doesn't affect the register while it stays a draft.
- Pending: the transaction waits under Pending in the approver's list.
- Rejected: the approver's list shows it under Rejected.
- Intuit's article doesn't say whether a pending or rejected transaction affects the register, or whether a pending bill shows in Pay Bills. We suggest testing this in a sample file before you rely on it.
- Intuit's article also doesn't describe what the person who entered a rejected transaction sees, or how to resubmit it.

## Edit, turn off or delete a process

- Edits apply only to newly created purchase orders and bills. Existing ones still follow the earlier version of the process.
- Turning a process off means new purchase orders and bills won't need approval. Intuit says current transactions still need approval.
- To delete a process that still has transactions needing approval, QuickBooks asks you to delete those transactions first.

## Common problems

- You can't create a process: Intuit says only the admin and the Intuit account primary admin can.
- Your subscription isn't Platinum or Diamond: Intuit says approval processes are only in those two.
- A bill didn't go for approval: check whether an admin created it, whether it came from an item receipt, and whether it matches the rule's conditions.
- A rule change didn't reach older transactions: edits apply only to new purchase orders and bills.
- The approver can't see everything waiting: the list stops at 101 transactions until some are approved or rejected.

## Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

- Intuit's article lists three conditions: amount, vendor name and vendor type. Checks it doesn't list, such as whether a price matches the quote, stay with a person.
- Admin users and bills created from item receipts skip approval, so those need their own review if you want one.
- Someone has to work the Pending list, and it shows only the first 101 transactions.
- Intuit's article doesn't describe resubmitting a rejected transaction, so following up with whoever entered it falls to your team.
- Paying bills is a separate step in Intuit's accounts payable workflow, so approved bills still need paying.

## How Logistify helps

Logistify doesn't create, approve or pay purchase orders or bills. The [Procurement Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/procurement/) follows up with suppliers on open purchase orders once your team has approved and sent them.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does QuickBooks Desktop have bill approval?

Yes. Intuit says it's available only in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Diamond or Platinum, set up for purchase orders and bills at Company > Set Up Approval Processes.

### Who can set up an approval process in QuickBooks Enterprise?

Intuit says only the admin and the primary admin in the Intuit account can create one.

### Do purchase orders and bills entered by an admin need approval?

No. Intuit says transactions you create as an admin won't need approval.

### Where does the approver approve bills in QuickBooks Desktop?

At Company > Track and Approve Transactions. Pending items are listed there, and the approver selects Approve or Reject on each.

### Why didn't my bill go for approval?

Intuit says bills created by an admin or from an item receipt aren't sent for approval. Also check that the bill meets the rule's conditions and was created after you activated the process.

### What happens if I save a purchase order as a draft?

Intuit says a draft doesn't affect the register while it stays a draft.

## Sources

- [Intuit: Set up purchase order and bill approval in Enterprise 22.0](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/pay-bills/set-bill-approval-enterprise-22-0/L5DsRjlOr_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Create and manage users and roles in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/manage-users/create-manage-roles-quickbooks-desktop-enterprise/L9z3XdBcQ_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Use Intuit account to manage or invite users in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/manage-users/set-use-intuit-account-user-management-quickbooks/L8CtBaQKK_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Enter bills against inventory](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/item-receipts/enter-bills-inventory/L6UVSttVp_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Accounts Payable workflows in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/pay-bills/accounts-payable-workflows-quickbooks-desktop/L6te5f7ph_US_en_US)