Who Can Buy
Purchase approval
Letting the client sign off orders before you make them, when to use it, and what it costs in delay.
Last updated September 2, 2026
Purchase approval decides whether an order goes straight into production or waits for someone at the client to accept it.
| Setting | What happens |
|---|---|
| Automatic approval | The order is placed and comes to you. Fastest, and right for anything the buyer pays for themselves. |
| Approval required from client | The order waits until a store administrator approves or rejects it. |
When approval is the right answer
- The client is paying, and wants to control what their staff order.
- There is a uniform allowance or a budget per person.
- Orders need checking against an entitlement — who is allowed the jacket.
Where the buyer pays with their own card, approval usually just adds delay to a transaction nobody needs to police.
Approval and payment go together
Payment can be taken at purchase, or held until the order is accepted. Taking it on acceptance is the fairer pairing with approval — nobody is charged for an order that gets rejected.
APPROVAL IS ONLY AS FAST AS THE APPROVER
Orders sitting unapproved for a fortnight look to the buyer like an order that never arrived, and you get the chasing email even though nothing is on your desk. Agree who approves and how quickly before switching it on, and name a second person.