Outgoing Purchase Orders
An Outgoing Purchase Order (OPO) is a formal commitment raised against a supplier for costs that have been defined on the project’s Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). OPOs are created from Purchase Costs that were added to the WBS during the proposal stage and are used to manage, approve and receipt third-party expenditure on an active project.
The OPO workflow follows a defined lifecycle from creation through approval, issuance and receipting, ensuring that all external commitments are properly authorised before being recorded against the project budget.
Accessing OPOs
Outgoing Purchase Orders can be accessed in two ways:
Via a Project - Within an active project, select the Finance section from the project navigation and then select Outgoing PO from the submenu. This view shows all OPOs associated with that specific project.
Via the Global Finance Module - Users with the Finance permission role can access and create OPOs across all projects through the global Finance module from the main Proteus navigation menu.
OPO Index
The OPO Index displays all existing Purchase Orders associated with the project, along with their current status. From here, new OPOs can be created and existing ones can be managed through the available actions.
Creating an Outgoing Purchase Order
How to Create an OPO
NOTE: Purchase Approvers are configured in the Admin Console under Finance Settings. If no approvers are available in the dropdown, contact your Proteus administrator to have approvers set up before proceeding.
On the OPO Index, select Create Outgoing Purchase Order to open the creation form.
Select the supplier for the Purchase Cost(s) by ticking the checkbox next to the relevant Purchase Cost. The supplier shown is the one that was selected when the Purchase Cost was added to the WBS during the proposal stage.
Select the Receipt Type for the Purchase Cost:
Quantity — Used when receipting is based on a specific number of units received.
Value — Used when receipting is based on a monetary value. No quantity is entered when this type is selected.
If the supplier was originally set to Unknown on the WBS, select Update Supplier to assign the correct supplier before proceeding.
Review and edit the cost details as required, including the cost value for this PO.
Add the From and To addresses for the Purchase Order.
Enter the Expected Receipt Date.
Select a Purchase Approver from the available options.
Add any applicable Public Notes to be included on the Purchase Order PDF.
Select Create Outgoing Purchase Order to save the OPO in Draft status.
NOTE: Public Notes are preset text blocks created in the Admin Console. They appear on the Purchase Order PDF issued to the supplier. See the Finance Settings article for guidance on creating Public Note presets.
Requesting Approval
Once the OPO has been created it will be saved in Draft status. To progress it through the approval workflow, an approval request must be submitted.
Navigate back to the OPO Index.
Locate the newly created OPO and select the 3 dots (…) on the right-hand side of the row.
Select Request Approval. The OPO status will update to Pending Approval and the assigned approver will receive an email notification.
OPO Statuses
Each Outgoing Purchase Order moves through a defined set of statuses as it progresses through the procurement workflow. The current status is visible on the OPO Index against each record.
Status | Description |
Draft | The OPO is being created or revised. The supplier, addresses, cost details and approver can be edited at this stage. |
Pending Approval | The OPO has been submitted for approval and is awaiting a decision from the assigned Purchase Approver. The OPO cannot be edited while in this status. |
Issued | The OPO has been approved and issued. Receipting can now begin against this PO. |
Cancelled | The OPO has been cancelled and can no longer be modified or receipted against. |
Partially Received | The OPO has been receipted against (and can therefore be included on an invoice) but outstanding value or quantity remains to be received. Receipting can continue until all value has been accounted for. |
Fully Received | All value or quantity against the OPO has been receipted. The PO is considered complete. |
OPO Approval
Once an OPO has been submitted for approval, the assigned Purchase Approver will receive an email notification. The approver can review and action the OPO either directly from the email or from within Proteus.
Approving or Denying via Email
The approver receives an email notification informing them that a Purchase Order is awaiting their decision.
Select the link within the email to be taken directly to the Approve / Deny OPO page in Proteus.
Review the OPO details and select either Approve & Issue or Deny.
Approving or Denying via Proteus
Navigate to the OPO Index for the relevant project, or access the OPO via the global Finance module.
Locate the OPO in Pending Approval status and select the 3 dots (…) on the right-hand side of the row.
Select View to review the full OPO details before making a decision.
Select Approve & Issue to approve the PO, or Deny to reject it.
Approval Outcomes
Approve & Issue - The OPO is approved and its status changes to Issued. Receipting against the OPO can now begin. The OPO creator is notified by email that the PO has been approved and issued.
Deny - The approver is prompted to provide a reason for denial. The OPO is returned to Draft status for revision. The OPO creator is notified by email that the PO has been denied, along with the reason provided.
OPO Receipting
Once an OPO has been approved and issued, receipting can begin. Receipting records the actual goods or services received against the Purchase Order, updating the project’s financial position and tracking expenditure against the committed PO value.
An OPO can be partially receipted multiple times until all value has been received, at which point its status moves to Fully Received.
Pre-Receipting Actions
Before beginning to receipt against an issued OPO, two actions are available from the 3-dot menu on the OPO Index:
Cancel - Permanently cancels the OPO. No further revisions or receipting can be made against a cancelled PO. This action is irreversible.
Cancel and Redraft - Cancels the current issued OPO and simultaneously creates a new Draft copy of it for further revision. This is the recommended approach when changes are needed to an issued PO, as it preserves a record of the original while allowing the revised version to go through the approval flow again.
NOTE: Once receipting has begun against an OPO (i.e. the status is Partially Received), the Cancel and Redraft option may no longer be available. Confirm the OPO details carefully before issuing to avoid needing to cancel and restart the process.
How to Receipt Against an OPO
On the OPO Index, locate the OPO with a status of Issued or Partially Received.
Select the 3 dots (…) on the right-hand side of the row and select Receipt.
Complete the receipt details:
Receipt Date - The date the goods or services were received.
Invoice ID - The supplier’s invoice reference number associated with this receipt.
Receipt Amount - The value or quantity being receipted in this transaction.
Select Create to save the receipt. The OPO status will update to Partially Received or Fully Received depending on whether the full PO value has now been receipted.
TIP: Receipts can be raised incrementally against a single OPO. If a supplier delivers goods or services in multiple stages, raise a separate receipt for each delivery rather than waiting until all items have been received. This keeps the project’s financial tracking accurate in real time.