Prerequisites
Purchase requests are available from 19 May 2026 from the Plus package onwards.
You have approval rights in Candis. All users with approval rights can approve purchase requests, provided they are part of the selected approval workflow.
Purchase requests are activated in your organisation.
Notifications for approvers
Candis notifies you in two ways when a purchase request is waiting for your approval:
Daily digest email: Candis sends you a daily email that mentions open purchase requests – similar to open invoice approvals.
In-app notification: You receive a direct notification in Candis as soon as a new purchase request requires your approval.
Approving or rejecting a purchase request
You can open purchase requests from the following places in Candis:
The Purchase Requests tab in the approval table
The Purchase Requests dashboard (table view)
The tiles on the main dashboard
The approval counter in the sidebar
To approve a purchase request:
Open the purchase request from one of the entry points listed above.
Review the details in the right panel (form fields) and the middle panel (PDF preview).
Click Approve.
Tip: The left panel shows metadata, attachments, linked documents, the edit history, and comments – all the information you need to make your decision.
If the net amount of the purchase request exceeds a threshold defined in the workflow, Candis automatically forwards the request to the next approver or team. At the final approval step, Candis automatically generates the purchase order number.
To reject a purchase request:
Open the purchase request.
Click Reject.
Enter a reason – this is always required.
Note: The submitter will receive an email notification with your reason for rejection. They can then edit the purchase request and resubmit it.
Managing purchase order numbers
Candis generates the purchase order number automatically after final approval. The format consists of the prefix defined by administrators and an ascending number.
After approval, administrators, accountants, and involved users (submitter and approvers) can manually edit the purchase order number – for example, to align it with a number in an external ERP system:
Open the approved purchase request.
Click on the purchase order number in the form.
Update the number and save the change.
Purchase request status lifecycle
A purchase request goes through the following statuses:
Status | Meaning |
Waiting for approval | The purchase request has been created and is awaiting approval. |
Approved | The purchase request has received final approval; Candis has generated a purchase order number. |
Rejected | The purchase request has been rejected; the submitter can edit and resubmit it. |
Cancelled | Approved purchase requests can be cancelled; this status is final. |
Partially fulfilled | The purchase request is approved and linked to at least one invoice, but not yet fully covered. |
Fulfilled | The purchase request is fully covered by linked invoices. |
Status transition rules:
Transitioning from Approved to Partially fulfilled or Fulfilled requires at least one linked invoice.
Candis automatically updates the status when you link an invoice to the purchase request – depending on whether the invoice amount meets or falls below the purchase request amount. You can find more details in the article "Linking purchase requests to invoices".
If all linked invoices are removed, the status automatically reverts to Approved.
Statuses can be updated manually by: administrators, accountants, and the original submitter.
Note: Cancelled purchase requests cannot be deleted. Purchase requests that have not yet been approved can be deleted by the submitter and by administrators or accountants.
Remaining amount of a purchase request
For partially fulfilled purchase requests, Candis displays the open remaining amount. This lets you see at a glance how much of the budget has not yet been covered by invoices.
Calculation:
Remaining amount = Net amount of the purchase request − Sum of linked invoices
If the net amount of a linked invoice is not available, Candis uses the gross amount as a fallback. If the linked invoices exceed the purchase request amount, Candis displays 0 as the remaining amount.
Note: The remaining amount is only shown in the original currency of the purchase request. Amounts in other currencies are not included in the calculation. The remaining amount is not a separate filter field – it is for overview purposes only.
Collaboration via comments and mentions
You can communicate directly with colleagues within a purchase request:
Open the purchase request.
Switch to the Comments section in the left panel.
Write your comment and use @name to address colleagues or teams directly.
Mentioned users automatically gain read access to the purchase request and receive both an email and an in-app notification.
Permissions overview
Action | Submitter | Approver | Accountant / Admin |
View own purchase requests | Yes | — | — |
View all purchase requests | — | — | Yes |
View purchase requests as approver | — | Yes | Yes |
View PRs accessible via mention | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Edit & resubmit | Own only | — | — |
Approve / Reject | — | Yes (if assigned) | Yes (if assigned) |
Update status | Yes (own) | — | Yes |
Delete (before approval) | Yes (own) | — | Yes |
Cancel (after approval) | — | — | Yes |
Example
A team lead sees in her daily digest email that purchase requests are waiting for her approval. She opens the first request directly from the email, reviews the description and net amount, and approves it. The amount exceeds the second threshold in the workflow – Candis automatically forwards the purchase request to management. She rejects the second purchase request with the reason "Business partner not approved". The submitter immediately receives an email with the reason.