Purchase Approval Workflow Chart Example

Learn how to draw a purchase approval workflow chart on your Mac, with three swimlanes, an approval decision, and a loop for incomplete requests.

By Daniel McQuillen Published 4 minutes read
Purchase approval workflow chart with three swimlanes, an approval branch, and a loop for incomplete requests

A purchase request looks simple until someone asks who checks the details, who can turn it down, or what happens if the quote is missing. A workflow chart puts those answers on one page. Here’s how to draw one in SimpleDiagrams on a Mac, using a purchase approval process you can adapt to your team.

Set up the swimlanes and start the request

Draw the path for a single request, from submission to an order or a decline. Give each role its own swimlane, a row that holds the steps that role owns.

  • Requester submits the request and adds any missing information.
  • Manager checks the request and decides whether to approve it.
  • Purchasing places the order after approval.

In SimpleDiagrams, find Swimlanes in the shape library and place it on the canvas. Double-click the lane titles to rename them, then name the chart Purchase approval. In the Requester lane, connect a Start oval to a Submit request rectangle.

SimpleDiagrams canvas with Requester, Manager and Purchasing swimlanes. Start connects to Submit request in the Requester lane.
Set up the three roles and draw the first step in the Requester lane.

Draw the approval path

In the Manager lane, add a Check request rectangle and connect it to Submit request. Then add a decision diamond labelled Request complete?. Its Yes arrow leads to a second diamond, Approved?.

From Approved?, draw a Yes arrow into the Purchasing lane. Connect it to Place order, then finish with an Order placed oval.

Use right-angle connectors for the handoffs between lanes. Attach both ends to shapes so the line follows when you move a step. Double-click a connector to label its branch. See the SimpleDiagrams flowchart tools.

Purchase approval chart with the Approved? diamond selected. Both Yes branches lead through Purchasing to Order placed.
Follow both Yes branches to see where the Manager hands the request to Purchasing.

Add the missing-details loop and the declined path

Route No from Request complete? back to Add missing details in the Requester lane. Connect that step back to Submit request so the updated request goes through the same check.

Route No from Approved? to Notify requester in the Manager lane, followed by a Request declined end oval. Keep the return arrow above the main path so readers can follow the loop at a glance.

Completed purchase approval chart. Incomplete requests loop back through Add missing details. Declined requests end after Notify requester. Approved requests go to Purchasing.
The finished chart shows what happens when a request needs more information, is declined, or is approved.

Walk a real request through the chart

Ask someone who handles purchases to trace a request with a missing quote. Who sends it back? Where does the requester resubmit it? Then try an approved request and check that Purchasing can tell when it’s their turn. If anyone has to explain a handoff that the chart leaves out, add it before sharing.

Save the editable diagram for the next revision. Export a PDF for the process guide or a PNG for a team message. To try the example on your Mac, get the SimpleDiagrams Desktop trial.

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