DSP Purchase Approval Process Instructions
- David Harvey
(effective Monday, June 26, 2023)
Instructions for Submitting a Purchase Approval Request
Purchase approval requests will now be submitted by completing a request form in the appropriate Purchase Approval Request log (see arrows below). The new log designs mirror the different sheets that the previous Purchase Approval spreadsheet had for different purchasing thresholds and for fleet equipment purchases.
*Note - If you have completed other SharePoint log entries before, you should find that the new Purchase Approval Request logs work the same way. That being said, please see below for some additional Purchase Approval process specifics, and instructions for how to set up an Alert in SharePoint to track your request’s approval progress.
Links to each of the logs are included on the DSP Office of Budget & Operations Support Site as shown above, and as hyperlinks below for your convenience:
$1,000 to $24,999 - DSP Purchase Approval Requests
$25,000 and Above - DSP Purchase Approval Requests
Fleet Equipment - DSP Purchase Approval Requests
Rather than navigating through SharePoint to find the logs each time, links to any of the logs or any of the individual views within the logs may be saved as internet bookmarks or favorites by user for quick return access.
When the appropriate log is accessed and the button is clicked to submit a new purchase approval request. A form will then open that includes instructions for the information that is to be included for each field. An example of a completed entry is shown below.
New requests are required to have information entered in all of the fields up to the *Purchase Approval Status (Budget Staff Use Only) field, which will default to a Requested status. As the field labels indicate, this field and several others that follow are for use by (Budget Staff Only).
When all of the required field information has been entered, the bottom of the form also provides for attachments to be added. They can be added as follows:
Click on the Add attachments link
Navigate to the file to be attached and click Open.
The file will then be ready to be attached to the record.
When all required entries have been completed and all attachments have been added, click on one of the Save buttons at the bottom or top of the form.
If all of the required fields have been completed, the entry will save and appear in the *Requested (under review) records view, along with any other requests that are under review. The DSP Budget Staff will manage the entries from that point forward. If any of the required fields are incomplete, the entry will not save.
Monitoring the Approval Progress (options)
*Option 1 (best) - One of the reasons that the purchase approval process was moved to SharePoint was to take advantage of the available Alert functionality. Rather than having to regularly check back on the status of your request(s), users can set up an Alert to be notified via email when the purchase approval record that they created has been edited (by Budget Staff). To create an alert that will deliver email notifications, see the instructions below.
Open the log and click on the three dots (ellipses) and choose “Alert me”.
Change the Send me an alert when section to the highlighted option shown below, then click OK.
Each log has its own set of Alerts, so users will need to set up a separate Alert for each different log that they want to receive notifications from.
Option 2 - Each of the logs have also had a variety of views (filters) created that display records as they move through the approval process. Click on any of the views to see where your entry might be in the approval process (Requested, Approved, Denied, or On Hold).
Option 3 - Entries from each of the logs can also be searched using the Search this list box that appears at the top of the page. This feature can be used to search through all historical purchase approval records as well.
The move to use of SharePoint is intended to make the purchase approval process easier for all involved. In addition, the process residing in SharePoint will provide the following additional benefits.
Access from any connected device (computer, smartphone, tablet etc.)
Easier search capabilities for historical records
Time/date/credential stamps for all actions
Simultaneous access ability for multiple users (no locked spreadsheet situation)
Alert functionality
Ability to provide and control access (Read Only, Contribute Only, Edit etc.)
Ability to share information with others in WisDOT (Secretary’s Office, WisDOT Budget Staff etc.)
Ability to export data
Ability to quickly sort and filter data by multiple field types
Ability to create custom views
Even though the effective date is June 26, 2023 for mandatory use, all logs are active as of June 22, 2023 and available for purchase approvals to be entered.
While the new process has undergone a significant amount of testing, please don’t hesitate to report any technical issues that you encounter. Technical questions or reports can be routed to: WSP IT Service Desk
For questions regarding budget or purchasing related issues, please contact the Office of Budget Operations and Support at: DOTDLDSPOfficeofBudgetOperationsandSupport@dot.wi.gov