Best Practices for Purchase Order Management

For legal operations in the EU, pre-approving spend using purchase orders is more than good hygiene, it is a compliance and billing safeguard. This guide outlines practices to keep PO workflows audit-ready, VAT-compliant, and fully optimized within Emburse Invoice Enterprise. By creating POs through a standardized requisition and approval process, your organization can reduce AP overhead, improve accuracy, and avoid post-transaction delays.

Centralize PO Creation

Why It Matters

Dispersed PO creation leads to billing errors, budget leakage, and audit risk.

How To Do It

• Use standardized PO templates that include
  • Vendor Name
  • Matter Number or Client Code
  • Description
  • Quantity and Estimated Amount
  • VAT Category
  • Budget Code
• Link each PO to a specific client engagement or internal cost center for transparency.

Automate Approval Workflows

Why It Matters

Manual approval routing creates bottlenecks.

How To Do It

• Configure tiered approval thresholds in Emburse Invoice Enterprise.
  • Example: €1,000 = manager, €5,000+ = partner
• Ensure clear tracking of audit fields (submitted date and approved date) to monitor SLA metrics.

Enforce Invoice Matching

Why It Matters

Invoice matching ensures vendors bill only for approved goods or services.

How To Do It

• Require vendors to include PO numbers on all invoices.
• Enable 2-way or 3-way matching in Emburse Invoice Enterprise.
  • 3-way: Use for physical goods and verifiable deliverables like
    • IT hardware, office supplies, print collateral
    • Catering, marketing deliverables, logistics
    • Software licenses (per seat/per unit)
  • 2-way: Use for services like
    • Legal counsel, consultants, expert witnesses
    • SaaS, research services, education/training
    • Transcription, translation, agency fees
• Set variance rules (e.g., ±5%) to auto-flag mismatches.

Ensure VAT and EU Compliance

Why It Matters

Errors in VAT classification can result in penalties or lost recoverables.

How To Do It

• Assign VAT categories correctly per PO, especially for cross-border services.
• Retain all PO data and documentation for at least 7 years.

Align with Legal Billing Models

Why It Matters

Aligning POs to client and matter codes supports accurate client billing and strengthens trust.

How To Do It

• Map each PO to a client or matter code.
• Conduct monthly vendor or matter spend reviews for audit readiness.

Provide Training and Support

Why It Matters

Knowledge gaps lead to compliance risk.

How To Do It

• Include PO process training in new-hire onboarding.
• Run quarterly refreshers for AP, Legal Ops, and Procurement.
• Define escalation paths (e.g., AP Lead or Help Desk).

Maintain Vendor Master Data

Why It Matters

Outdated vendor data causes delays and potential legal exposure.

How To Do It

• Ensure the following vendor information is up to date:
  • Legal Entity Name
  • VAT Number
  • IBAN
  • Country/Region

Enable Visibility and Forecasting

Why It Matters

Access to real-time data prevents overspending and supports budget planning.

How To Do It

• Use Emburse dashboards to monitor
  • Open POs
  • Committed vs. actual spend
  • Flagged exceptions
• Encourage teams to use PO data to plan future case/team budgets.