Patent attributes
A purchase request system efficiently procures goods and services by recognizing purchase authority levels of users within an enterprise, division, or project team. Administrators establish authority levels to ensure that purchase requests within a user's authority level are automatically processed and submitted to vendors for fulfillment of orders, while purchase requests beyond a user's authority level are routed according to a determined protocol. Determined protocols include routing the purchase request to a designated user with a different authority level for disposition, rejection of the purchase request, or modification of the purchase request in accordance with the determined protocol. Users may select from multiple payment methods to complete a purchase transaction and may access the purchasing system in real time to determine the status of an order at any point in the life cycle of the purchase request, from submission of the request to payment for received goods and services.
