Within a business, people make internal requests that need authorising, and those should go through a proper workflow. This piece is about approvals and internal request workflows in Odoo.
The edition note
The Approvals capability in Odoo, for internal request workflows, is part of Odoo Enterprise, not Community. A business that wants it needs the Enterprise edition.
What internal requests are
Within a business, people make internal requests: requests for something to be authorised, a request for something the business has to approve before it happens. There are many kinds of internal request a business might have, the common thread being that the request is something internal that needs a deliberate authorisation. Handling these internal requests is the matter here.
Why internal requests need a workflow
Internal requests, handled informally, have the familiar problems of informal handling. A request made informally, by an email or a conversation, can be forgotten or lost. It can be unclear whether the request was authorised. There can be no record of the request and its decision. It can be inconsistent, different requests handled differently. An internal request workflow fixes this: the request goes through a proper, managed workflow, made as a recorded request, routed for the decision, the decision a clear, recorded step. The internal request becomes a managed thing rather than an informal, uncertain one.
What the Approvals capability does
Odoo's Approvals capability handles internal request workflows: a business can have its kinds of internal request defined, so that an internal request is made through the system, routed for approval, and approved or refused, with the request and its decision recorded. The internal request workflow makes the handling of an internal request managed: the request is on the record, it is routed to whoever should decide, the decision is clear and recorded.
What internal request workflows achieve
Internal request workflows achieve, for internal requests, what managed handling achieves generally. No request is lost, because it is a recorded request in the system. The decision is clear, because the approval is a recorded step, so it is unambiguous whether a request was authorised. There is a record of the request and its decision. And the handling is consistent, requests of a kind handled the same managed way. For a business with internal requests that genuinely need authorising, an internal request workflow makes that authorising properly managed.
Use it where requests genuinely need authorising
An honest note. Internal request workflows are for internal requests that genuinely need a deliberate authorisation. They are worth setting up for the kinds of internal request the business genuinely has that genuinely warrant an approval. They should not be imposed on routine internal matters that do not genuinely need authorising, since that would add friction without genuine control. A business should set up internal request workflows for the genuine internal requests that genuinely need authorising, and leave routine internal matters to flow.
The takeaway
Approvals and internal request workflows in Odoo, part of the Enterprise Approvals capability, make internal requests that need authorising go through a proper, managed workflow: the request made as a recorded thing, routed for a decision, approved or refused as a clear, recorded step. This achieves, for internal requests, no request lost, the decision clear and recorded, and consistent handling. Use internal request workflows for the genuine internal requests that genuinely need authorising, and leave routine matters to flow. For how we approach Odoo, see our ERP practice.