How the approval workflow cost calculator works
Purchase approvals feel free because no one invoices you for them — but they consume some of the most expensive time in the business. Each requisition typically passes through several people, and every step means someone stops to review, question or sign off a request. The calculator multiplies your annual requisition volume by the number of steps, the minutes spent per step and the fully-loaded hourly cost of the people involved to reveal the true annual cost of your approval process.
It then applies your automation rate to estimate what you could recover. Digitising routine, rules-based approvals — through pre-approved catalogues, spend thresholds and automated routing — removes manual steps for low-risk buying while keeping proper scrutiny on high-value or off-contract spend. The figures are directional and make a useful starting point for a business case.
Common questions
What does a purchase approval actually cost?
Most of the cost is hidden staff time. Every approval step means someone stops to review, chase or sign off a request — and each requisition often passes through several people. When you multiply the minutes per step by the number of steps, the number of requisitions and a fully-loaded hourly rate, manual approvals quietly consume a large amount of expensive management time each year.
How does the approval workflow cost calculator work?
You enter how many purchase requisitions you process a year, how many approval steps each one passes through, the average minutes spent per step and the fully-loaded hourly cost of the people involved. The calculator multiplies these to estimate the total hours and money spent on approvals annually, then shows how much automation could recover based on the share of steps you expect to streamline.
How much can approval automation save?
Digitising low-value, rules-based approvals typically removes a large share of manual steps — freeing management time for higher-value work and speeding up cycle times. The exact saving depends on how many steps are genuinely necessary versus habitual; the calculator lets you model a conservative or aggressive automation rate.
Should every purchase need the same approvals?
No. A common source of waste is applying the same multi-step approval to a RM50 order and a RM50,000 order. Setting spend thresholds, pre-approved catalogues and automated routing means routine, low-risk buying flows through with little or no manual sign-off, while high-value or off-contract spend still gets proper scrutiny.
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