Dec '25 (edited) • Business & Strategy 🧠
Built PO Validator After Client Approved Wrong Amount Three Times 🔥
Client called me Monday morning. Frustrated tone.
"We keep approving purchase orders that break our company rules. Last month alone: three POs over our $10K threshold got approved anyway."
Their approval process: someone eyeballs the PO email, decides subjectively if it seems expensive, routes accordingly based on feeling.
The problem: "seems expensive" changes by person reviewing and their current mood.
THE AUTOMATED VALIDATOR
Built n8n workflow enforcing purely objective business rules.
Email triggers automatically when PO arrives. Downloads attachment file. Extracts complete vendor details, line items with quantities and prices, financial totals, delivery dates. Validates all calculations with precision. Checks budget threshold enforcement. Routes based solely on data not feelings.
Over $10K threshold: Slack approval request with complete financial breakdown
Under $10K threshold: auto-approved with confirmation notification
Validation fails: rejected with specific errors for correction
Every single PO logged to Google Sheets: complete details, validation results, submitter identification, processing timestamp.
THE VALIDATION RULES
Mathematical precision checking:
Line item calculations accurate to one cent?
Subtotal equals exact sum of all items?
Total equals subtotal plus tax precisely?
Any calculation error over $0.01 flagged?
Budget enforcement system:
Compare final total to $10K threshold
Clear binary routing decision
Zero subjective human judgment
Consistent application every time
Date validation preventing problems:
Delivery date chronologically after order date?
Timeline realistic for delivery logistics?
No scheduling conflicts created?
THE TRANSFORMATION
Before automation implementation:
- 15 minutes checking each PO manually
- 10 hours monthly across 40 POs processed
- Subjective approval decisions varying by person
- Three over-budget approvals in one month
- No audit trail or tracking system
After automation deployment:
- 30 seconds automated validation per PO
- 20 minutes monthly oversight reviewing exceptions only
- Objective threshold enforcement every single time
- Zero over-budget approvals in 4 months running
- Complete Google Sheets historical tracking
Four-month performance statistics:
- 160 POs processed automatically without human checking
- 11 mathematical errors caught before approval happened
- 48 approval requests sent correctly (every one over $10K)
- Zero unauthorized spending occurred
- 100% consistent enforcement maintained
Client feedback after first month running: "This is what systematic process actually looks like. No more guessing."
THE WORKFLOW IMPLEMENTATION
Complete n8n workflow JSON ready to import. Import to your n8n instance. Connect Gmail for procurement email inbox. Connect Google Sheets for audit tracking database. Connect Slack for approval notifications. Customize budget threshold amount in validation node. Test thoroughly with sample POs. Deploy to production environment.
Setup time: 20 minutes total. Maintenance required: minimal ongoing.
JSON workflow file shared here. And i have a lesson in my classroom in this group here
What approval workflows are you still executing manually based purely on gut feelings instead of data?
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Built PO Validator After Client Approved Wrong Amount Three Times 🔥
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