On Approval orders

Overview

When creating order items, you can flag specific items as being on approval. Approval order items are those items which the supplier sends to the library for evaluation prior to acceptance. This is in contrast to firm order items which are processed as outlined earlier. When the order item is received, it can be checked in as normal or it can be flagged as Received. The only search in the Order Items domain that retrieves On Approval items is the On Approval/Sample Copy Order Items search.

If a supplier allows a set number of days for evaluation of approval items before they must be returned or accepted, this default number of days should be set on the supplier’s record. 

Default approval period for a supplier

For Suppliers who offer this service set the Default Approval Period (days) field on the Supplier Details page. OLIB uses this to automatically calculate the correct period for approval items.

Ordering On Approval items

1. Approval order items are processed in the same way as normal order items except the On Approval flag should be set to Yes.
2. It is optional whether or not you add an item price at this stage BUT the Account Instance, from which the item will be paid if it is approved, should be added. If an item price is added, the amount will be committed as usual.
3. Save the order items and order header details as normal and progress the order to Outstanding.

Receiving On Approval items

This action receives the item but does not necessarily mean it will be accepted:

1. When on approval items physically arrive, go to Order Items.
2. You can use the On Approval/ Sample Copy Order search to retrieve them.
    Note: A filtered search for On Approval order items, due for return before a specified due return date can be useful if many on approval copies are being processed.
3. Select the relevant order item and from available Actions choose Receive On Approval Item.
4. In the Receive On Approval Items page, enter the number of copies received. The Due for Return date automatically sets to the current date plus the supplier's default approval period. Amend if required. The Ordered For user name is also displayed for information.
5. Save the record to return to the order items hitlist. Refresh the search to show the status of the order item has changed to Received.

If you want to keep the item, then at a later date you can check-in as normal.

Check-in On Approval items

This action indicates that the item has been permanently accepted:

1. In Order Items you can use the On Approval/ Sample Copy Order search to retrieve the items.
2. Select the relevant order item and from available Actions choose Check-in.
3. In the Check In page verify the number of copies received as usual. OLIB will create Copy records from the check-in process as normal.

Reject On Approval items

This action rejects the item because it is to be returned to the supplier. The order item becomes Cancelled but is retained for reporting purposes.

1. In Order Items you can use the On Approval/ Sample Copy Order search to retrieve the items.
2. Select the relevant order item and from available Actions choose Reject On Approval Item.
3. This presents a new page. Complete the No Rejected field and a provide a Reason for rejection if required. When you save the record, this sets the status of the order item to Cancelled.

If you added an item price at the point of ordering, this amount is de-committed and a Credit Commitment Adjustment is shown on the Account Instance record. When you do a related search on the Credit Commitment Adjustment, the Notes field explains that the credit adjustment has taken place because of a rejection. Remember that the ordering process has created a title record that will now have an order status of order Cancelled. You will probably wish to delete this title record.