Coupa End-User Guide HTML5 manual for GitHub Pages

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Coupa End-User Guide

A practical manual for employees who request purchases, approve transactions, receive goods or services, review invoices, submit expenses, and look up spend activity in Coupa.

Start with the workflow
Important: Coupa is highly configurable. Your menus, field names, approval routing, supplier process, and payment rules may differ from this guide. Use this as a baseline, then align it with your internal procurement, AP, expense, tax, and security policies.
Illustration of a request, approval, purchase order, receiving, and invoice workflow
Procure-to-pay in Coupa is a linked chain of request, approval, order, receipt, invoice, and payment activity.

Start here

Quick Start: The End-User Flow

Most Coupa work starts with a business need and ends when the supplier is paid or the employee is reimbursed. The cleanest requests include the right supplier, category, accounting, justification, and attachments before approval starts.

Clickable Process Workflow

Click each hotspot to see what the learner should know before moving to the next step.

Step 1

Plan the purchase

Confirm policy, supplier, quote, budget, category, security, tax, and timing before creating the request. Strong planning prevents slow approvals and invoice exceptions later.

If you are a requester

If you are an approver

If you are a receiver

Orientation

Before You Begin

Coupa is a business spend management platform. End users usually interact with it through purchasing, approvals, receiving, invoices, supplier requests, and expense workflows.

What Coupa does

Coupa centralizes spend requests and routes them through company policy before money is committed. It links documents together so a requester, approver, buyer, receiver, AP user, and supplier can work from one record trail.

What Coupa does not decide

Coupa enforces the configuration your company builds. It does not replace your procurement policy, approval authority, supplier due diligence, tax rules, budget process, data security review, or contract requirements.

Why clean entry matters

Wrong supplier, category, account, quantity, price, or receiving details can delay approvals, PO delivery, invoice matching, and payment. Fixing data early is faster than clearing exceptions later.

Common end-user roles

Role What the user usually does What to watch
Requester Creates carts or requisitions, attaches support, tracks approvals, confirms delivery. Supplier, price, commodity, accounting, contract, quote, and receipt accuracy.
Approver Reviews requisitions, invoices, expenses, and change requests routed by policy. Budget authority, business need, policy fit, risk, and complete documentation.
Receiver Confirms goods received or services performed against a PO line. Receiving the right line, quantity, amount, date, and evidence.
Buyer or procurement contact Supports sourcing, contracts, supplier onboarding, PO questions, and change requests. Requests stuck in buyer action, sourcing needs, supplier setup, and policy exceptions.
AP or invoice owner Processes invoices, resolves match exceptions, handles payment and supplier invoice questions. PO receipt status, invoice mismatches, remit-to data, tax, and payment terms.
Expense user Creates expense reports, attaches receipts, submits for approval and reimbursement. Policy compliance, receipt quality, categories, attendees, currency, and coding.

Purchasing

Buying in Coupa

Buying in Coupa is normally done by creating a cart that becomes a requisition after checkout. The path you choose depends on whether the item is cataloged, supplier-hosted, service-based, or unusual.

Illustration of an employee creating a purchase request with catalog, cart, approval, and accounting panels
Use this section for the shopping, cart, checkout, and requisition-review screenshots from your own Coupa environment.
Sample app view Shop or catalog home

Show users where to search items, open punchouts, and start forms.

Sample app view Cart checkout

Capture ship-to, requested-for, need-by date, accounting, and attachments.

Sample app view Requisition summary

Show status, approval chain, comments, and related documents.

Choose the right buying path

Catalog item

Use when the item is already available in Coupa with approved supplier, price, unit of measure, and category data.

Best for standard office, IT, lab, MRO, or repeat purchases.

Punchout

Use when Coupa sends you to a supplier site, you build a cart there, and the cart returns to Coupa for approval.

Best for suppliers with large or frequently changing catalogs.

Non-catalog or free-form

Use when no catalog item exists and the purchase must be described manually with price, supplier, commodity, and justification.

Best for one-time goods, services, subscriptions, and custom items.

Request form

Use when your company needs structured intake for software, contractors, events, legal review, security review, capital purchases, or supplier onboarding.

Best for controlled categories and policy-heavy spend.

Before creating a request

Gather this Why it matters Example
Business justification Approvers need to understand why the spend is necessary. Project need, customer commitment, renewal, replacement, compliance requirement.
Supplier details Coupa must route the PO and invoice to the right legal supplier. Supplier name, contact, quote, contract, remit-to, tax information if requested.
Price and quantity Approval and invoice matching depend on the requested amount. Quote line, quantity, unit price, shipping, tax, recurring cost, one-time fees.
Accounting Spend must hit the right cost center, GL account, project, region, or entity. Department, account code, project, location, business unit, split coding.
Attachments Support documents reduce back-and-forth and help audit trails. Quote, SOW, contract, renewal notice, security approval, tax exemption, sole source note.
Create a catalog request
  1. Search for the item by keyword, supplier, part number, commodity, or category.
  2. Review item description, price, unit of measure, contract indicator, supplier, and delivery expectations.
  3. Add the item to cart and adjust quantity only when allowed.
  4. Open checkout and verify requester, requested-for user, ship-to address, account coding, need-by date, and attachments.
  5. Submit the cart. Coupa routes it according to approval policy.
Create a punchout request
  1. Select the supplier punchout tile from Coupa.
  2. Shop on the supplier site. Do not complete payment on the supplier site unless your company explicitly allows it.
  3. Return the cart to Coupa using the supplier site's checkout or transfer button.
  4. Review all lines in Coupa. Supplier carts can bring back wrong descriptions, units, shipping, or pricing if the cart changed.
  5. Submit through Coupa for approval and PO creation.
Create a non-catalog request
  1. Choose the non-catalog, free-form, or request form option your company provides.
  2. Enter a precise description. Avoid generic labels like "services" or "materials".
  3. Select or request the supplier. Do not create duplicate suppliers.
  4. Enter quantity, unit price, currency, commodity, accounting, and delivery details.
  5. Attach quote, contract, and other required evidence.
  6. Submit and monitor for buyer, procurement, security, finance, or legal comments.

Document control

Requisitions

A requisition is the internal request to spend money. It is not usually a supplier-facing document. After full approval, Coupa can create a purchase order or another downstream document based on your configuration.

Header fields

  • Requester or requested for: Person who owns the need.
  • Ship-to and attention: Where goods are delivered or who receives service confirmation.
  • Supplier: Legal supplier that will receive the PO.
  • Justification: Business reason and context for approval.
  • Attachments: Supporting documents and audit evidence.
  • Approvers and watchers: People who approve or follow the request.

Line fields

  • Description: What is being purchased.
  • Quantity or amount: Goods use quantity; services may use amount or milestones.
  • Unit price and currency: Basis for approvals and matching.
  • Commodity: Drives routing, spend classification, and policy.
  • Accounting: Cost center, GL, project, entity, region, or split.
  • Need-by date: When delivery or service should happen.

Status meanings

These stock status badges use consistent colors to help learners read the process quickly. Your Coupa environment may use different wording or colors, but the learning model still works: gray is draft/closed, amber is waiting, teal/green is healthy progress, blue is ordered/invoiced, and coral means action or correction is needed.

DraftSaved but not submitted. Color: gray.
Pending approvalWaiting for one or more approvers. Color: amber.
Pending buyer actionProcurement or a buyer must review, source, or adjust. Color: violet-blue.
ApprovedApproval complete; PO creation may be next. Color: teal.
OrderedConverted to or linked with a purchase order. Color: blue.
Partially receivedSome goods or services were received, but not all. Color: light green.
ReceivedDelivery or service completion has been confirmed. Color: green.
InvoicedAn invoice exists and may be matching, on hold, or approved. Color: indigo.
WithdrawnRemoved from approval before completion, if allowed. Color: muted red.
RejectedReturned by approver; revise or restart if appropriate. Color: coral.
ClosedNo further routine action expected. Color: charcoal.
Review and revise a requisition
  1. Open Activity or Recent Activity and choose the requisition.
  2. Read comments and approval history before editing.
  3. If it is still draft, update fields and resubmit.
  4. If it is pending approval, withdraw or request procurement help if your configuration prevents edits.
  5. If it is already ordered, use a PO change request or cancellation process instead of editing the requisition.
Add an approver or watcher

If your configuration allows it, open the approver section and add a person after the current approver, at the end of the chain, or as a watcher. A watcher receives visibility but usually cannot approve. Add approvers only when they have real authority or required context.

Use comments well

Use comments for durable context: what changed, why an exception is acceptable, who confirmed budget, why a supplier was selected, or what is still missing. Avoid using comments as a substitute for required fields or attachments.

Controls

Approvals

Approvals help confirm that spend is necessary, budgeted, compliant, and correctly coded before the company commits money or pays a supplier.

Illustration of an approver reviewing routed requests with approve, comment, and exception states
Pair this section with approved screenshots of the To Do list, approval detail page, and comments panel.
Sample app view Approval inbox

Show where pending approvals appear and how users open them.

Sample app view Approval record

Capture header, lines, attachments, and the approval chain.

Sample app view Reject or comment

Show the comment field and the expected detail for returned work.

What to review before approving

Approve

Use when the request is complete and within your authority.

Reject

Use when the requester must correct the transaction or the spend should not proceed.

Comment

Use when you need clarification or want to document the approval rationale.

Delegate

Use before absence so work does not wait for your return.

Approve from the To Do list
  1. Open your Coupa home page or To Do list.
  2. Select the requisition, invoice, PO change request, or expense report.
  3. Review header, lines, attachments, comments, approval chain, supplier, and coding.
  4. Add comments if needed.
  5. Approve or reject. If you reject, explain exactly what the requester should fix.
Approve from email or mobile

Your company may allow approval from email or the mobile app. Use quick approval only when the notification contains enough detail and you trust the context. Open the full Coupa record when the request is high value, unusual, missing attachments, policy sensitive, or related to an invoice exception.

Supplier commitment

Purchase Orders

A purchase order is the supplier-facing commitment created after the internal request is approved. It tells the supplier what to provide, where to deliver, and how the invoice should match.

Do not bypass the PO

Unless your policy explicitly allows another path, avoid asking a supplier to start work before the PO is issued. Bypassing the PO can create contract, budget, receipt, and invoice problems.

Check PO delivery

If the supplier says they did not receive the PO, verify the PO number, supplier contact, delivery method, and PO status. Then contact procurement or AP with the link.

Change only through process

If price, quantity, supplier, delivery, accounting, or scope changes after approval, use the change request or cancellation process. Do not rely on email promises alone.

Common PO questions

Question What to check Likely owner
Where is my PO? Requisition status, approval history, buyer action, and PO number. Requester, procurement, buyer.
Can I change the order? Whether the PO was issued, received, invoiced, or closed. Requester, buyer, procurement.
Can I cancel the PO? Supplier fulfillment, receipt status, invoice status, and cancellation policy. Requester, buyer, AP.
Why is the invoice blocked? Price, quantity, receipt, tax, shipping, payment terms, or supplier data mismatch. Requester, receiver, AP, supplier.

Receipt confirmation

Receiving Goods and Services

Receiving tells Coupa that the company actually received goods or services. It is often required before AP can pay invoices under 3-way match rules.

Illustration of a receiver scanning delivered goods and matching receipt, purchase order, and invoice documents
Use sanitized screenshots of the receive action, PO line receipt fields, and receipt history when you have permission to publish them.
Sample app view Receive action

Show the button or menu users select from the PO or receiving task.

Sample app view Receipt entry

Capture quantity, amount, date, packing slip, comments, and attachment fields.

Sample app view Invoice match

Show PO, receipt, invoice, and exception areas without sensitive data.

When to receive

Receive when goods are physically delivered, services are completed, or a contractual milestone is accepted. Do not receive early just to clear an invoice unless policy permits it and the business owner confirms performance.

What to receive

Receive the exact PO line, quantity, amount, or milestone that was delivered. If delivery is partial, receive only the partial amount. If the supplier substituted an item or over-delivered, contact procurement or AP before receiving.

Receive quantity-based goods
  1. Open the requisition or purchase order from Activity or your receiving task.
  2. Select the receive action for the correct PO line.
  3. Enter the quantity received, receipt date, packing slip, and comments if required.
  4. Attach delivery evidence when required.
  5. Submit the receipt and confirm the line status updates.
Receive services or amount-based lines
  1. Confirm the service period, milestone, deliverable, or amount completed.
  2. Open the correct PO line and choose the service or amount receipt action.
  3. Enter the amount, percentage, or milestone accepted.
  4. Attach timesheet, acceptance email, SOW milestone evidence, or completion document as policy requires.
  5. Submit and monitor invoice matching.
Correct a receipt

If you received the wrong quantity or line, use the correction, void, return, or negative receipt process your company enables. Correct mistakes quickly and include a comment that explains what happened. If the invoice has already matched or paid, contact AP.

Accounts payable

Invoices

Invoices usually come from suppliers through the Coupa Supplier Portal, supplier actionable notification email, cXML, or email/PDF intake depending on your company's configuration. End users mainly approve exceptions, confirm receipt, or answer AP questions.

Invoice matching at a glance

2-way match

Invoice is compared with the purchase order. Used where receiving is not required or for certain services.

3-way match

Invoice is compared with purchase order and receipt. Used where receipt confirmation is required before payment.

Exception

Something does not match, such as price, quantity, tax, shipping, supplier, receipt, or coding.

2-way match

PO Invoice

AP compares the supplier invoice against the purchase order. This is common for services, subscriptions, or categories where receiving is not required.

  • Supplier and PO are correct.
  • Price, currency, tax, and quantity/amount are within tolerance.
  • No receipt is needed before approval or payment.

3-way match

PO Receipt Invoice

AP compares the purchase order, confirmed receipt, and invoice. This is common for goods or services where delivery must be acknowledged before payment.

  • The PO defines what was ordered.
  • The receipt confirms what was delivered or accepted.
  • The invoice must fit both records or it becomes an exception.

What end users do with invoices

Task When it happens Good response
Approve an invoice Policy routes an invoice to you because you requested, own, or manage the spend. Compare invoice to PO, receipt, contract, and actual delivery. Approve only if accurate.
Resolve a receipt hold Invoice cannot match because receiving is missing or incomplete. Receive delivered goods or services, or explain why the invoice should not be paid yet.
Resolve a price or quantity variance Invoice amount differs from PO or receipt beyond tolerance. Confirm whether the supplier invoice is correct, the PO needs change, or the invoice should be disputed.
Dispute or reject Supplier billed the wrong item, amount, tax, delivery, PO, or legal entity. Add a precise comment and route to AP, procurement, or supplier correction process.
Answer supplier payment questions Supplier asks about payment status or invoice handling. Direct suppliers to the approved supplier channel or AP contact. Do not promise payment outside AP terms.
Review an invoice approval
  1. Open the invoice from To Do, email, mobile, or Activity.
  2. Check supplier, PO, invoice number, invoice date, currency, amount, tax, shipping, and payment terms.
  3. Compare invoice lines to PO lines and receipts.
  4. Open attachments and confirm the legal invoice is readable.
  5. Approve, reject, dispute, or comment according to what the invoice needs.

Employee spend

Expenses

If your company uses Coupa Expenses, employees can create expense reports for reimbursement or corporate card reconciliation. Expense features vary widely by company policy.

Illustration of receipt capture, expense report review, supplier profile cards, onboarding, and support routing
This artwork also supports the supplier and support sections; add internal screenshots for exact expense categories, receipt capture, and supplier request forms.
Sample app view Expense report

Show report header, line categories, receipt attachments, and policy warnings.

Sample app view Supplier request

Capture the fields needed to request or update a supplier.

Sample app view Support routing

Show where users go for procurement, AP, expense, or IT help.

Prepare

Collect receipts, trip purpose, attendee list, merchant, date, amount, currency, exchange rate, project, client, and policy justification.

Create

Start a report, choose expense categories, enter line details, attach receipts, and code each line correctly.

Submit

Review warnings, fix policy errors, add comments for exceptions, and submit to the approval chain.

Track

Monitor approval, reimbursement, card matching, and returned reports in Activity or expense history.

Create an expense report
  1. Open Expenses and create a new report.
  2. Add a descriptive report name, business purpose, date range, and trip or project context.
  3. Add each expense line with category, merchant, date, amount, currency, attendees, and accounting.
  4. Attach receipts or use mobile receipt capture if enabled.
  5. Fix policy warnings. If an exception is legitimate, explain it in comments.
  6. Submit and respond quickly to approver or audit questions.
Common expense issues
  • Missing receipt: Attach replacement evidence or complete the missing receipt affidavit if policy allows it.
  • Wrong category: Choose the category that matches the actual spend, not the easiest approval path.
  • Personal charge: Mark as personal or follow payroll/card repayment process.
  • Split expense: Split by project, attendee, department, or business purpose if required.
  • Returned report: Read the approver comment, revise the line, and resubmit.

Supplier data

Supplier Requests and Updates

Supplier setup is usually controlled because supplier master data affects contracting, risk review, tax reporting, invoicing, and payment. Always search before requesting a new supplier.

Screenshot guidance: Use only sanitized, approved supplier-form screenshots. Hide tax IDs, bank data, personal contact details, contract terms, and any internal risk scoring before publishing.
1

Search first

Confirm the supplier is not already active under a legal name, DBA, parent company, or alternate spelling.

2

Submit request

Provide business reason, category, expected spend, contact details, quote or contract, and any risk information.

3

Review and vetting

Procurement, AP, tax, legal, security, privacy, or risk teams review the supplier before use.

4

Supplier completes setup

The supplier may need to provide tax, address, contact, payment, insurance, banking, and portal information.

5

Approval to use

Only create the purchase request after the supplier is approved and active. Do not promise work or payment before approval.

Request a new supplier

  1. Search for the supplier by legal name, DBA, domain, tax ID fragment, or known contact.
  2. If no match exists, open the new supplier request form.
  3. Enter legal name, address, website, contact name, email, category, country, and purpose.
  4. Attach quote, SOW, contract draft, due diligence, or other required evidence.
  5. Submit and monitor onboarding status before creating or completing the purchase request.

Request supplier updates

  1. Open the supplier record or supplier update form.
  2. Describe the needed change: contact, address, bank, tax, remit-to, payment terms, or catalog.
  3. Attach evidence. Sensitive payment changes often require stronger validation.
  4. Do not send bank updates through informal email channels if policy forbids it.
  5. Wait for approval before relying on the updated data.
Security note: Supplier bank or remit-to updates are high-risk. Follow your company's fraud prevention procedure, callback validation, and AP controls before any payment data change.

Visibility

Search, Activity, and Reporting

Most day-to-day questions can be answered from the document record: status, approval chain, comments, attachments, history, related PO, receipt, invoice, and payment information.

Operational tracking

Find aging requests, blocked approvals, POs pending receipt, invoices on hold, and supplier setup tasks before they become escalations.

Audit evidence

Use related documents, comments, approvals, attachments, and history to explain who did what, when, and why.

Spend visibility

Review spend by supplier, commodity, requester, department, project, period, or status when your role has access.

Exception management

Track invoice mismatches, missing receipts, returned expense reports, supplier data issues, and policy exceptions.

Need Where to look Helpful filters
Find my request Activity, My Requests, or search. Requester, status, supplier, date, requisition number.
Find a PO Orders, Activity, related documents. PO number, supplier, requisition, order status.
Find approvals waiting on me Home, To Do, approval inbox. Document type, age, amount, requester.
Find invoices needing action Invoices, To Do, AP exception views. Status, hold reason, supplier, PO, request owner.
Audit what happened History, comments, approvers, related documents. Timestamp, user, action, comment, attachment.
Support inventory audits Orders, receiving history, asset or inventory exports if enabled. PO line, item, delivery location, requester, receipt date, remaining quantity.
Review invoice history Invoices and related PO records. Supplier, invoice number, PO, status, hold reason, payment date, fiscal period.
Monitor supplier activity Supplier record, onboarding tasks, PO and invoice activity. Supplier status, category, owner, last transaction, pending forms.

Common reports and saved views

Open requisitionsRequests still waiting on approval, buyer action, or correction.
POs pending receiptOrders where goods or services may have arrived but receipts are missing.
Invoice hold reportInvoices blocked by missing receipt, price variance, tax, or supplier data.
Invoice historyPaid, approved, disputed, or on-hold invoices by supplier and period.
Inventory audit supportReceived item quantities, delivery sites, requesters, and PO references.
Supplier onboarding queueNew suppliers awaiting requester, procurement, AP, security, or supplier action.
Approvals agingWork waiting for manager or policy-owner action beyond the expected SLA.
Expense exceptionsReports returned, missing receipts, policy warnings, or corporate card mismatches.
Create a useful saved view

If Coupa allows saved views, create views for work you repeat: pending approvals older than 3 days, requisitions pending buyer action, POs pending receipt, invoices on hold, or expenses returned by approver. Name views clearly and avoid private abbreviations that others cannot understand.

Managers only

Mobile Access and Notifications for Managers

Assume mobile access is enabled only for managers. The mobile experience should help managers clear approvals and respond to time-sensitive work, not replace full desktop review for complex transactions.

Manager mobile use

Approve low-risk requisitions, invoice approvals, and expense reports when the notification contains enough detail.

Escalate to desktop

Use the full web app when the item is high value, policy sensitive, attachment-heavy, supplier-risk related, or tied to an invoice exception.

Notification rule

Manager notifications should focus on approvals waiting for action, returned work, comments that need response, and SLA-sensitive exceptions.

Recommended manager notification settings

Notification Recommended channel Manager action
New approval assigned Email and mobile push Open the record, review essentials, approve or return with a clear comment.
Approval aging or SLA reminder Mobile push Act the same day or delegate if you are unavailable.
Requester comment or clarification Email Respond in Coupa so the decision trail stays with the transaction.
Invoice or expense exception routed to manager Email, then desktop review Use desktop for line-level review, attachments, receipt validation, or dispute notes.
Manager mobile approval checklist
  • Know the requester: Confirm the spend belongs to your area of responsibility.
  • Check the amount: Review total, currency, one-time versus recurring cost, tax, and shipping.
  • Scan risk: Do not approve from mobile if supplier, legal, security, privacy, or contract context is unclear.
  • Leave useful comments: If returning work, name the exact correction needed.

Help

Troubleshooting

When asking for help, include the document number, link, supplier, status, screenshot if allowed, what you expected, what happened, and the deadline or business impact.

Problem Likely cause What to do
Cannot log in Wrong URL, SSO issue, inactive user, MFA setup, or role not assigned. Use the official company link, try SSO again, then contact IT or Coupa admin.
Cannot find a supplier Supplier not onboarded, duplicate naming, inactive record, or restricted access. Search by legal name and domain, then submit a supplier request if no match exists.
Request stuck in pending approval Approver has not acted, delegated incorrectly, or routing found a missing approver. Check approval chain, add a comment, remind approver, or contact procurement/admin.
Request stuck in buyer action Procurement review, sourcing, contract, supplier, or category policy issue. Read comments, provide missing details, and contact the named buyer or procurement queue.
PO not sent to supplier PO transmission failure, wrong supplier contact, blocked supplier, or approval not complete. Verify PO status and supplier contact, then ask procurement/AP to resend or correct.
Cannot receive You are not the receiver, PO line is closed, receiving is not required, or permissions are missing. Check requested-for user and PO line status, then ask procurement or Coupa admin.
Invoice on hold Missing receipt, PO mismatch, price variance, tax issue, or supplier data problem. Open the hold reason, correct receipt or PO data, comment for AP, or dispute with supplier.
Expense returned Missing receipt, wrong category, policy exception, attendee issue, or coding error. Read approver comment, revise the line, add support, and resubmit.
Search results are poor Wrong filter, date range, status view, supplier name, or document type. Clear filters, search by document number, widen date range, and use related documents.

Reference

Glossary

Use these plain-language definitions when training new users or writing local support articles.

Account coding

Financial segments such as cost center, GL account, department, project, region, or entity.

Approval chain

The ordered list of people or groups that must approve a transaction.

Buyer action

A procurement review step before a requisition can continue or become a PO.

Catalog item

An approved item with predefined supplier, description, price, and category data.

Commodity

Spend category used for classification, routing, reporting, and policy control.

Coupa Supplier Portal

A supplier-facing portal where suppliers can manage POs, invoices, and related customer activity when enabled.

Invoice exception

A mismatch or policy issue that prevents straightforward invoice approval or payment.

Non-catalog request

A manually entered purchase request for an item or service not found in the catalog.

Purchase order

The supplier-facing order document generated after approval.

Punchout

A supplier website launched from Coupa that returns a cart to Coupa for approval.

Receipt

Confirmation that goods or services were delivered or accepted.

Requisition

The internal request to buy goods or services.

Watcher

A user who receives visibility or notifications but normally does not approve.

Control model

Governance and Good Practice

A good end-user guide should teach the workflow and the control mindset. The goal is not just to click the right button; it is to create clean, auditable spend records.

Buy on policy

Use approved suppliers, preferred contracts, and required forms. Do not split purchases to avoid approval thresholds.

Document the why

Approvers should not need to guess. Put the business reason, project, quote basis, and exception rationale in the record.

Respect data sensitivity

Do not attach confidential, personal, health, payment, or customer data unless policy allows it and the transaction requires it.

Keep the trail in Coupa

Use comments and attachments so future reviewers can understand decisions without hunting through email.

Receive honestly

Only receive what was delivered or accepted. Receipt quality directly affects invoice payment.

Escalate early

If a supplier, PO, invoice, or payment is time-sensitive, add that context before deadlines become emergencies.