User Management and Approvals

Manage company users and follow role-based order and quote approval flows in the B2B Commerce Frontend.

The B2B Commerce Frontend combines company user management with role-based purchasing approvals. A customer with the Admin role can create users and assign them to the Admin, Buyer, or Requester group. The assigned group and the company purchasing limit determine whether a customer can complete a purchase or must request approval.

To create users and assign roles in the storefront, see User Management. For approval configuration in the Management Dashboard, see Companies and Groups.

How roles affect approvals

Role	Purchasing and approval behavior
Admin	Can complete purchases and approve requests that exceed the company purchasing limit.
Buyer	Can complete purchases within the company purchasing limit and approve Requester purchases within that limit. Purchases above the limit require approval from an Admin.
Requester	Must request approval for every purchase. A Buyer or Admin can approve requests within the company purchasing limit; an Admin must approve requests above the limit.

If the company has a dedicated approval group, its members replace the standard Buyer and Admin approvers. Only members of that approval group appear when a customer selects an approver.

Requesting approval for an order

A Buyer whose order exceeds the company purchasing limit, or a Requester placing any order, sends an approval request during checkout.

1

Complete the checkout details

Add products to the cart and provide the delivery and payment details at checkout.

2

Start the approval request

Accept the terms and conditions, then select Inquire for Approval instead of placing the order.

Requesting approval during checkout

3

Choose an approver

Select an eligible approver, add an optional comment, and select Submit request.

4

Track the request

The approver receives an email notification. The requester can track the request under Order Management → Approvals.

Quote approvals

Approvals also apply to quotes. When quote approval is enabled, a customer who does not have permission to accept an Open quote can send it to an eligible company approver. The requester and approver can track the request under Order Management → Approvals.

Quote approval is disabled by default. Enable Enable quote approval process (approval.enableQuoteApprovalProcess) under Settings → System Preferences in the Management Dashboard. For configuration details, see System Preferences – Approvals.

For the complete process, see the quote approval flow in the Quotes guide.