See what purchase management changes at your institution
Before vs. after adding purchase management to iVake
Where you are today
Holding you back
Buying around the process
Raising an indent takes so long that departments buy directly and claim it back, at whatever price the shop offered.
Pain point
The same order typed three times
Indent details go into a register, then a purchase order template, then an email to the vendor, with room for error at every step.
Pain point
Deliveries logged on paper
The store signs a delivery challan, part deliveries live in phone calls, and accounts hunts for all three papers when the bill arrives.
Pain point
Project purchases checked by hand
Buying against a sponsored project means checking a separate sheet of allowed heads, balances and the quotations its rules ask for.
Pain point
- 3+Registers for one purchase
- 2+Times each order is retyped
- WeeksFrom indent to purchase order
Your institution, transformed
Everything connected
The proper route is the quick one
Indents are raised online, checked against budget and routed at once, so ordering properly is faster than the workaround.
Solved
The indent becomes the order
The approved indent turns into a purchase order with its items, rates and budget head carried across.
Solved
Receipts against the order
The store records what arrived, line by line, and any balance stays open against the order.
Solved
Project rules on entry
Indents charged to a project are checked against its allowed heads and balance, with quotations attached where required.
Solved
- 1Record from indent to payment
- 0Orders retyped from a register
- Same dayBudget position after approval
Ready to make the switch? See how it works for your institution.
From indent to purchase order in days, not weeks
When an indent is checked against budget, sent to the right approvers and turned into an order without retyping, departments stop going around the purchase office because the proper route is quicker.
- Indents with item, quantity, estimated cost, budget head and reason, with quotations attached
- Budget checked on submission, and approved amounts held so the next indent sees the true balance
- Approval routes by amount, category, department and budget head, in sequence or in parallel
Vendor records that protect price and quality
When nobody tracks which suppliers deliver on time, charge the agreed rate and send what was ordered, every negotiation starts from memory.
- Vendor scores from on-time delivery, items accepted and prices against agreed rates
- Approved vendors suggested on the indent, with a reason and extra approval needed to go elsewhere
- GSTIN, PAN, bank details and categories such as local or MSME kept on the vendor record
Three-way matching that catches errors before payment
When the order, the goods received and the invoice are compared by hand, duplicate payments and wrong rates get through. Matching them on one record catches the difference before accounts pays.
- Goods received recorded against the order, line by line, from a phone at the store
- Part deliveries keep the balance open on the order, with its expected date
- Order, receipt and invoice compared automatically, with exact matches cleared for payment
Purchase management features
Everything you need to manage purchasing effectively
Online indents
Indents raised with required fields, quotations and supporting documents attached.
Item catalogue
Approved items with agreed rates and vendors, picked rather than typed.
Budget checks
Available balance checked on submission, and approved amounts held against the head.
Quotations & justification
Comparative statements, and reasons recorded for single-vendor or non-standard purchases.
Purchase reports
Spend by department, vendor, category and head, with open orders and part deliveries.
Approval routes
Sequential or parallel approvals by amount and head, with deputies and escalation.
Audit trail
Every indent, approval, order, receipt and invoice logged with who acted and the previous value.
Rollout support
Vendors, items and approval chains configured, with a written rollout plan.
Frequently asked questions
Get answers to common questions about purchase management
How does this stop departments buying outside the purchase process?
By making the proper route the faster one. Indents are raised online, checked against budget on submission and sent to approvers straight away, so an order is placed sooner than a personal purchase can be claimed back. You can also require a purchase order above an amount you set, and budget checks stop indents against heads with no money left.
Can different kinds of purchase follow different approval routes?
Yes. Routes are set by amount, category, department, budget head and vendor type. Approvers can act one after another, at the same time, or a mix of both. A deputy acts when an approver is on leave, and an indent waiting past the time you set moves to the next person. Routes are set up by your administrators, versioned and visible.
How are purchases against sponsored projects and grants handled?
Each project records its allowed heads, balance and the documents its rules require, such as a set number of quotations or a reason for choosing a single vendor. An indent charged to the project is checked against all of these before it reaches an approver, and the project coordinator can be part of the route. Spending reports read from the same records.
What happens when a delivery arrives with fewer items than ordered?
The store records what actually arrived for each line. The balance stays open on the purchase order with its expected date, and the delivered part is matched to the invoice and cleared for payment on its own, without waiting for the rest.
Do vendors need to learn a new system?
No. Purchase orders reach vendors by email, as they do today. Where a vendor prefers, a link lets them confirm the order, update the delivery date and upload their invoice as a PDF, with nothing to install and no account to create.
Does purchasing connect to stock and accounts?
Yes. Received items go into stock at the store that received them, and the matched invoice posts to the books, with the day book and ledgers exported to Tally or Zoho Books. GST on each invoice is recorded against the vendor for your GST reports.
How long does it take to go live?
Purchasing goes live with the rest of iVake: roughly four weeks for a school, six to eight for a university or a group with several campuses. Approval chains are written down in discovery, and vendors and items are imported during migration. Many institutions start with indents and approvals, then add receiving and matching.
Cloud, hosted in your region
REST API & webhooks- SSO: Google, Microsoft & SAML
Encrypted, backed up daily
Built for the DPDP Act- Full security details
Built for your institution type
See how this feature works for your specific institution
CBSE, ICSE & state-board schoolsBooks, uniforms and stationery ordered against budget
UniversitiesAgreed rates shared, with purchasing per campus
Degree collegesLab equipment indents with quotations attached
ITIs, polytechnics & skill centresWorkshop consumables ordered per batch
Playschools & pre-primaryClassroom supplies and small purchases on one record
Professional collegesResearch project indents checked against their allowed heads
Integrations, comparisons & tools
Extend purchase management with integrations, see how iVake compares, and run the numbers
Related features
Accounting
Ledgers and journals, with the day book exported to Tally or Zoho Books.
Inventory Management
Stock across stores and labs, with reorder levels that raise indents.
Expense Management
Staff claims from a phone, checked against policy and budget head.
Financial Management
Fee structures, instalments, receipts and reminders on one ledger.
Asset Management
Equipment requests and assets tracked from purchase to disposal.
Multi-Level Approvals
Approval chains your administrators set up, versioned and visible.
More in finance & administration
Explore other features in this category
Ready to transform your purchasing?
See how iVake takes a purchase from indent to payment on one record, with the budget checked at every step.
Try it free for 30 days. No credit card required.