Master purchase order management with Zahara
Streamline procurement, reduce fraud, and simplify your purchasing process with Zahara's cloud-based PO software. Get set up in hours, not weeks.
Invoice-led purchasing vs PO-led control
When purchasing is led by invoices, finance only sees the detail after money has already been committed. By then, it is harder to question rogue spend, check budgets, or prove what was approved.
Zahara replaces that messy process with automated purchase order software, so every request, approval, supplier, and order is tracked in one place before the invoice arrives.
Approve purchases before they happen. No more surprises.
Invoice-led purchasing
Without an agreed purchase order upfront, finance is left checking costs after teams have already committed to the spend.
PO-led control
Purchase requests move through structured approval workflows, so spend is agreed, tracked, and visible before suppliers are instructed.
Thousands of finance teams trust Zahara to control purchase orders, budgets, suppliers, and approvals
This month
£18,500
+8% vs last month
Zahara is crafted to be user-friendly for everyone. Any authorised user can quickly generate a purchase order with minimal training. Our ultimate aim was to ensure accessibility, so the entire interface is thoughtfully designed to be user-friendly in every possible way.
The platform's high accessibility not only streamlines operations but also lowers the overall cost of ownership, as new teams or recruits can take advantage of our helpful guides and quick learning videos.
Set teams up without heavy training
A Purchase Order (PO) is more than just paperwork—it's your safety net. Think of it as a legally binding document that spells out the details of your transaction: quantities, prices, delivery dates, and the specific goods or services being purchased. By eliminating ambiguity, a PO ensures that everything is crystal clear and nothing is left to chance.
Implementing POs across your business isn't just about avoiding mistakes—it's about creating a structured process that empowers your team to work confidently, knowing they have a clear framework to operate within.
In Zahara, a purchase order starts the buying process. It's a controlled way to request spend internally. Think of it as asking, “Can I buy this?” but with structure, visibility and approval built in. The steps below show how that request moves through suppliers, budgets, approvals, and finance controls.
Zahara makes managing suppliers and inventory effortless. Email suppliers directly, request pricing in seconds, and use our import module to update product lists and access the latest pricing without hassle.
Need to keep track of new suppliers? Set up Microsoft Teams alerts to notify your finance team, ensuring all due diligence checks are completed seamlessly.
Keep supplier details clean before orders go out
Zahara allows you to create budgets for both departments and projects. These budgets can be granular—against GL codes, or cost centres with flexible periods. They're easy to set up and allocate. When users create spend requests, they can see how their purchase will affect the budget.
Managers can be notified of budgets being exceeded and refer to budgets when making approval decisions. Budgets provide a framework for your departmental and project spend.
Spot budget issues before the PO is approved
I prefer to find out about budget overruns at month-end.
Said no one ever.
Using Zahara's conditions, you can create multi-step approval workflows that involve different managers depending on the situation. It could be that a purchase exceeds a budget or the value requires authorisation from the CFO.
Whatever you need, you can specify it and create the perfect approval process in minutes. You can also send emails, change field values, and send purchase orders to vendors. The approval process is then a complete workflow with a full audit trail behind every request.
Build approval workflows around the way your business buys
Chasing managers to approve purchases by email is my favourite task.
Said no one ever.
Zahara's mobile app makes expenses a breeze. Your team can submit, approve, and track claims from anywhere. With automated approval workflows and full audit trails, managing expenses has never been this effortless.
Zahara's invoice processing software streamlines your accounts payable while safeguarding your business from potential risks.
By automating invoice checks, Zahara reduces the human errors caused by filing fatigue and uses advanced AI and OCR technology to analyse every invoice. Each one is cross-checked against your purchase orders, GRNs, and past records to detect even the smallest signs of fraud.
An effective purchase order (PO) is more than just a shopping list; it's a cornerstone of efficient procurement. It should include:
We try and keep things simple. The result of this is our software doesn't take long to adopt and set up. The users quickly learn how to create purchase orders and to wait for approval before placing their orders with your suppliers. Our user interface is intuitive and allows your teams to adopt Zahara without lengthy training.
Approvals are a big part of Zahara and help control costs because management are checking requests for spend ahead of commitment. Your managers (or approvers) can take action in several ways including mobile app, email, web app and a reminder / daily digest email. They can see all of the narrative of the purchase order and any budgets.
Purchase Orders are very easy to create in Zahara. They can be created from within the web app or on the mobile app. The user will have a pre-agreed set of permissions and will be able to choose a supplier and then key in or import the goods or services required. The purchase order is then sent into a workflow which typically includes approval and sending to the supplier.
While both documents are integral to the purchasing process, they serve distinct purposes. A purchase order is a request made by the buyer to procure goods or services, acting as an authorisation for the supplier to deliver these items. In contrast, a purchase requisition is an internal document, often with a separate numbering system, that is used for the approval of the spend request.
Purchase orders play a crucial role in the efficient operation of businesses. They provide transparency, helping to prevent misunderstandings and disputes between buyers and suppliers. Additionally, purchase orders serve as essential financial and inventory management tools, enabling organisations to track expenses, plan budgets, and maintain accurate records of procurement activities.
