Guide people through buying something
Purchases follow the process without people learning it first.
IT and admin · When you ask · Updated
Works with
- Slack
SlackHow do you guide people through buying something?
To guide people through buying something, share your purchasing policy with Maito and let employees ask in Slack. It asks what and how much, explains the route that applies, who must approve and how long it takes, and warns about traps like multi-year prepayments before the request begins.
How it's done today
Procurement steps are a mystery to most people.
What Maito does
- Ask what they want to buy
- Explain the steps for that amount and type
- Start the request
Example
@Maito I want to buy a design tool for the team. About $3,600 a year.
Under $5,000 a year, so the short route: • Your manager's OK, in writing. • Security review by Ben, about 5 business days. • Omar approves anything over $2,500, so he'll see this one. Catch: we go by total commitment, not the annual price. If the vendor asks for a 2-year prepay, that's $7,200 and the over-$5,000 route applies, with a contract review by Claire. Which tool, and how many seats? I'll start the request.
@Maito Pied Piper Design, 12 seats, annual.
Started request PR-0412: Pied Piper Design, 12 seats, $3,600 a year. It's with Kate for the manager OK. Ben's review begins after that. Nothing is bought until Omar approves.
Priya (10:05 AM):
I want to buy a design tool for the team. About $3,600 a year.
Maito (10:06 AM):
Under $5,000 a year, so the short route:
• Your manager's OK, in writing.
• Security review by Ben, about 5 business days.
• Omar approves anything over $2,500, so he'll see this one.
Catch: we go by total commitment, not the annual price. If the vendor asks for a 2-year prepay, that's $7,200 and the over-$5,000 route applies, with a contract review by Claire.
Which tool, and how many seats? I'll start the request.
Priya (10:09 AM):
Pied Piper Design, 12 seats, annual.
Maito (10:10 AM):
Started request PR-0412: Pied Piper Design, 12 seats, $3,600 a year. It's with Kate for the manager OK. Ben's review begins after that. Nothing is bought until Omar approves.
How to set it up
- Set up
Nothing to set up. Ask in Slack or by email whenever you need it.
What it won't do
It only knows the policy you have shared, so rules that live in someone's head are missed. It can't approve or pay for anything.
Questions
From your purchasing policy and what the team has told Maito. It applies your thresholds rather than inventing any.
No. It guides the request and asks the right people for approval. Payments and signatures stay with your team.
It can collect the details and send them to the approver by Slack or email. It doesn't approve spending on its own.
