Short answer
An online approval system routes requests such as purchase requests, leave and expense claims to the right approver under your company's rules, and records who approved what and when. For a few document types with a short chain, an online form or your existing software is enough. Rules by amount or department, feeding purchasing or accounting, justify a custom system.
Key points
- Thailand's Electronic Transactions Act, section 9, lets an electronic approval replace a signature if it identifies the signer reliably.
- The hard part is writing down the approval limits for each department, not the software.
- There are four options: an online form and sheet, a built-in feature, a subscription service, or a custom build.
- Every approver needs their own login, and the approval history must not be editable after the fact.
- Approvers can be notified in LINE, but messages the system sends count as LINE OA push messages.
What is an online document approval system?
It replaces walking paper between desks, or photographing a form into a chat and waiting for "OK". An employee fills in a request, the system applies the rules and sends it to the right approver, and the approver approves, returns it for changes, or rejects it with a reason. Every step records who acted and when.
The biggest gain is not speed alone but being able to look things up later: at audit time, when someone asks who approved a purchase, or when a manager wants to know whose desk a request is stuck on.
- RequestAn employee fills in a purchase request, leave form or expense claim.
- RoutingThe system checks amount and department and sends it to the right approver.
- DecisionThe approver approves, returns it for changes, or rejects it with a reason.
- HistoryEvery step is recorded with a name and time, searchable later.
- Next stepThe approved document moves on, for example a purchase request becomes a purchase order.
Which documents should go through online approval first?
Start with the document you handle most often, or the one that gets stuck most. There is no need to move every type at once.
- Purchase requests (PR) that become purchase orders (PO) for the supplier once approved.
- Leave requests, checked against remaining leave before they reach the manager.
- Expense claims and cash advances, with a photo of the receipt attached.
- Discount or special-price approvals before a quotation goes to a customer.
- Contracts, or any document that has to pass through several departments.
Which approval rules should you agree before building anything?
Write down the rules people carry in their heads, as a table; that is harder than the software. If nobody can say who approves a purchase request of this amount from this department, the system cannot either. The table shows the shape; the amounts are illustrative only.
- Who approves when the approver is away, and after how long does it escalate automatically?
- Does a document edited after approval need approving again?
- Can the requester and the approver be the same person?
- Who can see which documents, such as salary advances or personal details?
| Request amount | First approver | Second approver |
|---|---|---|
| Up to THB 10,000 | Department head | None |
| THB 10,001 to 100,000 | Department head | Division manager |
| Over THB 100,000 | Division manager | Managing director |
Does an online approval replace a signature in Thailand?
In principle, yes. Section 9 of the Electronic Transactions Act B.E. 2544 (2001) says that where the law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies it if the method identifies the signer, shows that the signer approved the content, and is reliable for the purpose. A system where each person logs in with their own account and the record shows who approved which version, and when, makes those points far easier to prove than an "OK" in a chat.
Tax documents such as tax invoices follow separate Revenue Department rules, and some documents still have a method set by law. This guide is not legal advice; before dropping paper signatures on important documents, ask a lawyer or your auditor.
Typing "OK" in a LINE chat
- Must prove which document the "OK" referred to
- Hard to prove the document was not changed afterwards
- Hard to find again once the chat grows
Approving in a system
- Each approver logs in with their own account
- The approval is tied to that exact version
- A record of who approved, and when
Free, built-in, subscription or custom: which approval option fits?
Choose by the number of document types, how complex the rules are, and which systems the approval must feed. There is no need to start with the most expensive option.
| Online form and sheet | Feature in software you use | Approval subscription service | Custom build | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suits | One document type, short approval chain | Work already in that software, such as leave in an HR program | Several document types, standard rules | Company-specific rules, links to purchasing, accounting or LINE |
| Cost | Free, or included in a service you have | Included in the licence, or an add-on | Per user per month | One-off build, plus support |
| Rules by amount and department | Limited | As far as the software allows | Mostly | Any rule you define |
| Approval history | Only what the sheet keeps, and editable | Yes | Yes | Yes, with reports you design |
| Where the data lives | In the account of whoever built it | With the software vendor | With the service provider | Where you choose |
Can approvers be notified in LINE?
Yes, and it is the main reason requests stop getting stuck. The approver receives a LINE message, taps through to the details and approves there, signing in with LINE Login so the system knows who they are. Note that notifications the system sends on its own count as LINE OA push messages; with a high volume of requests, send a periodic summary instead of one message per request.
What does a company purchasing system cover beyond PR approval?
It runs from request to supplier choice, order, goods receipt, and finally the payable and payment; approving the purchase request is only the first step. When each step lives in a different file, the hardest questions are whether everything ordered arrived, and whether the right amount was paid.
Thailand's e-GP, which often comes up when searching for purchasing systems, is the Comptroller General's Department system for government buying, not a private company's internal purchasing system. The table shows a typical company's purchasing steps.
- A supplier register with tax ID, bank account and payment terms.
- Agreed prices with regular suppliers, so every PO uses the same price.
- Reorder points for raw materials, with an alert when stock falls below them.
- For restaurants and multi-branch businesses, combining every branch's order before it goes to the supplier.
- Withholding tax certificates when paying for services or hire of work.
| Step | Document | What the system does |
|---|---|---|
| Request | Purchase request (PR) | Routes approval by amount and department |
| Compare and choose a supplier | Supplier quotations | Keeps quotations with the request and shows prices paid last time |
| Order | Purchase order (PO) | Created from the approved PR without re-keying |
| Receive | Goods receipt | Checks received against ordered, adds to stock |
| Record and pay | Supplier invoice and tax invoice | Matches PO, receipt and invoice before payment |
| Report | Purchase summary | Spend by supplier, department and project |
When should you build your own approval system?
Build when approval rules are specific to your company and approved documents must move on to other systems: a purchase request that becomes a purchase order, reduces a project budget and creates a payable in accounting without re-keying. If all you need is for leave forms to stop going missing, use what you already have first.
Before building an approval system
- Is the approval matrix written down for every department?
- Is delegation agreed for absent approvers?
- Do you know which system each approved document must flow into?
- Does every approver have their own login, with no shared accounts?
- Is there a record of who approved which version, and when, that cannot be edited later?
- Have you asked your auditor which documents still need a paper signature?
Frequently asked questions
What does a purchasing system include?
Usually purchase requests with approval, a supplier register, stored quotations for price comparison, purchase orders, goods receipts, a three-way match of order, receipt and invoice before payment, and purchase reports. With stock, receiving adds to inventory and low stock triggers a reorder alert.
Is there a free online document approval system?
Yes. The simplest is an online form that feeds a spreadsheet, with approvers updating a status column, or the approval feature in the office suite you already pay for. It suits one document type with a short chain. The limits are weak rules by amount, and a history that can be edited after the fact.
Does an online approval count as a signature in Thailand?
Under the Electronic Transactions Act B.E. 2544, section 9, an electronic signature can satisfy a legal signature requirement if the method identifies the signer and their approval and is reliable for the purpose. Individual logins plus a record of who approved which version help prove both. Ask a lawyer about important documents.
What is the difference between a PR and a PO?
A purchase request is an internal document in which a department asks approval to buy. A purchase order goes to the supplier after the request is approved. A good system turns the approved request into the order without re-keying, so the two never disagree.
Is approving in a LINE chat legally valid?
It may serve as evidence, but it is harder to prove: you must show which document the message referred to and that the document was not changed afterwards. A system that ties each approval to a specific version and keeps the history is far clearer to audit. For the legal effect on important documents, ask a lawyer.