---
title: "Overview of requests for Payhawk Accountants"
slug: "overview-of-requests-for-accountants"
description: "Learn how purchase orders and requests are managed in the Payhawk spend management platform: explore stages, attach documents and match invoices to goods."
updated: 2026-10-19T12:37:40Z
published: 2026-10-19T12:37:40Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/overview-of-requests-for-accountants"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://payhawk.com/help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview of requests for Payhawk Accountants

Requests in Payhawk are a fundamental part of the end-to-end accounts payable process within a company and help businesses provide transparency when managing their resources and relationships with suppliers.

## Specifics

- [All employees with access to the request](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8498753-overview-of-requests-for-employees) can:
  - Attach request documents
  - Upload and link invoices to requests
  - Add request comments
  - View the request activity
  - Submit the respective expenses for approval
- [Payhawk Administrators manage](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8499775-overview-of-requests-for-administrators) the request types, the additional fields that are required for each type, purchase order numbering conventions, discrepancy rules, approval workflows, and receipt requirements for the expense categories of the request types.

## Lifecycle of requests

Each request in Payhawk goes through stages managed by specific people or roles, based on workflows set by your company’s Payhawk Administrators - for example, some steps, like review or approval, may be skipped.

The following table shows the request phases corresponding to the respective tabs in the **Requests** app, the actions that can be taken at each stage, and who is allowed to do them.

| **Phase & corresponding Requests tab** | **Actions, roles, and responsibilities** |
| --- | --- |
| **Submit** | This tab contains requests that have not been submitted or have been returned to the requester. From here, requesters, authorized employees, and roles can: - [Create and submit requests](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/10248481-creating-and-submitting-requests) - [Edit and delete requests](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8499083-editing-and-deleting-requests) - Attach request documents (for example, quotes or contracts) - [Comment and view request activity](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/9712292-commenting-on-requests) - [Duplicate requests](/help/creating-and-submitting-requests#duplicating-requests) in any status, including requests owned by other employees Once submitted, the request will automatically: - Move under the **Review** tab if the request is set to require review. - Move under the **Approve** tab if the request doesn't require review. |
| **Review** | This tab contains requests that are submitted but not reviewed, or are returned to the reviewers for additional review. From here, reviewers, authorized employees, and roles can: - [Review requests](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/10374475-reviewing-requests) - [Edit and delete requests](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8499083-editing-and-deleting-requests) - [Return the request to the employee](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8498949-approving-and-declining-requests) - Attach request documents - [Comment and view request activity](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/9712292-commenting-on-requests) Once reviewed, the request will automatically: - Move under the **Approve** tab if the request is set to require approval. - Move under the **Receive** or **Invoice** tab if the request doesn't require approval. |
| **Approve** | This tab contains requests that are reviewed but not approved yet. From here, approvers, authorized employees, and roles can: - [Approve requests](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8498949-approving-and-declining-requests) - [Return requests for review](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8498949-approving-and-declining-requests) - [Return requests to the employee](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8498949-approving-and-declining-requests) - [Delete requests](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8498949-approving-and-declining-requests) - [Edit requests by adding a supplier and updating the request items' categorization](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8499083-editing-and-deleting-requests) - Attach request documents - [Comment and view request activity](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/9712292-commenting-on-requests) Once approved, the request will automatically: - Move under the **Receive** tab if the expense category of the request is set to require a receipt note. - Move under the **Invoice** tab if the expense category of the request doesn't require a receipt note. ​ |
| **Receive** | This tab contains requests that require a receipt note and have been approved but not (fully) received. From here, authorized employees and roles can: - [Edit requests by adding a supplier and updating the request items' categorization](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8499083-editing-and-deleting-requests) - [Close requests](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8548258-closing-requests) - [Return requests for review](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8498949-approving-and-declining-purchases) - Attach request documents, [receipt notes](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8523783-viewing-and-uploading-receipt-notes-for-requests), and [invoices](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8523786-viewing-and-uploading-invoices-for-requests) - [Comment and view request activity](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/9712292-commenting-on-purchases) Once the received status of all request items has become **N/A**, **Full**, or **Discrepancy**, the request will automatically move under the **Invoice** tab. |
| **Invoice** | This tab contains requests whose items are fully received (that is, have the **N/A**, **Full**, or **Discrepancy** received status), but the request is not yet invoiced. From here, authorized employees and roles can perform the same actions that are available at the **Receive** step. Once the invoiced status of all request items has become **Full** or **Discrepancy**, the request will automatically move under the **Pay** tab. ​ |
| **Pay** | This tab contains requests whose items are fully received (that is, have the **N/A**, **Full**, or **Discrepancy** received status) and invoiced (that is, have the **Full** or **Discrepancy** invoiced status), but one or more associated invoices are still not paid. From here, authorized employees and roles can perform the same actions that are available at the **Invoice** step. Once the invoiced status of all request items has become **Full** or **Discrepancy**, the request will automatically: - Be closed if the auto-close option has been enabled and the criteria are matched. - Move under the **Close** tab for manual closure. ​ |
| **Close** | This tab contains the requests whose items are received and invoiced (that is, have the **Full** or **Discrepancy** invoiced status), but the request is not yet [close](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8548258-closing-requests). From here, authorized employees and roles can perform the same actions that are available at the **Receive** and **Invoice** step. Once the request has been manually closed, it will automatically move under the **All** tab. |
| **All** | This tab contains all requests regardless of their above-mentioned statuses. |

## Matching requests with receipts and invoices before payment (two- and three-way matching)

Requests that have been set to require a receipt note for goods or services require a testimonial of delivery in the form of a Goods Received Note (GRN) or receipt note. Once the receipt note is accepted, the supplier sends an invoice to the buyer requesting payment for the delivered goods or services.

The invoice is automatically linked to the request or purchase order when Payhawk’s automation tool extracts the ID from the invoice. If the request or purchase order ID is not present on the invoice, you can manually add it by selecting the request in the **Request** field of the expense **Details** section or, for an expense with line items, in the **Request** field of each line item. As a result, a three-way matching accounting process is automatically performed by Payhawk, meaning that the system checks the quantity between the request and the receipt note, and then the amount on the request and the supplier's invoice.

Requests that do not require a GRN (receipt note) trigger a two-way matching process. The Payhawk system automatically checks the amount on the request and the supplier's invoice.

> [!TIP]
> Depending on the internal policy of your company, the organization may require receipt notes for requests for both goods and services.

## Useful resources

- [Matching request items with different invoices or invoice lines](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/8498753-overview-of-requests-for-employees#h_146cfecdae)
- [Recurring requests](https://help.payhawk.com/en/articles/10164759-creating-and-submitting-recurring-requests)