Know what's committed before a dollar is spent
Create, approve, and track purchase orders that stay connected to your budget, your vendors, and your approval chain — from first request to final payment.
Purchase orders
Committed before it is spent
Raise the order, match it against what actually arrived, and watch the budget account for it while it is still a commitment.
Smarter purchase orders
Raise it, then three-way match the order, the invoice and the receipt before anything is paid.
Flows
Branch it, delay it, dry-run it.
Unified tasks
Every open ask in one grid.
Self-approval skip
Raise it yourself, skip your step.
Vendor portal
Every vendor gets a home to sign, upload and get paid.
Schedule payments
Pay now or pick the send date.
Smart documents
Folders that fill themselves, and every figure traces back.
Draft → Paid
Full PO lifecycle tracked
3 payment paths
Invoice, bill pay, or link to actual
Real-time
Budget projections update on submit
0 duplicates
Finalized POs lock automatically
Budget integration
Every PO updates your budget the moment it's submitted
Stop discovering committed costs weeks after the fact. When a PO is submitted, projections update instantly. When paid, spend transitions from committed to actual automatically.
- Committed spend reflected in real-time projections
- Paid POs transition to actuals automatically
- Add a PO Phase to budgets as a living commitment ledger
Budget projection
Approval workflows
Route POs to the people who actually own the budget
Configure approval rules by project type, dollar threshold, and department. Approvers get notified instantly and can approve, reject with notes, or request modifications.
- Threshold-based routing by amount, dept, or project
- Email + in-app notifications for approvers
- Reject with notes or request modifications before commit
Approval rules
Amount > $10,000
Line Producer → Prod. Accountant
Amount > $25,000
LP → PA → Executive Producer
Dept = Camera
DP → Line Producer
Payment & close
Three ways to close a PO — pick what fits
Once approved, close the PO by requesting a vendor invoice, sending payment through bill pay, or linking to an existing actual. Finalized POs lock automatically to prevent duplicates.
- Vendor receives a payment link for self-service invoicing
- ACH, wire, or check through Saturation bill pay
- Finalized POs lock — no edits, no duplicate invoices
Close a PO
Request vendor invoice
Most commonVendor receives a payment link and submits their invoice. Goes through approval, then ACH pays automatically.
Send payment directly
Use Saturation bill pay to send ACH, wire, or check. Approval workflow triggers before transfer.
Link to existing actual
Connect the PO to an expense already recorded, or create a new actual manually.
How it works
Three steps from commitment to close
Create the PO
Vendor, line items with quantities and rates, budget category, and any supporting documents — captured in one form.
Route for approval
The PO moves to the right approvers based on your rules. Reviewers approve, reject with notes, or request changes.
Pay & reconcile
Request a vendor invoice, send payment, or link to an actual. Budget projections update automatically.
What changes with Saturation Purchase Orders
Vendor commitments live in email threads and verbal agreements
Every commitment documented with vendor, line items, and budget context
Budget projections miss committed spend until invoices arrive weeks later
Projections update the moment a PO is submitted
Approval authority is informal — whoever answers first
Approval rules route by project, threshold, and department
Duplicate invoices and overpayments slip through unmatched
Finalized POs prevent duplicates and lock the record
Wrap becomes forensic reconstruction of who committed what
Clean ledger of every commitment, approval, and payment at wrap
Purchase Order FAQs
Common questions from production companies evaluating PO workflows.
See more of Saturation
A purchase order is one end of the thread. The chain that approves it, the payment that settles it and the budget it commits against are the same system, so the money is accounted for before it moves.
Flows
Branch it, delay it, dry-run it.
Payments
Every payment, in one place.
Budget Engine 2.0
One engine. The numbers agree.
Control spend before it happens, not after
Give your production the procurement discipline of a Fortune 500 finance team with the speed film and TV actually demands.
Available on the Production plan. No credit card required to start.