# Start here: Author

Prepare supplier data, exact conversions, rules and independent examples.

Source: https://help.smartfact.ai/manuals/purchasing/author

Review edition: 25 October 2026

Roles: author

Authors prepare the supplier catalogue and reviewed rules. These determine the suggestions and checks used in purchasing, but rules never approve or send an order on their own.

## Establish the catalogue

Open **Suppliers** and **Supplier items** within a draft release. Check supplier codes, names, contacts, ordering address and any optional CSV preference. For each item, check its target identity, supplier code, order unit, precision, conversion, pack quantity, minimum and permitted rounding behaviour.

A source-linked item, a catalogue-key-linked item and a local supplier item have different identities. Do not link a similarly named product without checking the actual source and unit. An exact-conversion refusal needs corrected reference data, not a rounded number entered to bypass it.

## Prepare rules with evidence

Use **Rules** and **Examples** for supplier selection, quantity treatment, draft creation, approval routing and sending behaviour. Where a condition proposal is available, read it before adoption. Saving a proposal changes the draft only.

Choose expected outcomes from the business requirement independently. Include an unknown price or currency when value-based approval rules depend on them, plus cases at the actual policy boundary. There is no universal numeric approval threshold to assume.

## Freeze and hand over

Save the full draft, inspect changes against the active release and freeze it to run the saved examples. Freezing and activation are separate. Give the reviewer the exact release, proof, intended changes and any affected destinations or open requests.

A reviewer can return frozen work for correction. Editing invalidates the prior proof, so repeat freeze and review after changes. Work managed through Automation may also require independent case approval and release evidence; local self-review policy is not an exemption.

Authors have a **Needs supplier** view to investigate catalogue gaps. That does not grant order approval or physical receipt authority. See [catalogue preparation](/manuals/purchasing/catalogue) and [rules and releases](/manuals/purchasing/rules-and-releases).