Overview
Configure your team’s purchasing policies to ensure compliance and prioritize cost savings. These policies are used in AI compliance checks run through ASK AI. They will also guide Contract Owners and Tropic’s team in presenting proposals that align with your organization's policies. You can update these settings at any time.
If you use Tropic's Assisted Purchasing or Expert Advisory services, these policies help guide negotiations to meet your requirements.
Once you create your first policy in the new system, all compliance checks will automatically begin using it. After 90 days, legacy preferences will be hidden and no longer used, even if you haven’t completed all your new policies.
Step-By-Step Demo
Tip: You can navigate back and forth between steps by positioning your mouse at the bottom of the demo screen. A progress bar will appear, allowing you to jump to different steps as needed.
Prerequisites
To edit procurement policies, you must have the Owner role.
Before configuring your policies, we recommend gathering input from these internal stakeholders:
- Finance
- IT
- InfoSec
- Legal
- Procurement
- Security
Understand which policies are strict requirements and which are preferred. Clarify any allowable exceptions so you can document them properly. This helps ensure that AI compliance checks and negotiation strategies reflect your organization’s standards accurately.Core Capabilities
There are 7 common policies we recommend you set:
- Auto-Renewal
- Net Payment Terms
- Payment Frequency
- Payment Method
- Term Length
- Brand and Reference Leverage
- Documents
Each of the above policies have their own unique parameters that you can set (for example, preferring an Annual payment frequency).
For each policy, you can set your policy exceptions and restrictions.
- Exceptions are when deviations from the preferred option is allowed. For example, you can say that semi-annual payments are sometimes allowed only when there is a 20% discount.
- Restrictions are options that are never allowed. For example, you can say that monthly payments are restricted. This means we do not do monthly payments under any circumstance.
Note: We recommend adding a new note for each exception/restriction.
You can create policies specific to your organization and include restrictions and exceptions.
How to Configure Default Procurement Policies
You can configure your procurement policies as settings in your Tropic account.
- Go to Settings
- Select Procurement Policies
- Click the 3 dots {...} on the policy you want to configure and Edit
- Set your preference, exceptions, and restrictions
- Click Save in the upper right corner of the page
Open the Details window to view who created or modified the policy and when
How to Configure Custom Procurement Policies
- Go to Settings
- Select Procurement Policies
- Click Add Policy
- Assign a category or create a new one (link “here”provided in Step 1)
- Enter a policy name and a short description (these will appear to users during the compliance check).
- Enter the ideal outcome negotiators should aim for by default. Document the preferred result or requirement, and include any relevant notes or context. If there are multiple preferred options, list each one as its own note.
- Set your exceptions and restrictions. Use a new note for multiple exceptions/restrictions.
- Click Create Policy.
How to Start a Compliance Check
Once your policies are set, you can run a compliance check on any request. AI will evaluate the information from the request against your policies and highlight any concerns. You can start a compliance check by using Ask AI.
- Navigate to the request you want to check.
- Click on Ask AI in your upper right hand
- Type or select Check compliance in the chat window
- Select the document(s) to include in the review
- Wait a few moments for processing
After the review:
- The AI will flag any policy violations
- You can view which specific policies were not met and why
- Save the results to the request for future reference
Tips for Using This Feature Effectively
- Use a new note for each exception/restriction.
- Keep your policy library updated with recurring review workflows.
- Use exceptions to document edge cases when standard rules don’t apply.
- Encourage stakeholders to adopt the new system early to avoid duplicate efforts during the transition period.
- Assign policies to categories to clarify department ownership.
FAQs
Q: What happens to our existing procurement preferences during the transition?
A: Your existing preferences will remain viewable in read-only mode for 90 days. Once you create your first new procurement policy, compliance checks will begin using the new policies. After 90 days, all checks will use the new system exclusively.
Q: How does the AI Compliance Check work with procurement policies?
A: When you run a compliance check, AI compares the request details and uploaded documents to your defined procurement policies. It flags any non-compliant items and explains which policies were not met and why.
Q: What’s the difference between standard and custom policies?
A: Standard policies come pre-configured and cover common procurement topics. Custom policies let you create entirely new rules tailored to your organization, including preferences, exceptions, and restrictions.
Q: Will changes to policies impact saved compliance checks?
A: No. Once a compliance check is completed, the results remain fixed. Changes to policies only apply to future checks.
Q: What happens if a policy isn’t met during a compliance check?
A: The system flags the issue and includes an explanation. You can document exceptions in the check results, but overriding the result is not currently supported.
Additional Resources
For more training guides or documentation, please visit our Help Center. Our resources provide detailed guidance to help you navigate Tropic effectively.