Municipal Operations System Flow
This guide explains the end-to-end flow of the Disbursement Voucher Tracker — a unified municipal government operations platform covering budget planning, procurement, disbursements, inventory, and liquidation.
Every user, regardless of role, plays a part in this flow. Understanding where your work fits helps the whole system run smoothly.
This guide is intended for all users regardless of role. Whether you are a Requester, Accountant, BAC member, or Administrator, this shows the bigger picture of how every action connects.
The Big Picture
The system follows a structured government operations cycle. Every transaction that results in a payment starts from an approved plan and passes through multiple layers of review before funds are released.
Phase 1 — Annual Planning
At the start of each fiscal year, planning begins with the Annual Investment Program (AIP). After approval, child and root/parent offices follow different paths before all PPMPs are consolidated into APP and the shared procurement-to-liquidation flow begins.
| Document | Who Creates It | What It Contains |
|---|---|---|
| AIP (Annual Investment Program) | Planning / Authorized Office | Capital investments, infrastructure, major projects — the starting point for annual planning |
| Approved AIP | Approving Authorities | Officially approved AIP used as the basis for office-level planning |
| WFP (Work Financial Plan) | Child Office | Office-level work and financial breakdown; budget is sourced from the parent office |
| Budget Allocation | LGU Budget Office (Root / Parent only) | Municipal budget allotment after approved AIP, before PPMP for root or parent offices |
| PPMP (Project Procurement Management Plan) | All Offices | Specific items and quantities to procure (from WFP for child offices, or from budget allocation for root/parent) |
| APP (Annual Procurement Plan) | BAC / BAC Secretariat | Consolidated PPMPs from all offices, used as the official procurement basis |
Planning begins with AIP, which must be approved before office-level work continues. Child offices prepare WFP from the approved AIP (using budget from the parent office), then PPMP. Root or parent offices perform budget allocation after approved AIP, then PPMP. All office PPMPs are consolidated into APP before procurement begins. From APP onward, both office types follow the same flow through procurement, disbursement, and liquidation.
Phase 2 — Procurement Cycle
Once office PPMPs are consolidated into the approved APP, all offices follow the same procurement process.
| Step | Module | Key Roles Involved |
|---|---|---|
| Create PPMP | Planning / PPMP | PPMP Preparer, PPMP Approver |
| Submit Purchase Request | Procurement / PR | Requester, Department Head |
| Create & Publish RFQ | Procurement / RFQ | BAC Secretary, BAC Members |
| Evaluate Bids | Procurement / Canvass | BAC Committee (HOPE, BAC Chair, Members) |
| Issue Purchase Order | Procurement / PO | BAC Secretary, GSO |
Phase 3 — Disbursement Process
After goods are ordered (or for direct payment scenarios), a Disbursement Voucher is created and routed through the approval chain.
The approval chain shown above is the standard flow. The number of required BAC signatures, which offices are included, and their sequence can all be configured by the System Administrator under Admin → Settings → Approval Configuration.
Different voucher types (GSO vouchers, HR vouchers, etc.) may follow different approval paths.
DV Approval Levels at a Glance
| Level | Office / Role | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Source Office / Department Head | Initial validation |
| 2 | BAC Members | Concurrent sign-off (count set in Admin) |
| 3 | Budget Office | Allotment availability check |
| 4 | Accounting Office | Pre-audit and journal entry |
| 5 | Treasury Office | Check preparation and release |
| 6 | Mayor's Office | Final approval authority |
At any level, the voucher can be returned for correction. The requesting office will be notified and can resubmit after making the necessary changes.
Phase 4 — Inventory & Liquidation
After funds are released, the physical delivery is recorded in inventory and the transaction is liquidated.
| Step | Module | Key Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection | Post-delivery | Inspectorate Head, Inspector |
| Inventory receipt | Inventory | Inventory / Property Custodian |
| Material Requisition | Inventory / MR | Property Custodian, Recipient Office |
| Liquidation | Disbursement | Accounting, Liquidation Personnel |
Module Summary
Here is a quick reference for every module in the system and where it fits in the flow:
| Module | Phase | Purpose | Who Uses It |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIP | Planning | Annual investment program (planning entry point) | Planning Office, Department Heads |
| WFP | Planning | Work and financial plan (child offices; budget from parent) | Child Offices |
| Budget Allocation | Planning | Municipal budget allotment (root/parent offices only) | LGU Budget Office |
| APP | Planning | Annual procurement plan (consolidated PPMPs) | BAC Secretary, HOPE |
| PPMP | Procurement | Per-department procurement plan | All Departments, BAC |
| PR | Procurement | Individual purchase requests | Requesters, Department Heads |
| RFQ | Procurement | Request for quotation and bidding | BAC, BAC Secretary |
| PO | Procurement | Purchase order to supplier | BAC Secretary, GSO |
| DV | Disbursement | Payment voucher | GSO, HR, All Departments |
| Inventory | Post-disbursement | Stock and property tracking | Property Custodian |
| MR | Post-disbursement | Material requisition | Property Custodian, Recipients |
Configurable Approval Settings
The system is designed for flexibility. Administrators can configure approval flows for each module without modifying any code.
Go to Admin → Settings to configure:
- Number of required BAC signatures per voucher
- Which offices are included in the DV approval chain
- Approval sequence and routing rules per voucher type
- User roles and their permissions per module
Only users with the Admin role can access these settings.
Key Rules to Remember
- No procurement without a plan — Planning starts with AIP. Purchase Requests must trace back to consolidated APP, which comes from office PPMPs built on approved AIP (via WFP for child offices or budget allocation for root/parent offices).
- No payment without approval — Every Disbursement Voucher must complete the full approval chain before funds are released.
- No approval without documentation — All approvals are logged with timestamps and user identity in the activity trail.
- Returned items pause the flow — If a document is returned at any stage, it goes back to the originating office for correction before it can continue.
- Role controls access — What you can see and do in the system is determined by your assigned role and office. Your System Administrator manages this.
See Also
- Module Guides — Detailed guide for each module
- Role-Based Guides — What each role can do
- Workflows — Step-by-step workflow walkthroughs
- Approval System — How approvals work in detail
- Reference Glossary — Definitions of terms used in this guide
