Hello Natacha,

Yes, this is feasible in Odoo, though it requires a custom module built on top of the Approval app. None of the four points you described are available out-of-the-box, but all of them are achievable together in a single development scope.

Here is how each part maps:

1. Multi-company approval categories The Approval app's categories are company-specific by default. Making them shared across companies requires a small customization to remove the company restriction and allow selection from any company context.

2. Default approval category on the vendor, overridable per bill A custom field on the vendor (res.partner) stores the default category. This auto-populates on the vendor bill but stays editable so you can switch it for EY's legal versus tax invoice scenarios.

3. "Request Approval" button on the vendor bill This is the core of the build. The button creates an approval request in the Approval app, linked to that specific bill. The approver sees the bill's PDF directly in the Approval app and can approve or reject without touching the Accounting module. This is standard behavior once the link between the bill and the approval record is established.

4. Status back on the vendor bill, payment gated on approval Once the approver acts, a status field on the bill (Pending / Approved / Rejected) updates automatically. The payment action can be restricted so it is only available after the approval is confirmed.

This is a well-defined scope and a clean use case for the Approval app. A Certified Odoo partner can build and deploy this without disrupting your existing accounting workflow.

Hope this works for you! If you need any help implementing this or want a more optimized approach, feel free to reach out for further discussion.

Regards, 

Zehntech Technologies Inc. 

santosh.sekwadia@zehntech.com

Partially, yes. However, most of the workflow you describe is not available out of the box and would require customization.

Regarding your points:

1. Multi-company Approval Categories

By default, Approval Categories are company-specific. Making them shared across companies would require customization of the approval.category model and its company-related security rules.

2. Approval Category on Vendor Bills

There is no standard field on vendor bills to select an Approval Category. Adding:

• A default approval category on the vendor (res.partner)

• An overridable approval category on the vendor bill (account.move)

would require customization.

3. "Request Approval" button on Vendor Bills

This is feasible. A custom button could:

• Create an Approval Request (approval.request)

• Link it to the vendor bill

• Attach the vendor bill PDF or provide a link to the bill

• Route the request to approvers based on the selected category

4. Approve/Reject from the Approvals App

This is also feasible with customization. The Approval Request can update the vendor bill status when approved or rejected.

A common implementation would:

• Add an approval status field on the vendor bill

• Prevent bill posting or payment until approval is granted

• Display the approval status in list and form views

5. Block Payment Until Approved

This is a common requirement and can be implemented by adding checks before payment registration or payment posting.

In summary, the workflow is technically feasible in Odoo, but it is not provided as a standard integration between the Approvals app and Vendor Bills. It would require custom development to link account.move and approval.request, manage approval categories, and enforce payment restrictions based on approval status.