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Opstream User Guide

1. Welcome & Orientation

1.1 What is Opstream?

Opstream is an orchestration platform used to manage procurement, legal, security, finance, and operational workflows in one place.

This guide provides a clear overview of each part of the platform and how to use it effectively, whether you are submitting a request, reviewing one, or configuring how your organization operates inside Opstream.

1.2 Who Uses Opstream?

Opstream is designed to centralize processes across multiple functions within your organization. The platform utilizes predefined roles to enforce granular permissions and govern access.

The primary user types that engage with the platform and this guide are:

User RoleResponsibilitiesValue Delivered by Opstream
AdminsUsers who set up the system: request types, approval flows, integrations, attributes, home views, reminders, and governance settings.They gain full visibility into all system data and management functions.
ApproversReview information, answer internal questions, or approve/reject steps in a workflow.They get clear visibility into requests assigned to them or their department. Approvers benefit from faster, data-driven decisions because they see the full financial picture at a glance.
RequestersInitiate workflows, submit requests, and track the status of requests they have created or been mentioned in.They experience procurement streamlined from intake to approval, making adoption easy and ensuring requests move quickly. They only see the requests they created, requests where they were mentioned, and the Vendor and Software tabs.
Limited RequestersSubmit purchase requests and see the details of their own submitted requests.They can only see requests created by them and cannot see the Documents, Software, Vendors, Events, or Analytics tabs.

Furthermore, the platform provides distinct benefits for functional leads across the organization:

  • Procurement Leads/Analysts: Focus on analytics, vendor management, and spend analysis. Opstream streamlines their efforts and increases spend under management.

  • Finance: Gains full visibility and control over spend, enabling real-time cost control and accurate forecasting (especially with the Budget Intelligence add-on).

  • Legal: Ensures seamless, airtight compliance by automating reviews, enforcing policies, and flagging risk in real time. They can leverage premium features like AI Extraction for contracts to eliminate manual data entry.

  • IT & Security: Centralizes every request and document for fast reviews and clear audit trails. The Security schema aids in tracking and recollecting compliance documents like SOC-II based on vendor risk level.

1.3 What This Guide Covers

See “How to Use This Guide” (after the Table of Contents) for a full map of sections by role and task.

  • A high-level overview of how Opstream works

  • A quickstart for organizations setting up their workspace

  • Role-based instructions for Requesters, Approvers, Admins, and Procurement

  • Deep-dive explanations for each major module

  • Best practices for setup, maintenance, and data quality

  • Troubleshooting guidance and FAQs

You can read it end-to-end, or use the table of contents to navigate directly to the topics you need.

1.4 How to Use This Guide

Choose your path. You do not need to read this guide end-to-end.

I am new to Opstream

I am setting up Opstream for the first time (Admin)

Something is broken

1.5 Time to Get Started

Most users can start submitting and reviewing requests immediately.
Admins may need additional time to configure workflows, integrations, and data models. The Quickstart section outlines the minimum recommended setup to get your workspace running smoothly.