Approvals on a document
When your business asks for approval on a document, it is saved as In Review and nothing posts until every level has signed. This page shows where to see who has signed and who is next, and what each outcome does to the document. To decide a request, see Approvals.
Video coming soon: Follow a document through approvalSpot a document in review
The Status column reads In Review. Its Journal and Inventory tabs stay empty and the stock does not move until the last level approves. A document whose amount does not need approval never shows this status: it goes ahead as soon as it is saved.
The Approval tab
Open a document and click its Approval tab. It shows one circle for each level, left to right, with the role's name and the Comment that approver left.
| Circle | Means |
|---|---|
| Green with a tick | This level has approved. |
| Red with a cross | This level rejected the document. |
| Filled dot | It is this level's turn. |
| Empty | A later level, not reached yet. |
A document saved before a rule existed says "Approval workflow was not defined at the time of creation." The tab is on the bill, purchase order, purchase request, sales order, expense, item, bill of materials, supplier and stock conversion screens.
What happens next
- A middle level approves. The document stays In Review and moves to the next role, who gets an email.
- The last level approves. The document goes ahead: it takes its normal status, usually Open, and posts its accounts entry and stock movement. The person who created it gets an email.
- Any level rejects. The document is marked Rejected and nothing posts. The person who created it gets an email.
- An already approved document is edited and goes back for approval. If the edit is rejected, the document returns to what it was before the edit.
- The document is cancelled or voided while it waits. The request is closed and leaves everyone's list.
A rejection does not undo something that was already posted. That takes a separate void.
The document's Chat timeline records the approval or rejection. See Activity and history.
Approve or reject
On the web, the document's side view has no Approve or Reject button. Decide on the Approvals screen: Review and decide.
Which documents
Your administrator can set an approval workflow for: purchase request, RFQ, supplier offer, purchase order, bill, goods receipt note (GRN), purchase return, sales order, sales return, expense, stock adjustment, job order, item, bill of materials and supplier. Stock conversion and stock transfer can also have a rule; approve them from their own list. Work order, material issue and material receipt can have a rule too, but they cannot be approved in the app yet. Until then, ask your administrator not to set a rule for them. Rules are set up in Approval workflows.
Invoices, quotations, payments, credit notes and debit notes do not go through approval.
On mobile
Same on iPhone and Android. The Approvals screen lists what is waiting. To decide on a phone, open the document: a purchase request, purchase order, GRN or sales order has Approve and Reject in its action menu when it is your role's turn. For other documents, use the web. Approve can carry a comment, and Reject needs a reason. See Review and decide.
The Android app is on Google Play. The iPhone app is coming soon to the App Store.
Permissions
| To do this | You need |
|---|---|
| See the trail | View on the document |
| Approve or reject | The role the request is waiting on, at the level whose turn it is |
A role cannot approve out of turn. There is no separate approval permission level.
Problems and fixes
The document is In Review and I have no Approve button
It is not your role's turn, or your role is not on the rule. Look at the Approval tab for the role whose turn it is, and ask them.
I cannot save a document and it mentions approval
The amount is outside every range your administrator set for this document. Ask them to fix the ranges.
A request has no Approve or Reject
A quality inspection request is recorded, not approved. A supplier's offer and an RFQ supplier approval are decided on their own screen.