Your organisation can require a second person to approve some documents before they are recorded — for example bill payments over a certain amount, or every journal entry. This page explains what happens when you save such a document, and how approvers approve or reject it.
Which documents need approval, above which amount, and who approves them is set by an administrator under Setup → Approval Rules. If no rule applies, documents save exactly as they always have.
Before you start
- To raise a document you only need your usual permission for it (bill payments, expenditure, purchase orders or journals).
- To approve you must be one of the approvers the rule names — for example everyone ticked Can approve bill payment on their user record, or a named list of people.
- You normally cannot approve your own request. Some rules allow approvers to release their own documents; those are recorded as self-approved.
What happens when you save
| Document | When approval is needed |
|---|---|
| Bill payment | It is saved (it gets its PV number) but marked Awaiting approval. Nothing is paid out of the bank account in the books until it is approved. |
| Purchase order / job order | It is saved and shows Awaiting approval. You cannot Convert to Bill until it is approved. |
| Expenditure | It is not recorded yet. You see Sent for approval; the expenditure appears in the list once approved. |
| Journal entry | Same as expenditure: recorded only once approved. |
The approvers are told straight away — in the bell, as a push notification on their phone, and by email (depending on their notification settings).
Steps — approving or rejecting
- Open Accounting → Approvals (or tap the notification). The Waiting for me tab lists what you can decide.
- Click a request. You see the amount, who raised it, and the details — supplier, accounts, lines, how it is paid.
- Click Open the document if you want to see the full form (bill payments and purchase orders).
- Decide:
- Approve — optionally add a note. A bill payment is posted immediately, a purchase order can be billed, an expenditure or journal is created and posted.
- Reject — write a note first (the requester sees it). Nothing is posted.
- The person who raised it is notified of your decision.
Steps — following your own requests
- Open Accounting → Approvals → My requests.
- Pending requests can be Withdrawn if you change your mind.
- For a rejected bill payment or purchase order, open the document, fix it and Save — it is sent for approval again. A rejected expenditure or journal was never recorded; enter it again if it is still needed.
Tips
- A bill payment or purchase order that is edited while pending keeps the same request, updated to the new amount.
- Raising an approved bill payment or purchase order above the amount that was approved sends it for approval again. Lowering it does not.
- An approved expenditure or journal cannot be raised into an approval band by editing it. Record the extra amount as a new document so it can be approved.
- If an approval rule is removed, its open requests can be decided by any administrator.
Common problems
- "You are not an approver for this request" → The rule names someone else. Ask an administrator who the approvers are (Setup → Approval Rules shows them).
- "You raised this request, so someone else must approve it" → Ask another approver. If you are the only approver, an administrator can allow self-approval on the rule or add another approver.
- Approve fails with a period message → The document's date is in a closed accounting period. Ask an administrator to reopen it, or reject the request and have it re-entered with a date in an open period.
- The Convert to Bill button is missing on a purchase order → The order is awaiting approval or was rejected. The coloured note under the title says which.
- "Sent for approval, but no one else can approve it yet" → The rule reaches nobody but you. An administrator needs to fix the rule's approvers.
- Editing an expenditure says it needs approval → You raised it into an approval band. Enter the difference as a new expenditure instead.