Expense claim approval workflow

There are now two options in Accountability for agencies to choose from to manage the approval workflows for expense claims.

Single approval workflow

This is the option historically used by agencies before the new Scenarios based approval function became available; the main features are:

• Each expense/credit card header transaction requires a single approval by a nominated manager.
• Once the single manager has approved them – these transactions become a supplier invoice that is available for review and posting by finance.
• This function can be augmented by utilizing the supplier invoice manager approval – which allows setting approval rules for the individual lines of the expense/credit card once it receives manager approval. 

Required approvals are set by assigning approval rights to managers responsible. For example, if you wish to have a supervisor approve expenses for selected staff – you open the employee master file record for that employee and set the APPROVAL & POSTING RIGHTS  for the employee. 

To learn more on how to define approval & posting rights, click here. 

Scenarios approval workflow

This is a new approval workflow; the main features are:

• Approval rules are defined as scenarios that dictate the approvals required based on the nature of the individual lines on the expense claim/credit card. Multiple approval scenarios can be defined, as can sequential approvals, such as requiring a single expense line to be approved by one manager before being routed to another manager.
• Once all required approvals are complete - these transactions create a supplier invoice that is available for review and posting by finance. 

Required approvals are set by creating approval workflows for the relevant transaction for expense claims 

To learn more on how to create sequential approvals for expense claims, click here. 

Existing expense claims

Before implementing the new 'Scenarios' approval workflow, it is important to note that any existing expense claims in a 'Submitted' status must be addressed. This means you need to take action by approving, rejecting, or deleting these pending claims.

For instance, if your agency currently utilizes the single approval workflow for expense claims, you will not be able to create approval scenarios until all the current expense claims that are in the submitted status have been either approved, rejected, or deleted.

By ensuring that all existing expense claims in the 'Submitted' status are resolved, you can successfully transition to the new 'Scenarios' approval workflow and effectively manage your approval processes moving forward.