Approval
Approval sets up an approval for one screen: which actions need it, who approves and in which order, and under which conditions it applies. Documents of that screen then show Save and send for approval, and approvers see Approve, Hold and Reject.
What it is for
One approval belongs to one screen (Process Code). The approver lines are grouped by Sequence, the step they belong to, and each carries a Weightage, its share of the step’s decision.
Save checks the weights: when a sequence has two or more users, their weightages must add up to at least 100; when it has one user, that user’s weightage may not be above 100.
The Trigger Condition tab narrows the approval to some documents only (for example Amount greater than 100000). Lines join with AND or OR; two lines saying the same field “is” two different values cannot be joined by AND, because no document could match both.
The tabs Required Sender Comments and Required Comments on Approved / Hold / Reject make the person type a comment: the sender when sending for approval, the approver when deciding. Saving a document that is already approved asks first, because its approval will run again.
An approval set up for the File screen, with a Trigger Condition on the target folder, is what makes a folder approval-controlled; see Folder.
Every field in plain words
General
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | The approval code. | Typed on New. |
| Name | Its name. | Required. |
| Process Code | The screen whose documents this approval applies to. | Required. Pick a screen. |
| Approved Message Notification | The message template sent when a document is approved. | Optional. Pick from the Notification Template list. |
| Request Message Notification | The message template sent to approvers when a document is sent for approval. | Optional. Pick from the Notification Template list. |
| Create | The approval applies when a new document is saved. | Tick or leave clear. |
| Edit | It applies when a saved document is changed. | Tick or leave clear. |
| Delete | It applies when a document is deleted. | Tick or leave clear. |
| Reverse | It applies when a document is reversed. | Tick or leave clear. |
| Hide Sensitive Information From Sender | Hides sensitive information from the sender. | Tick or leave clear. |
| Required Sender Comments | The sender must type a reason when sending for approval. | Tick or leave clear. |
| Required Comments on Approved | An approver must comment to approve. | Tick or leave clear. |
| Required Comments on Hold | An approver must comment to hold. | Tick or leave clear. |
| Required Comments on Reject | An approver must comment to reject. | Tick or leave clear. |
Authentication Control
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication Apply | Asks for an extra confirmation of identity when deciding. | When ticked and Authentication By is empty, Save sets it to the logged-in user. |
| Authentication By | Who confirms. | Optional. Pick from the list. |
| Name | The user who confirms. | Optional. Pick from the list. |
Approval
Approval: the approvers.
| Column | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Index | The line’s position; set from the line number on save. | Optional. |
| Sequence | The step this approver belongs to. Required. | Required. |
| User Name | The approver. Required unless Reporting To is ticked, which locks this cell. | Optional. Pick from the User list. |
| Reporting To | The approver is the sender’s reporting manager rather than a named user. | Optional. |
| Weightage | How much this approver’s decision counts within the step. Required. | Required. |
| Calendar | The approver’s working calendar. | Optional. Pick from the Calendar list. |
| Time Zone | The approver’s time zone. | Optional. Pick from the list. |
| Time In Minutes | Time allowed for the decision, in minutes. | Optional. |
| Shifting Index | The line the approval shifts to. | Optional. |
| Auto Approve | Approve automatically. | Optional. |
| Is Delegate | This line is a delegate. | Optional. |
| Delegate Index | Whose delegate it is. | Optional. |
| Allow Delegate | The approver may delegate. | Optional. |
| User Role | A role instead of a user. | Optional. Pick from the Roles list. |
| Hide Sensitive Information | Hide sensitive information from this approver. | Optional. |
Trigger Condition
Trigger Condition: leave empty for every document.
| Column | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger Rule | When for the first line, then AND or OR. | Optional. Pick from the list. |
| Object No | A field of the screen. Required. | Optional. Pick from the list. |
| Condition | The comparison: is, greater than… | Optional. Pick from the list. |
| Value | The value compared with. | Optional. |
How to configure it
Which fields are required, greyed, hidden or pre-filled for a company is set on Organizational Structure Setting, in its Default Parameters grid, and one user can differ through User Parameter Value.
Scenarios
- Purchase orders above a limit need the finance manager. An approval on Purchase Order, Create ticked, the finance manager in sequence 1 with weightage 100, and a trigger condition on the order amount.
- Two directors must both agree. Both in the same sequence, weightage 50 each.
What it is connected to
- Notification Template - the messages it sends.
- Folder - folders under approval.
- How a screen works - the approval buttons on the toolbar.
- Picked on these company setup screens: Notification Rule.
- Order to cash and Procure to pay - the sales and purchase processes whose orders are often sent for approval.
- Set up a new company - where this screen fits in the setup order.
If something looks wrong
- “Approval - Line ID: … - Username cannot be empty” An approver line has no user and is not Reporting To.
- “Trigger Condition - Line ID: … - Object No cannot be empty”
- “Trigger Condition - Line ID: … - … cannot be both '…' And '…'. Use OR to allow either”
- “Approval - Sequence: … - Total weightage of all users must not be less than 100” Raise the weights of that step.
- “Approval - Sequence: … - Weightage of a single user cannot be more than 100”
- “Similar Approval. already exits” The approval code is taken.
- “Please fill the reason” when approving. The approval requires comments on that decision.