Configure an approval policy

What it does

An approval policy decides which document submissions need sign-off before they take effect. Each policy specifies:

• applies_to — one of bill, sales_invoice, purchase_order, purchase_request, payment_run, bad_debt, expense
• an optional total threshold (e.g. only POs over £5,000 need approval)
• the approver(s) — by user, by role, or by relationship (manager of raiser, raiser's owner)
• an SLA in hours (defaults to 24h) — used for inbox sort order and overdue badges

Multiple policies can apply to the same document; the engine picks the most-specific match (narrowest threshold, then narrowest scope). A default policy is seeded on tenant creation for BACS payment runs: any owner or accountant other than the raiser can approve. Edit or disable it to taste.

How to use it

1. Open Settings → Approval policies and choose New policy.
2. Pick applies to — the document type the policy gates.
3. Optionally set a total threshold. Leave blank to match every document of that type regardless of value.
4. Choose the approver:
   • User — a specific person
   • Role — anyone with that role (e.g. accountant)
   • Manager of raiser — the raiser's line manager from HR
   • Raiser's owner — the raiser's account owner (sales-team mapping)
5. Set the SLA hours. The inbox flags an overdue badge once the timer passes.
6. Save. The policy is live immediately — the next matching submission lands on pending_approval.
7. When matched at submit time the document flips to pending_approval and the approval engine raises an approval_request that surfaces in the approver's Inbox.
8. Once the approver clicks Approve or Reject, the engine transitions the document to its next state — sent for a PO, finalized for a payment run, posted for a bad-debt write-off. Rejection captures the reason and the document drops back to its prior editable state.

Tips

• Most-specific wins. A policy with total > £5,000 beats a policy with no threshold. If two policies tie, the one with the narrower approver scope wins.
• The raiser can't be the approver. Even if your role matches, the engine excludes you from your own document. Add a second approver for one-person tenants.
• Disable, don't delete, when you're unsure. Disabled policies keep their history; deleted ones don't.
• Rejected documents are editable. The raiser fixes the issue and resubmits — the original approval request stays in the audit history.
• For who-can-approve-when-you're-out, see Delegate approvals.

Related

• Delegate approvals when you're out of office
• Raise a purchase request
• Compose a BACS payment run