Processing Documents with Approval Workflow

If approval has been enabled for a document type, it will automatically enter an Approval Workflow when saved. 

Depending on how the workflow was configured, you will either need to select an approver at this stage or the approver will be selected automatically with no input required on your part.

If there are any conflicts between workflows or no workflow was found for a document, you will see a warning message and the Approval Workflow admin will receive an email notification via their designated email.

Approval Status

At every step in the approval process, the document is tagged with the relevant approval status, letting you monitor its progress. See the section “Approval Status”.

Approvers

If you are an approver, you will be notified of documents awaiting approval via your preferred method. See the section “Approver Notifications”.

There are three ways to approve a document:

• Email. See the section “Email Approval”.
• Web-based via the listing grid. See the section “View Approval Status”.
• Mobile app. For full details on the app, see Mobile App Workflow Approval.

Legacy Approval Workflow

If your company has switched to the new Approval Workflow and has activated at least one workflow, the legacy system will no longer be available. All new documents will be routed to the relevant workflow.

See:

Approval Workflow 

Purchase Order Process 

Purchase Item Invoices 

Purchase Item Credit Notes 

Processing Documents with Approval Workflow (18.4N).

View Document Approval Status

The approval status of all documents will display in the Approval Status column of the relevant listing grid. (Note, as each document can have multiple approvers instead of just one, it is no longer possible to display an Approvers column in the listing grid.)

Approval Status in the Purchase Orders listing grid:

Approval Status in the Purchase Item Invoices / Credit Note listing grid:

Document Status Explanation

Document Status	Explanation
Approval Not Required	This status will appear for: Documents that were already approved in integrated products and are set to not be reapproved in AIQ.  Purchase Orders for those on the Core price plan, as PO approval is not included.
Pending	This is the initial status and is used when a newly created document is waiting to be picked up by a workflow.
Action Required	Action required means a document was picked up by a workflow but: A step needs to be completed, for example, selecting an approver manually.  The document needs to be resubmitted for approval.
Admin Required	Workflow Approval Administrators will be notified via email when their attention is required. If you are an admin, see Approval Workflow for details on how to resolve this status.
Awaiting Approval	The metro map displays which approval steps have yet to be approved. If a step needs to be resubmitted for approval, click Resubmit next to the relevant step.
Approved	The document is fully approved by all steps in the workflow.
Rejected	Documents rejected by the approver and requiring editing. When one step is rejected by an approver, the whole document is rejected.
Cancelled	Cancelled documents will not be picked up by a workflow.

View Approval Steps Statuses

For details on workflow steps, click on the document status link in the grid or on the Notes against each document. The status link displays a useful metro map indicating where the document is within a workflow. 

Document Steps Explanation

The metro map shows the status of the individual steps and details of the approvers:

Step Status	Explanation
Awaiting Approval	No approver has interacted with this step yet.
Approved	Steps get this status when all relevant approvers have approved the step. If the step was approved by a substitute, this will be detailed along with the regular approver using ‘on behalf of’.
Rejected	At least one approver has rejected this step.
Skipped	This appears when: The value of the document exceeds the limits of the approvers in a step. The approver is configured to not be able to approve their own documents.
Select Approver	This appears if the decision mode was set to manual approval.

If you are an approver, you will be notified by email and/or the approval app. 

Note the following regarding approver notifications:

• Multi-Approver Workflows: If there are multiple approvers in a step and only one approver is required, the other approver/s will receive a message when they go to click on the Approve / Reject option.
• Reminders:  This feature automatically sends reminders to approvers for pending approvals. It ensures deadlines are met, keeps workflows moving efficiently, and reduces delays caused by missed approvals. It is currently in beta. See Approval Reminders Automation - Beta.

We also offer the following supplier notification:

• Auto-Emailing PO: See Auto-Emailing PO Automation for full details. This feature allows you to automate the emailing of purchase orders to suppliers directly from the system. Once a PO is approved, it is automatically sent to the designated recipient, ensuring timely communication, reducing manual effort, and minimising errors.

If this approval request option was selected during approver setup, you will receive an email as follows:

Click the Approve or Reject button, enter an optional note, then click Approve or Reject. 

If you are unsure about whether to Approve/Reject a document, you must select an option but can leave a note stating your concerns. All notes will appear in the notifications to all approvers, so the next approver in line will see your note.

If the document has a status of ‘Awaiting Approval’, go to Actions > Register Approval or Rejection. 

Enter an optional note and click Approve or Reject. 

If you are unsure about whether to Approve/Reject a document, you must select an option but can leave a note stating your concerns. All notes will appear in the notifications to all approvers, so the next approver in line will see your note.

Approved documents can still be edited by any user who has add / edit permissions for that document type. Note that the following updates will cause the document to go for approval again: