Invoice approval

Note

The invoice approval feature is only available if Purchasing is installed and when the Accounts Payable package option Invoice Approval is marked.

ClosedApprove invoices

Use of invoice approval is optional but there are several good reasons for using it:

  • Reduces the risk of errors and fraud
  • Provides an audit trail of invoice approvals and disapprovals
  • Helps identify delays in invoice approval
  • Increases control and transparency over invoice handling

The responsibilities of an invoice approver include reviewing invoices submitted for approval, making informed judgments about whether the invoices are reasonable, and approving or disapproving invoices in a timely manner. Invoices can be approved in ActivityHD or via Self-Serve if that feature is available to you.

A few controls appear in the AP Invoice window only when invoice approval is turned on:

  • Dept field. The purchasing department responsible for invoice approval. This field drives the workflow of whom approves invoices and at which amounts they can approve.
  • Status field. The approval status of the invoice. Valid approval statuses are:
    • <blank>. The status defaults to blank when you add an invoice. You can manually reset a status to blank from a "Ready" status or a "Hold" status.
    • Hold. "Hold" status prevents approvals to the invoice. An invoice cannot be merged or paid while in "Hold" status.
    • Ready. "Ready" status initiates approval notifications and allows the approval process to proceed.
    • Approved. "Approved" status is set during the approval process as operators approve invoices. Once an approved invoice is merged, the "Approved" status cannot be changed. Instead, if an approved invoice is merged and something changes so that the invoice should not be paid as is, you should void the invoice.
    • Disapproved. "Disapproved" status is set during the approval process as operators disapprove invoices. When an invoice is disapproved, its invoice status is set to "Hold". Before the approval process can continue, the approval status on a disapproved invoice must be set back to "Ready". This also clears the "Hold" invoice status.
  • Submit button. Click this button to set the invoice approval status to "Ready" and to trigger email notifications. You can also click this button when the invoice has changed and new notifications need to be sent to the approvers.
  • Approval Amount field. Once the invoice is approved, displays the amount the invoice is approved for.
  • . Use this icon to access the approval feature and to review current approvals on an invoice.

ClosedSet up for invoice approval

Departments

Before you can approve AP invoices, you must set up the approval hierarchies for your departments. See "Create a department" for instructions on setting up departments including approval levels.

Tip

Set up a department with the Approval Levels value set to blank. This gives you a department for invoices which do not need to go through the typical approval process.

When you create an AP invoice that needs approval, be sure to set the appropriate department in the Dept field so that the correct approval hierarchy is engaged.

Operator notifications

Three types of notifications are available for AP invoice approval and each notification type has various notification methods available. See "Create an operator record" for instructions on setting up operators including notifications. Notifications are optional but are particularly useful for operators who do not have direct access to ActivityHD and, therefore, approve invoices only through the Self-Serve site.

Notification Type Notification Methods
Invoice Approval Needed
  • Email, All. The operator receives an email for any AP invoice or order for their department which requires any level of approval. This option allows operators with no approval levels to receive approval notifications for their department.
  • Email, Assigned Level or Higher (Limited). The operator receives an email for any AP invoice or order for their department which requires approval at their level or higher.
  • Email, Assigned Level Required. The operator receives an email for any AP invoice or order for their department which requires approval at their level.
  • Email, Assigned Level Required and Delayed. The operator receives an email for any AP invoice or order for their department which requires approval at their level and for which all required lower level approvals have been made.
Invoice Approval Completed
  • Email, All. The operator receives an email for any AP invoice or order for their department which requires any level of approval. This option allows operators with no approval levels to receive approval notifications for their department.
  • Email, Limit by Department. The operator receives an email only if the operator is in the department which appears on a completed or disapproved AP invoice or order.
  • Email, Limit to Invoices Owned by Me. The operator receives an email only for completed invoices on which the operator is the owner.
Invoice Disapproved
  • Email, All. The operator receives an email for any AP invoice or order for their department which requires any level of approval. This option allows operators with no approval levels to receive approval notifications for their department.
  • Email, Limit by Department. The operator receives an email only if the operator is in the department which appears on a completed or disapproved AP invoice or order.

ClosedPrepare an invoice for approval

  1. Open the invoice that needs approval.

  2. In the Owner field, select the operator responsible for the invoice.
  3. Ensure the correct department is specified in the Dept field. The correct department ensures that the correct approval hierarchy is applied in the approval process.
  4. Click Submit. The approval status changes from blank to "Ready" indicating that the invoice is ready for approval. In addition, email notifications are sent to the approvers who are set up to receive notifications when approval is needed.

    Notice that the current invoice status is "New".

    Sample notification email:

  5. Save your changes.

ClosedApprove an invoice

  1. Open an invoice that is ready for your approval.

  2. Click . The AP Invoice Approval dialog opens.

  3. At the top of the dialog, the "Current Invoice Amount" option is selected and the adjacent field displays the invoice amount to be approved. If you need to approve the invoice at a different amount, select the "Other Amount" option and specify the amount to approve.
  4. Locate your approval level. Mark the green checkbox in the row that corresponds to your approval level. The row expands to show three additional fields.

  5. Enter an optional Note about the approval.
  6. Click OK. The dialog closes and the invoice is updated.

    If yours is the last approval needed on the invoice, the status is updated to "Approved" and a notification is sent to operators set up to be notified when approval is complete.

    Sample notification email:

Once all required approvals are completed, the AP invoice is available for standard invoice processing (proofing, merging, payment, etc.).

ClosedView AP invoice approval history

ActivityHD provides three locations from which you can review invoice approval history.

  • You can view and filter approval history for all invoices from the Approval History folder (Accounts Payable > Invoices > Approval History).

  • You can view approval history for a particular AP invoice from its Approval History tab.

  • You can also view approval history for a particular AP invoice from the History button on the AP Invoice Approval dialog.

ClosedMore...

Additional helpful things to know about AP invoice approval:

  • Several columns relevant to AP invoice approval are available to be shown in the AP Invoices HD view. You can sort by these columns and apply column filters on them for enhanced review of invoice approvals.
    • Approval Amount
    • Approval Status
    • Approval Date
    • Approved By
    • Owner
    • Status

  • Several built-in filters are available to help you zero in on specific invoice approval records. The relevant filters are:
    • Approved
    • Approved by Me
    • Disapproved
    • Disapproved by Me
    • Ready to Approve (All)
    • Ready to Approve (Limited or Master)
    • Ready to Approve (Limited)
    • Ready to Approve (Required)

ClosedDisapprove an invoice

  1. Open the invoice you need to disapprove.

  2. Click . The AP Invoice Approval dialog opens.

  3. Locate your approval level. Mark the red checkbox in the row that corresponds to your approval level. The row expands to show three additional fields.

  4. Enter a required Note about the disapproval.

  5. Click OK. The dialog closes and the invoice is updated.

    The approval status is updated to "Disapproved", the invoice status is set to "Hold", and a notification is sent to operators set up to be notified when a disapproval occurs.

    Sample notification email: