Approval Workflow #
Approval Workflow is a crucial process within an organization that ensures the efficient and secure approval of business documents before they become official and legally binding. This workflow ensures that all relevant documents are reviewed, verified, and approved by the appropriate individuals or departments, thereby minimizing errors and enhancing quality control. Using approval protects documents from modification and leaves an audit trail in the history of the process.
First set up the Approval Workflow Settings to start using process in the documents you need.
Currently, the following documents are subject to the approval process:
- Purchase Order – A document through which a buyer formally orders goods or services from a supplier, requiring approval before the procurement process is executed.
- Sales Order – A document representing an official customer order for products or services, which must be approved before it is processed and fulfilled.
- Sales Quote – An offer containing pricing and sales terms, which must be reviewed and approved before it becomes a valid offer to the customer.
- Sales Invoice – An invoice issued to the customer, which must be approved before billing and payment collection can take place.
- Bill – A document issued by the supplier requesting payment for goods or services provided, which must be approved before payment is processed.
Each document in this workflow is subject to various levels of approval according to the organization’s policies and procedures. The goal of this system is to ensure transparency, accuracy, and accountability at every stage of the document approval process.
Purchase Order Approval Workflow Example #
In the following section, we will demonstrate how the Approval Workflow functions using the Purchase Order (PO) document as an example. This will provide a clear understanding of how the approval process works, from the initial creation of the document to its final approval. By outlining the steps involved in the PO approval, we aim to illustrate the roles, responsibilities, and approval levels required for each document type within the workflow.
When the Purchase Order document is created and saved, its approval status is set to Created. To initiate the Approval Workflow, click on the Start Approval Workflow button.
Each time advancement to the next step in the approval process is desired, click on the indicated step.
Before doing so, it is important to verify whether the corresponding Document Approval Workflow for the Purchase Order type has been created. If this workflow type has not been set up, it must be created before proceeding. Only after confirming that the workflow type has been established can you proceed with clicking the Start Approval Workflow button.
Start Approval Workflow #
After clicking the Start Approval Workflow button, a new screen titled Approval Workflow Start appears, displaying the following information:
- Subject: Purchase Order
This field indicates the type of document that initiated the workflow. In this case, it is the Purchase Order document. - Originator: Rituraj Borkakoty
This field shows the individual or entity that initiated the approval process. In this example, Rituraj Borkakoty is responsible for starting the workflow. - Assignee: Rituraj Borkakoty
This field displays the user currently assigned responsibility for managing the document in the current workflow step. In this example, it is Rituraj Borkakoty. - Approval template: Departments approval template
Indicates that the approval workflow will be executed according to the template predefined for the department associated with the document. - Next Step: Review Marketing Dept
This step indicates the next phase in the approval process. In this case, the document will be forwarded to the Marketing Department for review. This step is crucial for tracking the document’s progress through various approval stages. - Description:
Here, additional information or notes can be entered, which may be useful for tracking or explaining specific details of the document or the process. - Start Workflow: Clicking this button initiates the approval process and moves the document forward within the defined workflow.
- Cancel: Clicking this button closes the current screen without proceeding with further actions in the workflow.
When the Start Workflow button is clicked, the approval status changes to In Progress, indicating that the workflow has begun and the document is now in the approval phase.
- Review Mrk Dept indicates that the next step in the process is a review by the Marketing Department.
- Assigned to Rituraj Borkakoty means that Rituraj Borkakoty continues to monitor and manage the document’s progress through the workflow, although the responsibility for the review is now with the marketing team.
When Review Marketing Dept is clicked, a new screen titled Performer Task appears, displaying the following information:
By clicking the Open Route Map button, the Route Map is displayed, visualizing the current status of the workflow. On this map, users can track the exact step the document is currently at, as well as how many steps remain until the workflow is fully completed.
- Author: Admin
This field shows the user who initiated the task. In this case, Admin is responsible for creating the task. - Subject: Purchase Order
This parameter indicates the type of document being approved. In this case, it is the Purchase Order document. - Step: Review Marketing Dept
This shows the current step in the workflow. In this case, the step is Review Marketing Dept, indicating that the task is currently assigned to the Marketing Department for review. - Instructions:
This field allows additional textual instructions or descriptions related to the task to be entered. This text is freely defined and can be useful for specific guidelines or comments. - Results:
This is where the results of the review and the decision made during the approval phase are entered. This field is mandatory and must be filled in for the workflow to continue. - Next: Clicking the Next button moves the document to the next step in the workflow process. This step indicates that the current approval phase is complete, and the document is forwarded to the next stage or approval.
- Reject: Clicking the Reject button rejects the document, halting the workflow process. This step signals that the document was not approved at this stage, and further actions are suspended until a new evaluation or modification is made.
Navigate to the Home page – Approval Workflow Settings.
The information provided offers a clear overview of each request that is in the approval process. The Subject and description specify what the request pertains to, while the Date indicates the date of creation. The Assigned to field identifies the person responsible for the approval, and the Approval status displays the current stage of the request. The Task defines the specific action to be completed.
This layout enables efficient tracking of all requests, clear allocation of responsibilities, and timely response, thereby significantly enhancing the organization of business processes and reducing the risk of delays or oversights.
Approval Workflow History #
To access the Subject task history, click the button adjacent to the steps field. The history window provides a detailed overview of the Approval workflow, displaying all defined steps, indicating which steps have been completed (realized), and specifying the number of steps remaining until the process is finalized.
Simple Workflow on Custom Fields #
For document types that do not have a flexible approval process enabled, you can set up your own simple one. you can use existing features to organize the process without programming customizations. You need to use:
How to organize document review, approval, and authorization?
To manage the approval workflow, add the following fields to the document you need to approve:
| Field | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Document Approval Status | Value List | Draft / Under Review / Approved / Authorized / Requires Revision |
| Reviewer | “Users” List | Who should review the document |
| Review Date | Date | When the document was reviewed |
| Review Comments | Text | Reviewer’s notes |
| Approver | “Users” List | Who must authorize the document |
| Approval Date | Date | When the document was authorized |
| Approval Comments | Text | Approver’s notes |
Configuring the Workflow via Statuses #
- Draft → Document created but not yet submitted for review.
- Under Review → Author sends the document to the reviewer (specified in the “Reviewer” field).
- Approved → Reviewer confirms the document is correct.
- Authorized → Approver confirms final approval.
- Requires Revision → If there are comments, the document is returned to the author.
Monitoring Approval Documents #
You can setup custom fields to show in the document’s list and use to group by custom field in the list.
You can always check approved documents for changes with Change History Audit Log option. Enable the change history of this type of document, and you will always know who changed what, when, and where.
Organizing Communication Within the Document Context #
Use Collaboration system to organize context chats and notification in the document Conversation tab.
Next point. You can share the Link to the document to your colleague via email or WhatsApp messenger.
