Approval Hierarchy

Approval hierarchy in SEMINE can be based on an individual, department, or a combination of both. Individuals or departments at the lowest level in the hierarchy get invoices assigned first before those at the next level in the hierarchy. It is also possible to set limits for the maximum invoice amount that can be approved at each level in the hierarchy.

Requirements:

• The approval hierarchy will only be used if set up as part of the workflow.
• The approval hierarchy is configured by the administrator for each client. There is only one approval hierarchy per client.

Navigate to clients and double-click on a client to open the dialog. Then click on the tab "Approval Hierarchy."

Main Settings

1. Approval Dimension (Optional)
   To determine which of the accounting dimensions will control the approval hierarchy.
   Invoices with lines that are assigned a dimension value from this dimension will be able to be approved via the hierarchy. If no approval dimension is selected, all invoices can be approved via the hierarchy.
   
   
2. Minimum number of approvers (Minimum 1)
   Total minimum number of approvers who must approve the invoice.
   
   
3. Synchronize approval dimension values (Optional)
   Tap this to synchronize the dimension values into the hierarchy so that you can select them in later steps.
   
   
4. XLS Import
   Import the hierarchy from Excel.
   
   
5. XLS Export
   Export the hierarchy to Excel.
   
   
6. "+" button
   Add a row at the top level in the hierarchy.

Approval Hierarchy

• Name - Required
  Free text field for the name of the position.
  
  
• Code - Required
  Free text field for the position code.
  
  
• Department Approver
  Specify whether the person is an approver for the department. (It is possible to set up multiple on the same department, and the invoice will then be assigned to all simultaneously.)
  
  
• Approver
  Select the user for the position.
  
  
• Department
  Select the department to which the user belongs. This only applies if the approval dimension is used.
  
  
• Approval Limit
  Maximum invoice reporting amount that can be approved by the user.

Hierarchy Based on Person/Buyer

When using an approval hierarchy based solely on a person and their manager, you do not need to use the columns "Department Approver" and "Department."

Start by adding a hierarchy by clicking the +-button.

You then start with the CEO in the company and work your way down in the approval hierarchy. 

In the example below, invoices with reporting amounts up to and including 100,000 will be assigned to Dev Sophie Neveu, PO Jorgen Urnes, Financemaster John Doe, SM Han Solo simultaneously.

When at least 2 of them have approved the invoice, it will proceed and be ready for posting.

Furthermore, you need to define that the workflow should follow the hierarchy. This is done in the Workflow settings. Under "Apply if," you now choose the new option "Invoice has buyer reference that is a member of an approval hierarchy" and set the search value to "Yes". 
And at the step, you choose the type "Approval Hierarchy" and target as "buyer ref".

If an invoice comes to SEMINE and the buyer on the invoice is not identified in the approval hierarchy (and no other suitable workflows exist), the invoice will be marked as "Missing Workflow."

If an invoice then comes to a person, the invoice will be assigned to that person and based on the minimum number of approvers and amount limits, the number of steps in the flow will be added.
Example: Invoice received is for Ola Normann, and then it proceeds to the immediate manager based on the hierarchy.

Hierarchy Based on Dimension (Usually Department, so we use Department further in the example)

Start by choosing which dimension will control the approval, and then select "Synchronize department dimensions."
Then create a hierarchy by clicking the +-button.

You then start with the CEO in the company and work your way down in the approval hierarchy. 
As you work your way down the hierarchy, you add which department the person belongs to and whether this person should approve on behalf of that department. (It is possible to add multiple approvers to the department, and then all will be assigned the invoice.)
Below is an example: 

Furthermore, you need to define that the workflow should follow the hierarchy. When you have departmental flow, it is also recommended to have a flow for a person/buyer as in the example above. This is so that the invoice is automatically assigned to the buyer if SEMINE does not have a department assigned upon arrival. 

Under "Apply if," you now choose the new option "Invoice has identified buyer with valid approval hierarchy" and set the search value to "Yes". 
And at the step, you choose the type "Approval Hierarchy" and target as "buyer ref". 
In addition, if desired, you can add validation so that the person receiving the invoice must add a department to approve the invoice. 

In addition, we will have a flow for the hierarchy based on the department. We want to set this as exclusive and above the person flow as this usually has higher priority than the person flow.