Invoice Approval Workflow States

The Invoice Approval Workflow starts when you create an invoice record. It verifies that the invoice creator's account has a designated supervisor before the invoice moves to the first state. After the invoice enters the workflow, it's further validated and processed, depending on the conditions set for each state.

Approval Routing Feature Check

In the Approval Routing Feature Check state, the workflow verifies that the Approval Routing feature is enabled in the account used to submit the request. If the feature is enabled, the invoice goes through validation using the exception criteria.

For more information about the required features and preferences, see Setting Up the Invoice Approval Workflow.

Invoice Validation

In the Invoice Validation state, the approval status of the invoice is set to Pending Approval. The invoice is verified against the exceptions. If any exceptions are found, the invoice is routed for approval. A message for each exception is added to the transaction, which the approver can review. Transactions without any exceptions are automatically approved.

For more information about the exceptions, see Invoice Approval Workflow Exception Criteria.

Pending Approval

When an invoice needs approval, it moves to the Pending Approval state. The invoice creator's supervisor gets an email about the approval request.

Both the Approve and Reject buttons are enabled for the approver. The Show Exceptions button lets them see the list of exceptions. The invoice moves to another state depending on the action of the approver. The record is locked for editing while the invoice is in Pending Approval status. At this point, only the administrator can make changes.

Rejected

Requests that aren't approved by the supervisor are sent to this Rejected state. The invoice creator gets an email about the status.

Aside from the invoice creator, another user with access to the record can update a rejected invoice. When the Resubmit button is used, the invoice goes through the Approval Routing Feature Check state again to restart the validation.

Approved

Requests move to the Approved state when any of the following conditions are met:

• The invoice is approved by the supervisor.

• No exceptions are found on the invoice.

The invoice creator gets an email about the approval.

Show Exceptions

From Pending Approval, the invoice can move to the Show Exceptions state, so that the approver can see the list of exceptions. The Show Exceptions button is enabled on the invoice record while it's in Pending Approval. After an invoice goes through the Show Exceptions state, it returns to Pending Approval.

General Notices