AP approval workflow outside email and informal chat

What a recorded AP approval workflow replaces

An AP approval workflow outside email and chat routes each supplier bill to the right approver under written rules, records who approved it and when, and blocks payment until approval is complete. It replaces forwarded PDFs and 'ok, proceed' messages with a decision attached to the bill itself.

Approvals by email and messaging apps feel quick, but the evidence ends up scattered across personal inboxes and phones. When an auditor samples a payment, finance has to scroll back through a group chat for a thumbs-up from months ago, sometimes from someone who has since resigned. The approval may well have happened. Proving it is the hard part.

Setting approval limits by amount, category and cost centre

Start with a delegation of authority that says who may approve what. Most enterprises combine three dimensions: the amount, the spending category and the cost centre. A department head approves routine spending within their budget up to a limit, and a director or the CFO joins above it. Certain categories, such as capital purchases, legal fees or related-party payments, go to specific approvers regardless of amount.

Keep the matrix to one page. If it needs a training session to interpret, approvers will ignore it. Have the board or management committee adopt it formally, and revisit it whenever the organisation chart changes.

Avoid limits that tempt people to split bills. Watch for the same supplier sending several bills just under a limit within a short period.

Decide whether a limit applies to a single bill, to a purchase order, or to the total contract value. For a large contract approved at board level, the individual progress bills under it may only need the project owner's confirmation that work was done, since the spending decision was already made. Write that rule into the matrix so approvers are not asked to re-approve a contract every month.

The route a supplier bill should follow

Each step needs a named role, a target turnaround and a recorded outcome.

• AP registers the bill and attaches the purchase order and delivery or acceptance evidence
• The cost centre and category are assigned, which determines the approver under the matrix
• The budget owner confirms the goods or services were received and the charge is right
• Further approvers sign off where the amount or category calls for it
• Finance checks account coding and tax treatment before release
• Approved bills join the payment schedule, and rejected bills return to AP with a written reason

Covering leave, delegation and stuck approvals

Approvals stall when one person is away. Rather than letting colleagues approve in that person's name, set up formal delegation: the approver nominates a deputy for a fixed period, and the record shows the deputy acted under delegation. The deputy should hold equal or higher authority, never a junior team member.

Add an escalation rule for bills waiting too long. Once the agreed turnaround passes, the bill goes to the approver's manager or the finance controller. Otherwise suppliers become the escalation channel, which is what happens when bills sit until someone phones to complain.

When someone leaves the company or changes role, update their approval rights on the same day HR processes the change. A former department head who can still approve bills for a cost centre they no longer run is a gap auditors look for specifically.

Getting managers to stop approving in WhatsApp

Managers approve in chat because that is where they already are. A workflow that needs a separate login will lose unless it is just as easy. Look for a tool that sends a notification with a direct link to the bill, displays the attachment without a download, and allows approve or reject with a comment in a couple of clicks.

Then close the old route. Announce a date after which finance will not act on approvals given by email or chat, and hold to it. Expect complaints for the first few weeks before managers adjust. Report approval turnaround by department to leadership so slow approvers are visible.

Choosing a system for bills and their approvals

When assessing accounting or AP software, ask the vendor to walk a sample bill through the full route, including delegation, a rejection and the audit history afterwards. Check whether your own team can change the approval rules, since rules shift as the company grows.

BukuCloud records bills and supplier payments in the same ledger that produces your P&L and balance sheet, and your accountant can review those records directly. Where an approval chain needs to fit an unusual organisation structure, Fasttrade also builds custom systems. See bukucloud.com for the accounting product.

Frequently asked questions