Flexible approval rules

👥 The standard approval flow – fixed people

Most companies use the standard approval flow. There, each user has 1–2 fixed people who handle their expense reports:

🔍 Auditor (optional) – checks the expense report first
✅ Approver – approves the expense report

Set the fixed people

Go to Administrate > Persons.
Select the user.
Enter an auditor and/or an approver.
Save.

✅ All expense reports from the user now go to the selected people.

👉 If a single expense report needs to be handled by someone else, you can change the person directly on the expense report, in the Audited by and Approved by fields. The fixed people on the user do not change.

🎯 When do you need flexible approval rules?

If fixed people are not enough, you can add flexible approval rules. With them you can:

📊 Control approval per project, cost center or unit
💰 Use different approvers depending on the amount
👥 Have several audit and approval steps
🚫 Exempt people who should follow the standard flow

👉 Applies to: administrators who set up the flow. Auditors and approvers find how to redirect an expense report in step 8.

⚙️ Step 1 – Activate the feature

Flexible approval rules are activated by support. Contact Expense Support and ask for activation.

✅ The feature then becomes available in your environment.

👤 Step 2 – Give permissions

Go to Administrate > Persons.
Select the user.
Activate Can audit and/or Can approve.

🔍 Step 3 – Activate the audit step (optional)

If you want an auditor before the approval:

Go to Administrate > Admin dashboard.
Under Actions, click Enable in the auditor box (Your auditor is disabled in workflow).

✅ An extra step is added to the workflow.

📁 Step 4 – Prepare an internal account

The rules are controlled by an internal account. If you do not have a suitable account:

Create a new internal account with the dimension type Other.
Select Do not export to accounting if the account should only control the approval flow.

🔗 Step 5 – Link the rules to the account

Go to Administrate > Settings.
Select Approval method.
Select the internal account and save.

✅ The rules are now linked to the account.

💰 Step 6 – Add approvers and amount limits

Go to Internal accounts and open the account.
Select the Authorized By tab for approvers, or the Audited By tab for auditors.
Click New approver.
Select account code, approver and amount limit.
Save.

👉 If you do not need amount limits, enter a high amount, for example SEK 500,000.

✅ The approval flow is now active.

🚫 Step 7 – Exempt people from the rules

Some people, for example the CEO, the management team or the CFO, sometimes need their expense reports approved by their regular approver instead of by project or cost center.

Go to Administrate > Internal accounts and open the account for the rules.
Open the Excluded From Advanced Approval Flow tab.
Select the people and save.

✅ Expense reports from an exempted person go to the approver on the person's profile under Administrate > Persons.

🔄 Step 8 – Redirect a single expense report

When an approver is away, responsibility has moved or an expense report needs a special review, it can be sent to someone else – without changing the rules.

Log in to Expense in the web browser and open the expense report.
Select a new person in the Audited by or Approved by field.
Save.

✅ The expense report goes straight to the new recipient.

⚠️ Administrators, auditors and approvers can redirect. The feature is only available on the web, not in the app.

⚠️ Good to know

✅ Every code that should be covered must have an approver. Without one, the flow does not work for that code.
📥 Purchases that do not use the internal account go to the standard approver or auditor on the person under Administrate > Persons.
❌ If an expense report is denied, it goes back to the user, who corrects it and submits it again.
✔️ The final approval is done under Accounting > Approval when all steps are done.
📊 The history shows each step, comments, and who changed the flow and when.

💡 Tips for the best result

✅ Build and test the flow before the users are activated
👥 Document who approves what
🔄 Use redirection for exceptions, not as standard
💬 Tell the new recipient when an expense report has been moved

❓ Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Do we have to use amount limits?
No. Enter a high amount and the rules apply without a practical limit.

Can we have several approval steps?
Yes, both auditors and approvers can be used in the same flow.

Does a redirection affect all the rules?
No, only that expense report. Future expense reports follow the regular flow.

Can I change the approval flow in the app?
No, it is done on the web.

Can an exception be removed later?
Yes, the person can be removed from the exception list at any time.

✅ Summary

📊 Control approval through internal accounts
💰 Use amount limits and several approval steps
🚫 Exempt people who should follow the regular approval
🔄 Redirect single expense reports during absence