What is an approval chain?
An approval chain is the sequence of approvers a purchase has to pass through, such as a team lead, then a finance manager, then a director. Which approvers apply usually depends on the amount, the category or the budget.
Example
Under Kestrel Logistics' rules, a purchase up to $500 needs the team lead. From $500 to $5,000 it needs the team lead and the finance manager. Above $5,000 it adds the COO.
A $2,300 pallet jack request therefore has two steps. The lead approves on Tuesday and the finance manager on Wednesday. The request moves forward only when both have answered.
In Atta
A chain is rows, one step per approver, answered one at a time. Atta builds it from the amount and the workspace's rules, and builds it the same way whether the agent parked the request or someone submitted a form. Answering finds the first pending step the person satisfies and never a second one they have already answered.
The requester's own standing clears nothing on their own request. The one exception is a single link they satisfy themselves with a role that may check out. A link only the requester holds goes up to someone else.
Clearing the last step queues the order. See purchase approvals.
Where chains stall
The common failure is an approver who is away while the request waits on their step. Keep chains short so fewer people can hold one up.
Questions
Can an approver approve their own request?
In Atta, not by default. A requester's standing clears nothing on their own request, apart from a single link they satisfy with a role that can check out.
Related
- What is an approval matrix?An approval matrix is a table that maps spend amounts and categories to the people allowed to approve them. Definition and a worked example.
- What is a purchase approval workflow?A purchase approval workflow is the set of steps a purchase request goes through before money is spent. Definition and a worked example.
- Purchase approval softwareSet approval limits per role and build approval chains by amount. Approvers answer from Slack, WhatsApp or the app, and nothing is paid until the last step clears.