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Approval Flows by Projects

All you need to know about the approval flow by project feature.

Özge E. avatar
Written by Özge E.
Updated this week

At a glance

  • The Approval Flows by Project feature offers organizations enhanced flexibility and control over expense approvals by enabling the assignment of supervisors at the project level.

  • The feature ensures that relevant stakeholders review and approve expenses, leading to improved accountability, compliance, and reduced approval delays.


What is the feature "Approval flow by projects"?

Approval Flows by Project is a new configuration option that allows companies to designate project-specific supervisors responsible for approving all expenses related to their assigned projects. This feature allows organizations to define approvers at the project level, complementing existing group-based approval flows.


Key aspects include:

  • Project-Based Approvers: Supervisors can be assigned per project, granting them visibility and approval authority over all project expenses.

  • Seamless Integration with Existing Workflows: This feature works alongside existing approval flows, allowing for continued use of group-based approvals when needed.


Assigning the supervisors to Projects

Note

  • To enable this feature for your company account, please contact our support team.

There are 2 ways to assign a supervisor to a cost unit.

Assigning supervisors via the cost unit settings:

  1. Navigate to "Settings" and then to "Cost Units".

  2. Click on the relevant cost unit.

  3. Assign the supervisor to the cost unit and click "Save".

    Assigning supervisors to cost units via cost unit settings

Assigning supervisors via User Management:

  1. Navigate to "User Management" and then to "Users".

  2. Click on the name of the supervisor you would like to assign to a cost unit.

  3. Assign the cost unit to the supervisor in the detailed view and click "Save".

    Assigning supervisors to cost units via user management


How does the routing work?

Expenses and Mileages

The Key Rules:

  • If an expense is assigned to a project with a designated supervisor, it is routed directly to that person for approval.

  • If an expense is split across multiple projects, the first item in the split determines who receives the approval request.

Common Approval Scenarios

Here's a breakdown of where submissions will be routed based on the specific scenario:

  • Not assigned to any project: The approval goes through the group's general approval workflow.

  • Assigned to a project without a supervisor: The approval also goes through the group's general approval workflow.

  • Assigned to a project with a supervisor: The submission is sent directly to the relevant project supervisor.

  • Split with no project on the first item: The approval goes through the group's general approval workflow.

  • Split with a project and supervisor on the first item: The submission is sent directly to the relevant project supervisor.

Trips

The Key Rules

  • If a trip is assigned to a project with a designated supervisor, the entire trip is routed to that person for approval.

  • If a trip is split across multiple projects, the first item in the split determines who receives the approval request.

  • The content of the trip, such as individual expenses or mileage claims, does not affect the routing of the main trip.

Common Approval Scenarios

Here’s a breakdown of where trip submissions will be routed based on the specific scenario:

  • Trip not assigned to any project: The approval goes through the group's general approval workflow, even if individual expenses within the trip are tied to projects with supervisors.

  • Trip assigned to a project without a supervisor: The approval also goes through the group's general approval workflow.

  • Trip assigned to a project with a supervisor: The submission is sent directly to the relevant project supervisor.

  • Trip split with no project on the first item: The approval goes through the group's general approval workflow.

  • Trip split with a project and supervisor on the first item: The submission is sent directly to the relevant project supervisor.


Use Case

This feature is designed for companies operating across multiple projects that require project-specific expense approvals to enhance efficiency, reduce delays, and improve accountability.


Important

  • The routing of an expense is determined at the time of submission and does not change retroactively.

    Even if an accountant later changes the project of a submitted expense, it will still appear in the To-do's of the original project supervisor. The system does not re-route the expense after the initial submission.


Do you still have questions?

💬 Chat Support
📞 +49 30 588 491 01
✉️ support@circula.com

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