Approvals Suite overview
Architectural and operational rationale of SmartERP Approvals, eliminating fragmented email/paper sign-offs with a unified, auditable multi-tier governance engine.
The SmartERP Approvals Suite provides a unified, highly configurable approval engine for every organizational expenditure, commercial commitment, and administrative request across SmartERP.
Business Purpose#
In traditional organizations, approvals live in disjointed silos: purchase sign-offs get lost in email chains, petty cash vouchers rely on paper forms, and vendor bills are approved in chat threads. When an auditor asks "who authorized this transaction, and on what date?", the audit trail is fractured.
The SmartERP Approvals Suite replaces ad-hoc sign-offs with a standardized, tamper-evident workflow:
| Operating Dimension | Ad-Hoc / Legacy Process | SmartERP Approvals Suite |
|---|---|---|
| Route Visibility | Unclear who must approve; depends on informal inquiry. | Exact route preview displays all required stages and approvers before submission. |
| Amount Integrity | Approvals given verbally or in writing; amounts changed afterwards. | Approval is strictly bound to the document's current amount. Changing the amount re-triggers the route. |
| Stalled Requests | Requests languish indefinitely in email inboxes without alerts. | Enforced SLA in working hours (excluding Ethiopian public holidays) with automated manager escalation. |
| Approver Absence | When an approver takes leave, operational procurement halts. | Time-bound delegations allow designated stand-ins to act with full audit logging. |
| Transaction Gating | POs or vendor bills posted before sign-off is granted. | Hard server-side blocks prevent confirmation, posting, or payment until approved. |
Core Architecture & Building Blocks#
The Approvals Suite operates on six core architectural primitives:
- Approval Type (
smarterp.approval.type): The master template (e.g.PURCH,BILL,PCV) defining required fields, policy, SLA thresholds, and stages. - Approval Stage (
smarterp.approval.stage): One step in the routing chain. Operates in one of three decision modes:- All Approvers: Every designated approver in the stage must approve.
- Any One Approver: First approver to respond decides the stage.
- Quorum: A minimum threshold (e.g. 2 out of 3 approvers) must approve.
- Approver Resolver: The algorithmic rule determining specific individuals at submission time:
- Specific designated user.
- Security group members.
- Requester's direct manager (from HR profile).
- Department manager.
- Named job position holders.
- Approval Request (
smarterp.approval.request): The actual transaction submitted by an employee with title, amount, partner, and supporting documentation. - Authority Limit (
smarterp.approval.authority): Monetary ceiling restricting how much an individual approver is authorized to approve. - Delegation (
smarterp.approval.delegation): Temporary assignment of approval rights while on annual or medical leave.
Important
The Approvals Suite enforces a foundational governance principle: the engine never confirms or posts transactions itself — a human user always does. The engine solely validates whether the user is authorized to proceed.
Navigation & Application Hub#
Open the Approvals application from the SmartERP main app menu:
- My Approvals: Operational inbox displaying requests currently awaiting your decision.
- New Request: Kanban board of available active approval types.
- My Requests: Complete history of all requests raised by the logged-in user.
- All Requests: Managerial overview with interactive pivot and chart views.
- Delegations: Self-service portal to designate stand-in approvers during leave.
- Reporting → Approvals Analysis: Analytics on approval cycle times, SLAs, and approval rates.
- Configuration: Administrative control over Approval Types, Stages, and Authority Limits.
Next Steps#
- Configure approval workflows: Approval types and stages.
- Submit a request: Raising and tracking requests.
- Process pending sign-offs: Approver decisions and SLA.
- Understand bridge document blocks: Bridges to PO, Bills, and Petty Cash.