Delegations and stand-in substitutions
Operating procedures for designating temporary approval delegates during planned absence, authority limit inheritance, and audit compliance.
This guide is for all managers and approvers planning leave or duty travel.
Delegation Principles#
SmartERP provides automated stand-in delegation to ensure operational continuity while maintaining strict security controls:
- One-Hop Delegation: A delegate cannot re-delegate approval rights to a third party (no circular delegation).
- Authority Limit Retention: The delegate acts on your behalf, but decisions are strictly bounded by the delegate's own authority limit.
- Selective Scope: Delegations can apply to all approval types or be restricted to specific categories (e.g. only Petty Cash, not Capital Purchases).
- Full Transparency: Chatter entries record both the principal and the stand-in:
Approved by Dawit Kebede on behalf of Bethlehem Haile (delegated).
Setting Up a Delegation#
- Navigate to Approvals → Delegations and click New.
- Specify the delegation parameters:
| Field Name | Setting | Operational Constraint |
|---|---|---|
| Delegate User | Name of the stand-in colleague | Must be an active internal SmartERP user (portal users blocked). |
| Approval Types | Select specific types (or leave empty for All) | Limits delegation to authorized scopes. |
| Start Date | Date and time absence commences | Delegation is inactive prior to this timestamp. |
| End Date | Date and time absence concludes | Auto-expires delegation; reverts rights to principal immediately. |
| Reason | Narrative explanation | Mandatory for internal compliance and audit verification. |
- Click Confirm Delegation.
Next Steps#
- Bridge gating rules: Bridges to PO, Bills, and Petty Cash.
- Approvals analytics: Reporting and analytics.
Last updated: 2026-10-16