approval chains martha pluemer 2012 user conference
TRANSCRIPT
Approval ChainsYou can use approval chains to approve:
Purchase orders Budget requests/transfers Bids Advanced purchases Payroll salary changes Warehouse orders Payments
Planning an Approval Chain
• Prior to setting up an approval chain, you must first identify how you want your approval chain to function
• There are three ways to set up an approval chain: By Location By User By Account
Approval Chain by Location
Enter the approval chain in the Location Master
You can key different approval chains depending on transaction type
User Chain
Sample forms can be found in the FAS User Guide
A user chain overrides a location chain
Chain used for every transaction keyed by the user
A user chain merges with an account chain
Sample
An account approval chain is typically a detour in the chain
A location or user chain is generated, then it detours to a different department
Sample
Approval Chain by Account
Organization Master settingsApprove each level:• Requires each approval code to approve the
transaction in sequential order• Cannot approve at a higher level to auto
approve lower levels
Approve Stipend Vendors:• Typically vendor 99999 or vendor you intend
to use only once• Requires a user to approve as stipend or
approve as vendor before the transaction begins the approval process
Create Approval Codes
• Once you’ve planned the chains and who will approve each level, it’s time to key that data into alio
• The first step is to define approval codes & descriptions
• Include Dollar Minimum amount
Create User Approvers
• Next, associate an alio user with the Approval Code
• The user(s) are able to approve the transaction waiting for approval by that Approval Code
• Select the Active box to allow approval
Create Approval Chains
• PO level indicates the transaction is fully approved and ready for edit
• Approval Level indicates the order in which the transaction is approved
• Final level must be Approval Code PO
• Leave room between levels for detours by account chains
Create Approval Chains
Copy Full Approval Chains:• This new feature allows you to copy an existing
approval chain to create a new one• If the “To” chain already exists, user is asked if they
want to overwrite. The existing chain will be deleted before the new one is copied over.
Sample Location Chain
Enter a requisition with order location of Birch High to view a location approval chain
Sample Location Chain
• Approval chain is properly built• Asst. Super and Superintendent
will both auto approve since the amount is less than 25,000
Sample Location Chain
The requisition now shows approved with date, time and user and waiting for approval by FIN
Sample User Chain
You can key different approval chains depending on transaction type
The technology chain doesn’t include the principal, for example
Sample User Chain
• User chain overrides location chain• Again, the transaction will auto
approve for ASUP and SUPT levels
Sample Account Chain• Users approve the requisition• Because it is over $25,000, the assistant
superintendent must approve the requisition
• Notice the superintendent Auto approved because the amount is less than $50,000
Multiple Account Chains
• Chart of accounts has two Approval Chains for requisitions in this sample
• alio will merge these two (PR & PRTR with the location chain (if exists)
Multiple Account Chains
BIRCHHS, PR and PRTR all merged to create the approval chain for this transaction
Auto Approval Chain
• Assigning an approval chain that contains only “PO” Approval Code would automatically approve any transaction assigned this chain
• Some of you may find that you already have an auto chain set up, perhaps by the implementer/trainer
Summary• A Location chain merges with an account
chain• A user chain merges with an account chain• A user chain overrides the location chain• If multiple account chains exist, they will
merge together• Final level in the chain must be Approval
Code PO• Recommend you assign the same level each
time for said department for best merge results