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How to: Use Approval Workflows

21 Dec

How to: Use Approval Workflows

by SMB Suite
in Managed IT, SMB Blog
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When a record, such as a purchase document or a customer card, needs to be approved by someone in your organization, you send an approval request as part of a workflow. Based on how the workflow is set up, the appropriate approver is then notified that the record requires their approval.

Core approval workflows for purchases documents, sales documents, payment journals, customer cards, and item cards are ready to start as assisted setup. For more information, see Welcome to Financials.

Note: This functionality requires that your experience is set to Suite. For more information, see Customizing the Dynamics 365 for Financials Experience.

To request approval of a record

The following task is performed by an approval user.

  1. In the window that presents the record, choose the Send Approval Request action.
  2. To see all your approval requests, in the top right corner, choose the Search for Page or Report icon, enter Approval Request Entries, and then choose the related link.

The status of the approval entry is updated from Created to Open. The status of the record, for example a purchase invoice, is updated from Open to Pending Approval and remains locked for processing until all approvers have approved the record.

When the approver has approved the record, the status changes to Released. You can then continue your tasks with the record.

To cancel requests for approval

The following task is performed by an approval user with approver rights.

A customer may want to change an order after it has been submitted for approval. In this case, you can cancel the approval process and make the necessary changes to the order before you request approval again.

  1. In the window that displays the record, choose the Cancel Approval Request action.

When the approval request has been canceled, the status of the related approval entry is changed to Canceled. The status of the record is updated from Pending Approval to Open. The approval process can then start again.

To make minor changes to approved records

If you want to make a minor change to a record after it has been approved, you can reopen the record, make the change, and then release it. For minor changes, you do this with the Reopen and Release buttons.

  1. Open the window that displays the record, such as a purchase invoice, and then choose the Reopen action.

    The Document Status field is changed to Open.

  2. Make the necessary changes on the record, such as the vendor’s address.

  3. Choose the Release action.

When you reopen the source record, the status of the related approval entry remains Approved in the Approval Entries window.

To approve or reject requests for approval

The following task is performed by an approval user with approver rights.

You can process approval requests in the Requests to Approve window, for example to approve multiple requests at a time. Alternatively, you can process each request on the related record, such as the Purchase Invoice window, by choosing the link in the notification that you receive.

  1. In the top right corner, choose the Search for Page or Report icon, enter Requests to Approve, and then choose the related link.
  2. Select one or more lines for the record or records that you want to approve or reject.
  3. Choose the Approve, Reject, or Delegate actions.

When a record has been approved or rejected, the approval status in the Status field changes to Approved or Rejected.

If an approver hierarchy is set up, the record status will be Pending Approval until all approvers have approved the record. Then the record status will change to Released.

At the same time, the approval status changes from Created to Open as soon as an approval request for the record is created. If the request is rejected, the approval status changes to Rejected. The status remains Open or Rejected until all approvers have approved the request.

To delegate requests for approval

The following task is performed by an approval user with approver rights.

To prevent documents from piling up or otherwise block the workflow, the approver and the approval administrator can delegate an approval request to a substitute approver. The substitute can either be a designated substitute, the direct approver, or the approval administrator, in that order of priority. You typically use this feature if an approver is out of office and is unable to approve requests before the due date.

  1. In the top right corner, choose the Search for Page or Report icon, enter Requests to Approve, and then choose the related link.
  2. Select one or more lines for the approval requests that you want to delegate to a substitute approver, and then choose the Delegate action.

A notification to approve the request is sent to the substitute approver.

To manage overdue approval requests

The following task is performed by an approval user with approver rights.

At regular intervals, you must remind approval workflow users of overdue approval requests that they must react on. You use the Send Overdue Approval Notifications function for this.

The Send Overdue Approval Notifications function checks for all open approval requests that are currently overdue. Each approver that has at least one overdue approval entry receives a notification with the list of all their overdue approval requests. The notification is also sent to their approver and all the requesters of the overdue approvals. This helps if the overdue approval entry must be delegated to a substitute.

  1. In the top right corner, choose the Search for Page or Report icon, enter Overdue Approval Requests, and then choose the related link.
  2. In the Overdue Approval Requests window, choose the Send Overdue Approval Notifications action.
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Steve’s been with SMB Suite since 1998 and has been involved with nearly every aspects of the Company’s business as a strategist, professional services executive, cloud solutions architect, and senior consultant. In his current role, Steve is responsible for SMB Suite’s revenue and oversees the execution of ERP, CRM and BI projects for customers across a broad range of industries. Steve combines his expertise in MS Dynamics GP, CRM and other Microsoft products with a strong foundation in accounting and business to identify gaps and streamline customers’ processes. Prior to co-founding SMB Suite, Steve was previously Corporate Controller for MEHLE Behr and, prior to that, Audit Senior for Ernst & Young. Steve holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Jeremy is responsible for SMB Suite’s technology vision, strategy and implementation and is the architect of the Company’s Dynamics Cloud Platform. Highly adept in every facet of managed services, ERP systems and e-commerce platforms, Jeremy’s expertise spans the implementation and support of business and financial software solutions, as well as the customization and integration of SMB Suite’s cloud ERP technology stack. He holds numerous Microsoft and industry-related certifications, and was primarily responsible for designing the Company’s progressive business services platform in the early days of the Cloud. Prior to SMB Suite, Jeremy served as the financial analyst, systems administrator, and information systems liaison for a $2 billion financial services corporation.

Monty is responsible for SMB Suite’s day-to-day operation and, most importantly, its customers. As a leader, motivator and mentor, Monty creates loyal high performance teams willing to “walk through walls” to accomplish their goals. Prior to SMB Suite, Monty served as President of The Bradshaw Group (TBG), a global distributor, manufacturer, and repair facility for digital printers. In this role, he was the Company’s ambassador to its most important domestic, European and Latin American customers and TBG achieved a best-in-class Net Promoter Score of 74 for its superb customer satisfaction. Prior to TBG, Monty served as the General Manager of Sam’s Clubs three highest grossing U.S. stores and was named Regional Operator of the Year in 1999. Monty holds a BBA in Marketing from Texas Tech University and is an active member of Business Navigators. He has been active in Vistage International, Executives in Action, the Dallas/Fort Worth Retail Executives Association, as well as, A.P.I.C.S., the leading professional association for supply chain and operations management. Monty also volunteers with Hunger Busters and ManeGait, a therapeutic horsemanship organization.

David is a proven financial and information technology professional with expertise in providing business accounting software and computing solutions. He began his career by starting and managing a successful independent consulting practice for several years. He then launched the local systems consulting unit of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurial Services Group, leading the office into the hi-tech consulting arena. After successfully developing the unit for Ernst & Young, David founded NextCorp (which became SMB Suite in 2013) to serve the business software needs of clients throughout the US. David has made SMB Suite one of the best cloud ERP providers in the industry. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur and leader, he is a software and technology specialist, holding certifications in various Microsoft and other technologies.