Approval workflows in AccBooks AI

What are approval workflows?

Approval workflows enforce a review and sign-off process before certain actions are taken in AccBooks. They’re essential for:

• Preventing unauthorised payments.
• Ensuring all invoices are reviewed before sending.
• Maintaining segregation of duties (SOD) — a core internal control requirement.
• Compliance with bank mandates that require dual authorisation for large payments.

Configuring approval workflows

Go to Settings → Approvals → Workflows. You’ll see a list of workflow types you can configure.

Transaction approval

Require approval before any bank transaction is reclassified or posted:

1. Select Transaction approval.
2. Set the trigger:
   • Amount: Approve transactions above a threshold.
   • Account: Specific bank accounts always require approval.
   • Category: Certain nominal codes always require approval.
3. Set the approver(s): One or more specific users.
4. Set the approval type: Any one (one of the listed users must approve) or All (every listed user must approve).

Invoice approval

Require approval before an invoice is sent to a customer:

1. Select Invoice approval.
2. Trigger: All invoices, or above a value threshold.
3. Approver: Usually the business owner or finance director.

When a team member creates an invoice, it’s held as Pending approval until the designated approver reviews and approves it.

Payment run approval

For businesses using BACS payment files, require a second authoriser before the payment file can be downloaded:

1. Select Payment run approval.
2. Set the minimum number of approvers (1 or 2).
3. Set who can approve (usually Owners only).

Journal approval

Require approval for manual journals above a value threshold — prevents erroneous or fraudulent journals.

The approval process

When a transaction, invoice or payment run requires approval:

1. The creator submits it for approval.
2. All designated approvers receive an email notification.
3. Approvers log in (or use the mobile app) and see the pending item in their Approvals queue.
4. They review the details and either Approve or Reject with comment.
5. If approved by all required approvers, the action proceeds automatically.
6. If rejected, the creator receives the rejection reason and can edit and resubmit.

Mobile approvals

The AccBooks mobile app is optimised for approvals:

• The Approvals tab shows all pending items.
• Swipe right to approve, swipe left to reject.
• Push notifications arrive in real time when an item needs your approval.

This lets business owners approve transactions from their phone without needing to log in on a desktop.

Escalation

If an approval isn’t actioned within a set time (configurable — default: 48 hours), AccBooks:

• Sends a reminder to the approver.
• Optionally escalates to a backup approver.
• Notifies the original creator that approval is pending.

Approval history

Every approval action is logged with:

• Who approved or rejected.
• When.
• Any comments.
• What they approved (the exact state of the transaction/invoice at that moment).

Go to Audit log → Approvals to search this history.

Bypassing approvals

Owners can bypass approval workflows for urgent items. To do so:

1. Open the pending item.
2. Click Override approval (visible to Owners only).
3. Enter a reason.
4. The override is logged in the audit trail.

This provides flexibility while maintaining accountability.