Approvals Module
Overview
- Transactions can have checklists which must be approved before they can be completed.
- Checklists consist of one or more items that must be approved, manually or automatically (using SQL queries).
- When all the items are approved, the transaction is set to an Approved status which ideally should be a read-only status.
- Checklists can be updated on all Pending and Active Transactions.
- If the Transaction's Status is reverted to a lower status than the Approval status, the checklist is reset.
- If a Checklist item is Declined, the Transaction Status is set to the default Declined status.
If a checklist is linked to a transaction, it must first be completed before you can:
- Change the transaction's Status to an Active or Complete status. The message "Status change not allowed - the Approval has not been approved." appears. (A change to another Pending status, or to a Cancelled status, is still allowed.)
- Copy the transaction to a different module. The message "Copy not allowed - the Approval has not been approved." appears (on a Quotation: "Copy not allowed - the checklist has not been approved."). See Copy Rules.
- Output a template which updates the transaction's status. (Templates can be linked to a status group. For example, a Cost Sheet can only be generated (Output) when a Quotation is Pending.)
The Approvals Module provides a unified interface that can be used to approve outstanding Checklists on all Transactions.
Which Items Appear
Info
No access setting is needed to open Approvals. You can only approve, decline or reset the items you are set up as a user for (see Setting up Approvals).
- Each row is one checklist item of a transaction, so a transaction with three outstanding items appears three times.
- Approvals lists the checklists of Quotations, Sales Orders, Work Orders, Purchase Orders, Supplier Invoices, Campaigns and Materials Movements.
- A transaction only has a checklist when checklist items are set up for its module.
- Outstanding: the items that are not approved yet: waiting for other items or the SQL (red), or ready for approval (yellow). The date filter uses the transaction's date. For a Campaign, its start and end dates must both fall in the date range.
- Approved: the approved items. The date filter uses the date of the approval, and selecting Approved sets the date to This Month. The Progress column shows Approval Complete.
- Declined: the declined items. The date filter does not apply.
- User: with Outstanding, the items the selected user may approve. With Approved, the items the user may approve or approved.
- Transactions with a status in the Cancelled group never appear.
Buttons Explained
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Reset | Resets the data filters to the defaults: No Date, all the modules, Outstanding and your own user. |
| View | Generates a list of transactions that must be approved based on the selected filters. |
| Menu | Layout options. |
Filters Explained
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | A selection of date options including No Date to display all the outstanding approvals. |
| Arrows | Adjusts the date in the direction of the arrow. |
| Date fields | Lets you enter custom dates. |
| Module | A dropdown list of modules to select a specific module or all. |
| User | A dropdown list of users to select a specific user or all. |
| Outstanding (radio button) | Displays only transactions with outstanding approvals. |
| Approved (radio button) | Displays only approved transactions. |
| Declined (radio button) | Displays only declined transactions. |
Fields Explained
Info
Notes added to the checklist items appear in blue below the items on BOS Professional.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Field Chooser (*) | Lets you add or remove columns. |
| Colour-coded icon | Displays the checklist item's status. |
| Letter icon |
|
| Status | The transaction's status. |
| Trans | A code indicating the transaction type (e.g. QT for Quotations). |
| No. | The transaction number. |
| Date | The date of the transaction. |
| Due Date | The transaction's due date, on Sales Orders, Purchase Orders and Supplier Invoices. (This caption may be different on the transaction because it can be customised). |
| Company | The name of the Customer or Supplier. |
| Reference | The reference on the transaction. |
| Code | The checklist item's code (abbreviated description). |
| Description | The checklist item's description. |
| Users | The users who may approve the checklist item. |
| Progress | A list of all the approval items, colour-coded to indicate their approval statuses. |
| Total CUR | The transaction's total in its currency. Hidden when your company does not use multiple currencies. |
| Total (exc) | The transaction's VAT exclusive total. |
| VAT | The VAT amount on the transaction. |
| Total (inc) | The transaction's VAT inclusive total. |
| CUR | The transaction's currency. Hidden when your company does not use multiple currencies. |
| Last (Hr/s) | The number of hours since the transaction was last updated. |
| Open (Hr/s) | The number of hours since the transaction's date. |
| Updated by | The user who approved or declined the item. |
| Updated | The date and time of the approval or decline. |
| Menu (...) |
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