Transaction Approvals and Checklists

Checklist Interface

Navigation Example: Main Menu > Setup > Transactions > Checklist (tab) 

Buttons Explained

• Rebuild: Not applicable to checklists.

• Edit: Allows the fields to be edited.

• Save: Saves any changes.

• Copy From: Works with the dropdown list of Transaction Types. Copies the checklist from the selected transaction type.

• Add Item: Adds a checklist item.

Header Explained

• Administrators: One or more users can be added to the checklist as Administrators. Administrators can Approve, Decline, and Cancel all the Manual and Override Items on a Checklist, but do not receive emailed approval requests.

• Status: Statuses are selected from dropdown lists and changes transactions' Header Statuses. The various statuses are:

  • Approval: The Status during which the Approval takes place. This status is also used for the automatic Approval Requests which are sent from the server.

  • Approved: The transaction status after it has been approved. This status should be a read-only status from which users can only Output (e.g. send invoices) or Copy.

  • Declined: The transaction status if it was not approved.

Fields Explained

ℹ️ Manual (Requestor), Manual (Manager), Manual (Head) fields are enabled only when the following setting is added to the Transaction Type, and the checkbox in the Value column is checked: Transactions > Enable Procurement/Purchasing.

• Field Chooser (*): Allows users to add or remove columns.

• ID: The system-generated number for the checklist entry.

• Order: The system-generated number that indicates the order of the checklist entry.

• Description: The full description of the checklist item.

• Code: The brief description of the checklist item.

• Type: Options include:

  • Manual: The checklist item must be checked manually.

  • Manual (Requestor): The user selected as the Requestor must approve the item.

  • Manual (Manager): The user selected as the Manager must approve the item.

  • Manual (Head): The user selected as the Head must approve the item.

  • Auto: Uses SQL to test if the Item's conditions are met. The SQL must always return two fields: VALUEID (Integer: 0=False, 1=True) and NOTE (string). A NULL value can be sent to the note field if a note is not required. A parameter: TRANSID can be used in the SQL to reference the transaction values.

  •  Override:  Similar to Auto except that approved users can Override these items when the SQL does not approve them. Approved users may also Cancel the overrides.

  • Limit: Similar to a Manual checklist item except that the approval is linked to the VAT exclusive transaction total. Multiple limit items can be added in ascending order and only the required approvals are added to the transaction (e.g. approval is only required if the transaction value exceeds a certain limit).

• Limit from / Limit to: Used with the Limit option under Type. Allows users to specify the values between which the limit applies.

• Users:  

  • Applicable when the Type is Manual, Override, or Limit. 

  • Right-click to select which Users can approve the item. 

    • Users are added by moving the names from the Available to the Visible sections. 

    • Users are removed by moving the names from the Visible to the Available sections.

• Dependencies: 

  • Allows users to force a sequence of approvals. 

  • Applicable when the Type is Manual, Manual (Requestor), Manual (Manager), Manual (Head), or Limit.

  •  Right-click to select which other items need to be checked before this item can be approved. 

    • Move the checklist items from the Available to the Visible Items section to add them as dependencies.

    • Move the checklist items from the Visible to the Available Items section to remove them as dependencies.

• Updated by: The user who last updated the checklist item.

• Updated: The date on which the last update was made.

• Menu (...): A submenu with the following options: 

  • Set Dependencies: Used to select dependencies.

  • Set Users: Used to select administrators.

  • Edit SQL: Used to create the SQL for automatic checklists.

  • Copy Item: Used to copy the checklist item to a new line.

  • Delete Item: Used to delete the checklist item.

  • Move Up: Moves the checklist item one line higher.

  • Move Down: Moves the checklist item one line lower.

Using Checklists on Transactions

ℹ️ When creating or editing a transaction, the Checklist Roles appear on the transaction's header and users can be selected for each role. These fields can also be displayed in Transaction List View by using the Field Chooser (*) to add them.

When a checklist is linked to a Transaction, an Approve button is displayed at the top of the transaction and is used to approve the items the user has access to. The Approve button also has a dropdown menu with the following items:

• Decline: The Transaction Status is set to the default Declined Status as set in the checklist. Checklist Administrator rights are required. 

• Update Checklist (Auto and Override): Updates the Auto items on the Checklist without requiring the Transaction to be in an editable status. All users can access this function, but it can only be executed on Pending or Active Transactions.

• Reset Checklist: All approvals or declines are cancelled. The Transaction Status is set to the default Awaiting Approval Status. Checklist Administrator rights are required.

• Email Approval Request: Changes the Status to the Approval status and sends an email to the Users who must approve the checklist.

Checklist statuses are colour-coded as follows:

• Red: Indicates an Auto Item that has not yet been approved or a Manual Item that is not yet ready for Approval because the dependent items have not yet been approved.

• Yellow: The Item is ready for Approval and has no outstanding dependencies. Any user who is selected as an administrator can approve the transaction.

• Green - Approved: The User and the Date/Time the item was approved are listed in the grid on the right.

• Black - Declined: The User and Date/Time the item was declined are listed in the grid on the right. Ideally, a Note should be added to explain why it was declined.

Letter icons indicate the Item Type:  M = Manual, A= Auto, O = Auto - Override

Context Menu

Right-click a checklist item or click the menu (…) button on the right to open the context menu which includes:

• Add Note: Enables users to add a time-stamped note to a Manual item. 

• Approve (List of Users): Enabled when the item is ready for approval and the user is linked to an authorised Role. (Users can also double-click an Item to Approve it)

• Decline (List of Users): Enabled unless the item has already been declined.

• Reset: Reset an Approved or Declined item back to the default status and is allowed if the user is an Administrator. Applicable to Manual and Override.

Approvals Module 

ℹ️ The Approvals module provides a unified interface that can be used to approve outstanding Checklists on all Transactions. 

Approvals can be added to any Menu Group (Fixed (radio button) > Approvals). 

Navigation Example: Main Menu > Office > Approvals

Settings: User Access

Navigation: Main Menu > Setup > Settings > Users (tab) 

• General > Approvals - Access Allowed: Select None, View Only, or Full Access.

Buttons Explained

• View: Generates a list of transactions based on the selected filters.

• Menu: 

  • Reset Data Filters

  • Layout & Grids

Filters Explained

• Transaction: Default = All. Lists all the transactions with checklists to select one or all.

• User: Default = Active User. Lists all users to select a specific user or all.

• Radio buttons: 

  • Outstanding: Default = Checked. Displays all the transactions in the default Approval Status. 

  • Declined: Displays all the transactions in the default Declined Status. 

Fields explained

ℹ️ Any approval notes are displayed in blue under the relevant items.

• Field Chooser (*): Allows users to add or remove columns.

• Icon: Green, Yellow, Red, or Grey to indicate the checklist Item Status.

• Icon:  M, O, A to indicate the approval type: Manual, Override, Automatic.

• Status: The transaction's status.

• Trans: A code indicating the Transaction Type.

• No.: The transaction number.

• Date: The transaction date.

• Due Date: The due date as per the transaction. The Due Date caption may vary on the Transaction interface because it can be changed by a setting.

• Company: The name of the Customer or Supplier.

• Reference: The transaction's reference.

• Code: A description of the checklist item (e.g. Quantity Match) or person (e.g. Buyer, Manager) that must approve the checklist.

• Requestor: The user selected as the Requestor.

• Manager: The user selected as the Manager.

• Head: The user selected as the Head.

• Description: A description of what must be approved (e.g. Quantity matches the Delivery Note quantity).

• Users: A list of Users that have access rights to approve the item. 

• Progress: Lists the entire Checklist, colour-coded according to Status. The active item is displayed in bold. (Only displayed when the radio button next to Outstanding is selected).

• Total CUR: The total transaction amount in the local currency.

• Total (exc): The VAT exclusive transaction total.

• VAT: The VAT amount on the transaction.

• Total (inc): The VAT inclusive transaction total.

• CUR: The transaction's currency.

• Last (Hr/s): The number of hours since the transaction was last looked at.

• Open (Hr/s): The number of hours that the transaction has been open.

• Updated by: The user who last updated the transaction.

• Update: The date on which the transaction was last updated.

• Priority: A checkbox. Checked if the transaction is a priority.

• Menu (...): A submenu with the following options:

• Open Transaction: Opens the selected Transaction.

• Open Notes and Attachments: Opens the notes and attachments panel.

• Actions

  • Add Note: Enables users to add a time-stamped note to a Manual item. 

  • Approve: Approves the item. This function is only enabled when the item is ready for approval and the user viewing the list is linked to an authorised Role.

  • Decline: Declines to approve the item.

  • Reset: Resets the checklist. All items must be approved again. 

Related Topics

• Reference: Transactions (overview)

• Reference: Transaction Types Accounting Setup

• Reference: Batch Updates

• Reference: Extra Datasets

• Reference: Transaction Payments

• Reference: Point of Sale

• Reference: Transaction Type Properties

• Reference: Transaction Settings

• Reference: Creating Transaction Types

• Reference: Transaction Signatures

• Reference: Transaction Data Pipelines

• Reference: Transaction Views

• Transaction Examples