Purchase Invoice Approval Workflow

Before you create approval workflows, you must set up an approver and substitute approver for each approval user. You can also set approvers' amount limits to define which sales and purchase records they are qualified to approve. Approval requests and other notifications can be sent as email or internal note. For each approval user setup, you can also set up when they receive notifications.

Users

Before you can set up approval users and their notification method, you must make sure that two users exist in Business Central: One user will represent User A. The other user, yourself, will represent User B.

Setting Up Approval Users

When signed in as yourself, set User A up as an approval user whose approver is yourself. Set up your approval rights and specify how and when you are notified of approval requests.

To set up approval users

1. Choose the search icon, enter Approval User Setup, and then choose the related link.

2. On the Approval User Setup page, choose the New action.

Note: You must set up an approver before you can set up users who require that approver's approval. Therefore, you must set up yourself before you set up User A.

3. Set up the two approval users by filling the fields as described in the following table.

Setting Up Notifications

In this walkthrough, the user is notified by internal note about requests to approve. Approval notification can also be by email, and you can add a workflow response step that notifies the sender when a request is approved or rejected.

To set up how and when you are notified

1. On the Approval User Setup page, select the line for yourself, and then choose the Notification Setup action.

2. On the Notification Setup page, in the Notification Type field, choose Approval.

3. In the Notification Method field, choose Email.

4. On the Notification Setup page, choose the Notification Schedule action.

5. On the Notification Schedule page, in the Recurrence field, select Instantly.

To set up SMTP Mail Setup

1. Choose the search icon, enter SMTP Mail Setup, and then choose the related link.

2. Click on Apply Office 365 Sever Settings.

3. Enter your Office 365 email address at the User ID field.

4. Enter your Office 365 password at the Password field.

To create and enable a purchase invoice approval workflow

1. Choose the search icon, enter Workflows, and then choose the related link.

2. On the Workflows page, Click New, then select New Workflow from Template action.

3. On the Workflow Templates page, select the workflow template named Purchase Invoice Approval Workflow.

4. The Workflow page opens for a new workflow containing all the information of the selected template. The value in the Code field is extended with -01 to indicate that this is the first workflow that is created from the Purchase Invoice Approval Workflow workflow template.

5. On the header of the Workflow page, select the Enabled check box.

Using the Purchase Approval Workflow

Use the new Purchase Invoice Approval Workflow workflow by first signing in to Business Central as User A to request approval of a purchase invoice. Then sign in as yourself, view the note on the Role Center, follow the link to the approval request, and then approve the request.

To request approval of a purchase invoice, as User A

1. Sign in as User A.

2. Choose the Search icon, enter Purchase Invoice, and then choose the related link.

3. Select the line to open Purchase Invoice 106001.

4. On the Purchase Invoice page, choose Actions, then Request Approval, and then choose the Send Approval Request action.

Notice that the value in the Status field has changed to Pending Approval.

To approve the purchase invoice, as User B

1. Sign in as User B.

2. On the Role Center, in the Self Service area, choose the Requests to Approve tile.

3. On the Requests to Approve page, select the line about the purchase invoice by User A, and then choose the Approve action.

4. The value in the Status field on Alicia's purchase order changes to Released.