Why do purchases I submit need approval?
When a purchase is submitted:
- It will automatically go to the budget approver of the expenditure category the purchase is recorded against (EXCEPT where the submitter is the budget approver OR the submitter is set as a spouse/relation of the budget holder)
- Where the above is the case, if a backup budget approver has been set, the purchase will automatically go to that person for approval instead (EXCEPT where the submitter is set as a spouse/relation of the backup budget approver)
- Where the above is the case, no approver will be set, but the purchase will still require someone with permission to 'approve on behalf of others' within their user role to approve the purchase (EXCEPT if the system setting for what should happen in this scenario has been changed to 'skip approval')
Budget approval is a key part of a church or charity having good financial controls, and so whilst it is possible to change your charity's approval settings, so that not all purchases require approval, it's highly recommended you think carefully about this before doing so.
Note: Your independent examiner or auditor may query purchases that have either been self-approved / auto-approved.
This help guide article covers how you can customise the approval settings for your organisation. Further answers can also be found within this Approvals FAQ.
Important: Any changes to your approval settings will apply immediately and any purchases awaiting approval that no longer require approval as a result of the settings that have been updated will be auto-approved.
Note: Whilst you can if you have permission to temporarily update your system settings to enable purchase to bypass approval, this is not typically recommended (and the reason for the purchase being auto-approved will be displayed within the purchase approvals report within ExpensePlus)
For a full list of auto-approval reasons and what each means, check out this help guide article.
By default, approval is required for all purchases except for 'Direct Debits' and 'Bank/Payment Processor Fees' which never require approval within ExpensePlus.
To help you better understand the Approvals module as a whole, please visit the module overview page here.