Overview
Approval policies ensure that reimbursement claims undergo a structured review process, aligning with organizational spending rules and financial controls. These policies facilitate tiered approval workflows, enabling efficient validation and timely reimbursement of legitimate employee expenses while safeguarding against policy violations and unnecessary expenditures.
We have 2 types of approval policies in Volopay:
1. Company approval policy
The company approval policy ensures that reimbursement claims across the organization are subject to a uniform approval process. This standardized approach helps maintain control and consistency, ensuring that all claims meet the company's financial and operational policies before being approved.
2. Custom approval policy
Custom approval policies allow for more flexibility by tailoring approval processes to the specific needs of different departments or projects. These policies are designed to address unique operational requirements, enabling department heads or project managers to have more control over their budgetary expenditures.
Once a claim has been submitted for reimbursement, it is directed to the appropriate approvers defined under the approval policy. To understand how to set or change an approval policy, click here.
Maker-checker
The Maker-Checker principle is an important control mechanism used to ensure that the same person does not initiate and approve a transaction. This adds an additional layer of security and accuracy by involving multiple individuals in the approval process, thereby preventing errors and fraud.
To understand how to enable maker-checker, click here.
Understanding Tabs in Approval
Needs Your Attention:
This tab is for approvers who are the immediate reviewers of the claim. If you are the next in line to approve a claim, it will appear under this tab, signaling that your review is required.
Pending:
Claims that are not yet at your level of approval are found under the 'Pending' tab. If you are part of the approval workflow but not the immediate approver, you will see these claims here.
All:
This tab provides a comprehensive view of all claims submitted for approval, including those awaiting approval, those that have been rejected, and even those outside your direct approval policy. Admins have the capability to bypass standard procedures and approve claims directly from this tab, effectively skipping all levels of approval if necessary.
Approving or Rejecting a Claim as an Approver
As an approver, you play a crucial role in the financial governance of your organization. Review each claim carefully to ensure it meets all required standards and policies before approving or rejecting it.
Go to the approvals section of the reimbursement module, accessible either from My Volopay or the reimbursement approvals page.
You will see a list of all claims awaiting your approval.
Each claim can be approved or rejected individually, or you can select multiple claims to approve or reject in bulk.
For each claim, you have the option to click Approve or Reject depending on your assessment.
Understanding Comments on Claims
Comments on claims provide valuable context and explanations from the claimant or other approvers. They can be used to understand the rationale behind expenditures, address concerns, or clarify details about the submitted claim.
Skip approvals
Admins have the authority to bypass the standard multi-level approval process. By opting to skip all levels, a claim can be approved instantly, which is particularly useful in situations requiring urgent processing.
How to Skip All Approval Levels
Navigate to the approvals section of the reimbursement module.
Locate the claim you wish to fast-track and click on the three dots menu associated with it.
Select Skip Approval from the dropdown menu.
Identify duplicate reimbursements
To mitigate the risk of duplicate claims, our system alerts both the claim creator and the approver when potential duplicates are detected. This precaution helps ensure the integrity of the claims process and prevents unnecessary payouts. The system identifies duplicates based on multiple data points within the claim submission.
For Employees: At the time of claim creation, employees will receive an alert if the system detects any potential duplication based on previously submitted claims. This allows them to review and modify the claim before submission if necessary.
For Approvers: Approvers can see the duplicate alert when they click on a claim to view its details. This feature helps approvers to verify the uniqueness of the claim and decide appropriately based on the provided evidence and claim history.