Overview
Approval policies ensure that bill payments undergo a structured review process, aligning with organizational financial controls. These policies facilitate tiered approval workflows, enabling efficient validation and timely payment of legitimate vendor invoices while safeguarding against policy violations and unnecessary expenditures.
Types of Approval Policies in Volopay:
Company Approval Policy:
The company approval policy ensures that bill payments across the organization are subject to a uniform approval process. This standardized approach helps maintain control and consistency, ensuring that all payments meet the company's financial and operational policies before being processed.
Custom Approval Policy:
Custom approval policies provide 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.
Navigating Bill Payment Approvals
Needs Your Attention:
Bills requiring immediate approval are highlighted in this tab. If you are the next in line to approve a bill, it will appear here, signaling that your review is required.
Pending:
Bills 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 bills here.
All:
This tab provides a comprehensive view of all bills 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 bills directly from this tab, effectively skipping all levels of approval if necessary.
Approving or Rejecting a Bill as an Approver:
As an approver, you play a crucial role in the financial governance of your organization. Review each bill carefully to ensure it meets all required standards and policies before approving or rejecting it.
Navigate to the Bill Pay module and go to the “Approvals” page.
You will see a list of all bills awaiting your approval across three tabs: “Need Your Attention”, “Pending”, and “All”.
Each bill can be approved or rejected individually by clicking the “Approve” or “Reject” button. You can also select multiple bills to approve or reject in bulk.
When it's your turn to approve a bill, you may be notified via email or Slack if integrated, and you can approve directly from the notification or by logging into Volopay.
Maker-Checker Principle
The Maker-Checker principle is a key control mechanism used to ensure that the same person does not initiate and approve a transaction. This adds an additional layer of security by involving multiple individuals in the approval process, thereby preventing errors and fraud.
Skipping Approvals
Admins with the authority can bypass the standard multi-level approval process. By opting to skip all levels, a bill can be approved instantly, which is particularly useful in situations requiring urgent processing.
How to Skip All Approval Levels:
Navigate to the Bill Pay module and then approvals.
Locate the bill you wish to fast-track and click on the three dots menu associated with it.
Select 'Skip Approval' from the dropdown menu.
Identifying Duplicate Bill Payments:
Volopay’s algorithm identifies duplicate bill payments by comparing data present in the system. The algorithm identifies any duplicate payment based on the following factors of bill payments -
- Vendor name
- Total Amount
- Invoice date
- Due date
If a potential duplicate payment is identified. The system notifies the request creator as well as approvers of the bill mentioning potential duplicate payment in the notification slider. This helps prevent accidental or fraudulent payments. Thus, saving time and crucial financial resources.
Archive bill payment
From the Approval page of Bill Pay, click the three vertical dots on the Bill that you want to archive the payment for.
Click Archive Bill
We'll delete the entry from Volopay and your accounting provider (if connected), and your payment will be Archived.