Approval Table: Settings

This section explains the Fund Accounting Profile settings that affect approvals for accounts payable, batch budget adjustments, and batch budget transfers. It also covers the settings you define in an Approval table record and the way the system applies these records when approving payables.

Fund Accounting Profile Settings

The Fund Accounting Profile's Accounts Payable tab contains the fields that determine whether you use approval processing for payables, types of transactions that require approval, and the default approval records to be assigned to payables generated through system processing. The System Options tab contains a field allowing approvals for batch budget adjustments and batch budget transfers (Step 5).

1. Select System Administration > Administration > Profiles > Fund Accounting Profile.

2. In the Accounts Payable tab, use the following checkboxes to determine how to handle payment approval:

   Approval for PO Payments	Select this option to require approval processing for all purchase order payments.
   Approval for PO Payments Overpayment Only	Select this option to require approval processing for PO payments that meet the overpayment criteria described in Step 3.
   Approval for Non-PO Payments	Select this option to require approval processing for non-purchase order payments.

   If you do not use approval processing for payments, leave the checkboxes blank.

3. In the Overpayment Control Type field, select one of the following:
   A - Amount
   P - Percentage
   B - Both
   N - None
   Based on your selection, use the Overpayment Amount Limit and Overpayment Percentage Limit fields to enter the dollar amount, percentage to determine overpayment. The system applies these values when you save a payable record. If a payable line item exceeds the overpayment limit, the system routes the record to a batch file where it will go through approval processing.
4. Use the following fields to assign default approval groups for payables generated through various system processes.

5. In the System Options tab, select the Budget Transfer/Adjustment Approvals checkbox, if you also require approvals for these budget transactions. Otherwise, leave the field blank.

   Default Approval Group for Payroll	Code for the approval group to use as the default for automatic vendor payments generated through payroll processing.
   Default Approval Group for Community	Code for the approval group to use as the default for payables interfaced from the Utility Billing System when refunds are issued. This only applies if you use this system.

   Important
   If you enter codes in these fields, ensure that you also add these to the Approval table.

6. Click OK to save the record.

Approval Table Settings

The options in the Payable Entry and Budget Ledgers menus allow you to set up approval groups and define the rules for approving accounts payable, batch budget adjustments, and batch budget transfers. For each record in the Approval table, you determine the following approval settings:

• Number of approval levels that apply.
• Number of approval levels that are required.
• Valid approvers at each level, one primary approver and two alternates.
• Low and high amounts for each approval level.

If you have the appropriate security permissions, you can also set up approval parameters for requisitions, purchase orders, and vendor bid items. A single approval group can have settings for these transactions, as well as for payables and batch budget transfers/adjustments.

Transaction Approvals

To fully approve a transaction, the following conditions must be met:

• A valid approver needs to approve the transaction for every required level defined in the corresponding Approval Table record.
• If a required approval level has low and high amounts defined and the transaction amount is not within this range, the approval level is not required.
• If the transaction has a distribution account that falls within an account number range defined in the Account Approval table, then account-based approval is also required for that record. Refer to Account Approval Table.

A transaction is considered denied if it has been denied by an approver at any approval group level, regardless of whether the level is required.