Approval Routing

This page of Product Settings is visible only when enabled by SAP Concur.

The Approval Routing page allows you to select the process that expense reports go through for approvals. You can choose whether an employee’s manager can always solely approve or must forward to another approver if the amount exceeds a threshold that you have set. The administrator can also select whether managers and employees can add more approvers to the process. When the report is given the final approval, it is ready to be processed and paid.

Understanding the five routing options

TheProcessor option is the the default setting and is the simplest option. The report will go from the employee to the processor for approval on the Process Reports page.

If you select Manager > Processor, the report will go from the employee to their manager for approval, then to the processor for approval on the Process Reports page.

Required configuration for the Manager > Processor option: Each employee must have a manager selected using the Manager field on the User Information page.

If you select Manager > Authorized Approver > Processor, you will subsequently set limits per approver on the expense report amounts that they can approve using the User Information. The expense report will go from the employee to their manager. If their manager does not have a sufficient approval limit, then the manager will be prompted to select an additional approver from a list of users who have a sufficient approval limit. From the authorized approver, the expense report will go to the processor for approval on the Process Reports page.

Required configuration for the Manager > Authorized Approver > Processor option:

Each employee must have a manager selected using the Manager field on the User Information page.
Each manager must have an approval limit entered using the Can Limit Approve Reports field on the User Information page.

If you select Manager > Second Approver > Processor, the expense report will go from the employee to their manager for approval and from their manager to a pre-determined second approver. From the second approver, the expense report will go to the processor for approval on the Process Reports page.

Required configuration for the Manager > Second Approver > Processor option:

Each employee must have a manager selected using the Manager field on the User Information page.
Each employee must have a second approver designated using the Second Approver field on the User Information page. If there is no second approver, then it goes to the processor after manager approval.

If you select Manager > Manager's Manager (up to 5 levels) > Processor, the expense report will go from the employee to their manager for approval. If the submitter's manager has a sufficient approval limit, then the expense report will go to the processor for approval on the Process Reports page (just like the option Manager > Processor.) If the employee's manager lacks a sufficient approval limit, the report will go to the Manager's Manager, and so on up to a total of five managers if necessary, until a manager with sufficient approval limit allows the expense report to go to the processor for approval on the Process Reports page.

Required configuration for the Manager > Manager's Manager (up to 5 levels) > Processor option:

Each employee must have a manager selected using the Manager field on the User Information page.
Each manager must have an amount entered using the Can Limit Approve Reports field on the User Information page. Make sure that the final manager has a very high approval limit so that all reports can be successfully approved. Also make sure that at least one other manager has a very high approval limit so that reports submitted by the final manager can be successfully approved. Remember that no one can approve their own reports.

If you select the Include Budget Approver option, a budget approval step will be added to the approval routing options on the Approval Routing page. The budget approval step will be placed before the processor step. Once you have included budget approval, the Manage Approvers (Optional) tab appears on the Add Budget Item page where you can add approvers.

To define your report routing option: Select (enable) the check box for the desired report approval routing option.

Understanding the additional approvers options

You have the option of choosing whether managers and employees can add more approvers to the report approval route. If you select this option, the manager or employee will see a button after approving or submitting that lets them select another approver. The approver they select will be added to the approval route after them, then the report will continue on the existing path. The additional approver does not replace the standard approvers.

To allow managers or employees to add approvers: Select (enable) the check box for each user role that should be able to add approvers.

Understanding the approval time out option

This setting allows the system to take these actions:

The system times the approver. This begins when the expense report enters the Pending Approval workflow step for the approver.
The system may automatically reassign an expense report. If the timer reaches 10 calendar days, the system escalates the expense report to the approver's manager and resets the timer. If the timer again reaches 10 calendar days, the system forwards the expense report to the next approver or to the processor.

To allow the system to escalate or forward expense reports: Leave the check box selected (enabled) to allow the system to reroute to approver's manager.

Understanding the recall option

You have the option of allowing employees to recall a submitted expense report at any time prior to an expense report status of Pending Payment.

When an expense report is recalled, the following actions can be taken by the employee:

Edit and resubmit the expense report.
Delete the expense report.

When an expense report is recalled, the following actions are taken by the system:

An entry is written to the audit trail showing the action on the expense report as Report Recall.
The name of the user recalling the expense report is displayed under the Status column of the Expense Report List page or in Active Work on My Concur.
Workflow is reset.

To allow employees to recall submitted reports: Leave the check box selected (enabled) to allow employees to recall reports.

Click Save when done.