This article provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) related to workflows in Payhawk.
Can I create a workflow where expenses only need approval after they exceed a certain amount?
Yes, set a condition based on the amount during the workflow setup. For example, you can require approval only for expenses over EUR 200.
What if different people need to approve expenses at various levels?
You can create a sequential workflow where, for example, a Team Manager approves all expenses, and a specific individual, role, or role extension, such as Category Manager or Payhawk Administrator, needs to approve only those over a certain amount.
Can I change the approvers after the workflow is already in use?
Yes, changes apply to new submissions. For approvals pending on the old approvers, return the expense to the employee so they can re-submit it. This will trigger a new approval request for the new approver.
Why did a bill or purchase order with several line items go to different approvers?
When an item has several line items, each line item is checked against the workflow conditions on its own. A line item in one category or team can go to one approver while another line item goes to a different approver, and a step is skipped for line items that match none of its conditions. All line items still have to be approved before the item moves to the next step.
Why didn't the approver change after the amount or the linked purchase order changed?
The approval route uses the amount and the linked purchase order as they were when the item was submitted. If they change later, for example, when a card payment settles for a different amount than the original hold, or when the linked purchase order is edited, the item keeps its original route. To apply the new values, return the item to the employee and submit it again.
Can I have different approval processes for various spend types?
Yes, you can create unique workflows for each spend type, such as bills, mileage, or per diem, with different approval steps.
What happens if an approver is offboarded?
When an employee is offboarded:
Payhawk automatically changes the approval workflow step from the specific offboarded employee to Payhawk Accountant or Payhawk Administrator. All future expenses will be routed to these roles.
Expenses currently pending approval from the offboarded employee are returned to the expense owner at the Submit step with the reason Approver offboarded. The owner will need to resubmit them.
Expenses at Team Manager or Custom Field Manager approval steps follow the fallback workflow mechanism to automatically find a new approver.
What happens if an approver changes their position within the company?
When an employee changes their position:
If the workflow step is assigned to this specific user, the assignment remains unchanged regardless of the employee's new title.
If the workflow step is assigned to a Team Manager or a Custom Field Manager and the approver is no longer part of the team, Payhawk will reassign the approval to another manager on the team. If no other managers are available, the system follows the fallback workflow mechanism.
What happens if an approver has been removed from the system?
When an employee is removed from the system, Payhawk applies the same steps as when an employee is offboarded.
What happens when the employee submitting a request is the same as the approver in an approval step?
When the submitter and approver are the same person, the approval step is automatically skipped and the expense continues to the next step in the workflow.
Why doesn't using team conditions work for parent teams?
When you use team conditions in approval workflows, for example Team IS NOT Finance and Operations or Team IS Finance and Operations, the system considers both the parent team and all child teams. In practice, this means:
Setting a condition to exclude a parent team also excludes all child teams.
Setting a condition to include a parent team also includes all child teams.
This behavior can create unintended approval routing when trying to differentiate between parent and child team members.
Can Payhawk be used for purchase order approval and accounts payable workflows?
Yes, Payhawk supports purchase order approval workflows and can be integrated into your accounts payable process for intake, approval, and payment management.
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