Define approval workflows

Related module:

In this article:

• The different types of approval workflows
  • The company approval workflow
  • The employee approval workflow
• Set up 'company' approval workflows
  • Enable company approval workflows
  • Add/Edit approval rules
• Set up 'employee' approval workflows
• Conditions for activating the approval workflow
  • For the 'Leave & Absences' module
  • For the 'Expense Reports' module
• Identify multiple managers to approve a request type
• Possible approval transfer

The different types of approval workflows

In Eurécia, there are two main methods to define your approval workflows:

The company approval workflow

The company approval workflow allows you to establish approval managers for all modules or for specific modules globally for all your employees. These approval workflows will be your default workflows.

It is preferable to use this method because in case of changes, modifications can be made simply for all your employees in a few clicks.

The employee approval workflow

The employee approval workflow or specific approval workflow allows for a case-by-case approach for each employee. This approval workflow always takes precedence over the company approval workflow.

Its disadvantage? In case of a change, action will need to be taken on each employee record.

These two methods can be used simultaneously. Our tip 😁? Set up a company approval workflow that meets the majority of scenarios, then make specific adjustments on each employee record.

Set up 'company' approval workflows

Access: Admin area > General settings > Company record > Settings tab > Approval workflow section

The company approval workflow allows you to establish approval managers for all employees in your company.

Enable company approval workflows

• I check the 'Activer le circuit de validation société' box. The setting of the approval workflow made on the company record will only take effect if it is checked.
• I save the company record

Add/Edit approval rules

• I click on '' to insert a new rule or on '' to edit an existing rule
• In the 'Role' column, I determine the role that will be assigned to this approval manager. They can approve all modules on the platform or only a specific module.

• In the 'Level' column, I indicate the manager's level of approval. Eurécia allows 5 approval levels. However, it is possible to combine managers of the same level:
  • If two managers have the same level, it will be one OR the other who must approve the request
  • If there are two approval managers with 2 different approval levels, it will be one THEN the other
• In the 'Approval manager' column, I specify the approval manager to whom the rule is assigned:
  • Manager (N+x): the specific manager of each employee will be the approval manager
  • Company manager: the user named as company manager in the company record > Organization tab
  • Department / structure manager: the approval manager will be specified according to each employee's department or structure. They are determined in the company record > Organization tab
  • Named person
• In the 'Possible approval transfer to' column, I can authorize the approval manager to transfer an approval request. In this case, when the approval manager accesses the request, they will have the option to approve this request or transfer it to one or more other users:
  • any person with approval authority
  • Manager
  • Company / department / structure manager
  • Custom lists of users
• In the 'Workflow activation condition' column, I can set a workflow activation condition. This column is only available for the approval of Expense Reports and Leave & Absences modules. We will cover this in more detail in the section: Conditions for activating the approval workflow
• The 'Comment' column is optional and allows you to enter a note concerning this workflow
• I save

Set up 'employee' approval workflows

Access: Admin area > General settings > Employees and users > Employee record > Rules tab

In each employee record, it is possible to define an approval workflow specific to the employee. This approval workflow overrides the company approval workflow; the information defined in the employee record will take priority over that defined in the company record.

When I add specific rules to an employee record, the rule coming from the company record becomes 'grey' because it is inactive.

Warning: Rules coming from the company record cannot be deleted from the employee record.

The configuration is carried out in the same way as on the company record 😊!

Conditions for activating the approval workflow

It is possible to go further in configuring approval workflows by setting activation conditions. In plain terms, these workflows will only be activated under certain conditions!

For the 'Leave & Absences' module

When I select a 'Leave and absences approval' role, I can determine for which type of leave or absences this workflow will be activated.

I can determine that my absences are approved by each employee's manager except in the case of sick leave, for example, which will be approved by my HR manager.

In this case, I create at least 2 lines in my approval workflow:

• one for the general case
• one or more lines for each type of leave having a different approval workflow

This setting can be set up in the company record or in the employee record.

For the 'Expense Reports' module

It is possible to set up activation conditions based on:

• The expense report amount
• Expense types
• Expense report types. More information on expense report types? It's right here: The different settings of the Expense Reports module

Warning: If two (or more) conditions are entered, they are cumulative. Both conditions must be met to trigger this approval workflow rule.

Identify multiple managers to approve a request type

Are several people likely to approve your leave, timesheets, or expense reports? No problem 😉!

It is possible to define custom lists of users to use them in the “Approval manager” field of your approval workflow.

• I create my custom list of users using all the information contained in this article: Create custom lists of employees.
• I log out and log back in so that my new custom list is correctly taken into account 😊
• I return to the company record or to my employee record to add this custom list to an approval rule
• I click on '' to add a new line or on '' to edit an existing rule
• In the 'approval manager' field, I select my custom list
• I save

The 'Choose manager from list' setting allows two ways to use the list when the employee submits for approval:

• Unchecked box: The list member(s) will receive an approval request by default
• Checked box: the employee can choose the list member(s) who can approve their request: the 'add manager' button allows you to select multiple recipients

In the Expense Reports module, choosing the manager will be done by selecting the manager from the drop-down menu. To add multiple managers, your employee will click on the '' button:

In absences, your employee selects the first manager from the drop-down menu and clicks on 'Add manager' if the request must be sent to several users:

Possible approval transfer

Final step of our article on approval workflow settings: approval transfers!

This feature allows you to name an approval manager who can optionally transfer the request to one or more other users.

When my approval manager opens the request, they have the option to approve it directly or transfer it to another user.

• In the same way as before, I create a new rule by clicking on '' or edit an existing rule by clicking on ''
• I configure my approval workflow as indicated in the previous sections
• In the 'possible approval transfer to' column, I choose the type of users concerned or a custom list
• I save

Keywords: Workflow · approve · approval · rule · rules · workflow · workflows · transfer · manager · responsible · configure · set up · configuration · settings · alert · request · notifications · company record · employee records