Payment approval gate
The approval gate holds outgoing payments until someone approves them, so no money-out entry reaches the ledger unreviewed.
When to use
Turn it on when you want a second pair of eyes on supplier payments, or when policy requires approval above a certain level.
Before you start
| Setting | Effect | Default |
|---|---|---|
finance.payment_approval_required | Money-out payments go to a pending-approval state and are not posted until approved | Off |
While a payment is pending it has no ledger effect. There are no allocations, no journal entry, and the amount still owed does not change. Cash, payables, and aging reports only change after approval.
Steps
Enable the toggle
Turn on the toggle in the Finance feature settings. It applies to payments created after that point.
Record the payment
Create a payment or a supplier payment run at /finance/payments as usual. The payment is saved as pending approval instead of posting. What you intended to allocate is stored with the request.
Approve
An approver reviews the pending payment. On approval the payment goes through the same posting path as a normal payment, using the allocation that was submitted rather than one rebuilt later. The person who created the request cannot approve it.
Reject or withdraw
Rejecting or withdrawing releases the request, so you can record it again later. No money leaves the account.
What the gate checks
- Limits count pending requests. Two requests for the same bill that each fit the amount still owed are not both accepted if together they exceed it.
- A payment run is marked paid only once its payments are approved; a rejected one returns to draft.
- If posting fails after approval, for example the period is locked, the payment stays pending and the reason is shown on it.
- Payments created from a bank statement line skip the gate, because the money has already left the account.
Tips & common mistakes
- Test with one supplier payment before switching the toggle on for the whole team.
- Do not expect cash balances to move while payments are pending.
- Payment runs follow the same gate as single payments.
- If an approved payment still shows as pending, read the reason on it, fix the cause such as reopening the period, and approve again.