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Workflow

The Workflow module within Shared Travel Services gives you the ability to create approval rules that can automatically route transactions for approval based on complex rules/exceptions.

Approval rules must be assigned to an approvee role to determine which employees are affected by the rule. Each user will have a default approver selected for them based on the following criteria:

  1. If there is only one approver available, this approver is selected.
  2. If there is more than one approver and the user's manager is in the list, then the manager is selected.
  3. If there is more than one approver and the user's manager is not on the list, then, if the company is using the Approval - Random Selection option, an approver will be randomly assigned; if the company is using the Approval - Least Utilized Selection option, the approver with the least number of pending approvals will be assigned.

Once you have assigned your rules, every transaction that comes into Shared Travel Services is assessed to see if that account holder/transaction has triggered an approval rule and, if it has, it is forwarded to the designated approver.

Several rules can be assigned to the same group of employees, and more than one can be triggered for a single transaction. Configurable properties allow you to control the order, dominance and relationship of the rules that are triggered.

Rules can either be independent (applying to all transactions falling within the rule's criteria) or they may be defined within groups which act in conjunction with other rules within the same group.

Parent-child relationships

Shared Travel Services allows you to create parent-child relationships between transaction approval rules and expense report approval rules. In a parent-child relationship, changes to the approval status of an expense report (parent) are immediately reflected in the approval status of its linked transactions (children). Depending on whether or not your organization has enabled a certain implementation option, you may of may not be able to conversely change the approval status of a transaction to a status different from that of the parent expense report.

Rule subjects

Rule subjects enable you to apply an additional level of criteria beyond the straight approval rule. For example, if you had an approval rule that stated approval was needed for any transaction over $200, you could further define it by using a supplier subject that states the rule will apply to any transaction over $200 from specific suppliers.

Policy rules

A policy rule is similar to an approval rule and is constructed the same way, however, instead of requiring action by an approver, it simply colour codes a transaction to indicate it has possibly broken a company policy. For example, you can construct a policy rule to flag any transactions made over $100 with a taxi company.

Like approval rules, a policy rule is added to an approvee role to determine which employees are affected by the policy rule. However, unlike approval rules, you do not need to add a policy rule to an approver role.

Tree structure diagrams

Workflow is created in Shared Travel Services using the Workflow Rules and Workflow Roles modules. Both modules use a graphical tree structure to display and manage the configuration of all workflow components.

Rules that are not part of a related group of rules are classified as independent.

Clicking Right-facing white arrow in purple square to the right of a workflow rule displays information about the rule subjects assigned to the rule.

The process to create your company workflow

The general steps are:

Basic Workflow module

If your organization is using the Basic Workflow module and you have been granted the Admin - Basic Workflow Mode Switch administration access right, a Workflow Conversion - Expense Reports Workflow link will appear on the Module Workflow screen. This link allows you to convert transaction-based approval rules to expense report-based approval rules. A warning message requires you to accept the conditions and implications of the workflow conversion.

Note: As part of the workflow conversion, the solution automatically enables all required expense report-related settings.

In this chapter

Workflow groups

Approval rules

Policy rules

Approval roles

Configuring approval rules and roles