Approval Workflows
JobNext centralizes document approvals through a configurable workflow system. Approvals ensure that key business documents are reviewed and authorized before they take effect, maintaining financial controls and operational accountability.
Document Types Covered
The approval system covers documents across all major modules:
| Module | Document Types |
|---|---|
| Procurement | Purchase Orders (PO), Material Requisitions (MR), Material Receipts (MRN) |
| Projects | Estimates (EST) |
| Subcontractor | Work Requisitions (WR), Work Orders (WO) |
| Inventory | Issue / Return / Adjust Material |
| Billing | Invoices, RA Bills, Sales Orders |
| Finance | Vouchers (Bank / Cash / Journal) |
| HR | Leave Requests, Staff Requests / Separation, Settlements |
Three Approval Scopes
Each document type is configured to use one of three approval scopes, which determine how approvers are matched to documents:
| Scope | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Job-based | Approval roles are assigned to users on specific Jobs. Only users with the correct role on the document's Job can approve it. | Project-level documents: POs, MRs, WOs, estimates |
| Business Unit (BU)-based | Approval roles are assigned by BU hierarchy. Simplifies assignments when a user should approve across all Jobs within a BU. | Organizations with many jobs grouped under BUs |
| Accounting Centre (AC)-based | Approval roles are assigned to users on Accounting Centres. Documents linked to an AC are routed to users with roles on that AC. | Accounting documents: vouchers, journal entries |
Each document type is configured as either Job-based or AC-based. The system links each document to its relevant Job or Accounting Centre, then routes the approval request only to users holding the appropriate Approval Role at that scope.
Approval Flow
Step 1: Request Approval
From a document screen (e.g., a Purchase Order), the user clicks Request Approval. JobNext creates approval request(s) based on configured rules and the current sequence.
Step 2: My Approvals (Home Screen)
Approvers see pending items on the Home screen under My Approvals. Each pending item provides the following actions:
| Action | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| View | Magnifying glass | Opens a printable view of the full document for review. |
| Further Details | Info (i) icon | Expands an inline panel showing attachments, notes, and multi-row context (e.g., estimate line items). |
| Approve | Green tick | Approves the document. An optional note can be added. |
| Reject | Red cross | Rejects the document. A reason is required. The requester is notified of the rejection. |
Multi-Level Approvals
Documents can progress through multiple approval sequences (e.g., Sequence 1, Sequence 2, Sequence 3). When a sequence is approved, the next sequence is triggered automatically. Value-based rules can optionally skip higher sequences for low-value items that do not require senior-level approval.
Further Details Panel
When expanding a row in My Approvals, the details panel may include:
- Attachments — PDFs and TXT files open in a new tab; other file types download
- Notes — Displayed as clean text from the document creator
- Tables/lists — Multi-row or multi-column details such as estimate line items, PO material lines, etc.
Administrator Configuration
1. Document Type Settings
For each document type, configure:
- Scope — Choose Job-based or AC-based routing
- Rule Query — Determines which Job or AC a document belongs to
- Approve/Reject Queries — Update parent document status on approval or rejection
- Further Details Query — Returns extra fields for the inline details panel
If you change a document type's scope from Job-based to AC-based (or vice versa), you must also update the Rule Query to match the new scope. Mismatched scope and query configurations will cause approval routing failures.
2. Approval Rules & Sequences
- Create one or more sequences per document type (e.g., Sequence 1 for initial review, Sequence 2 for management approval).
- Map each sequence to one or more Approval Roles.
- Optionally enable Auto-approve for steps that should be approved automatically without human intervention.
- Optionally configure value-based thresholds so that low-value documents skip higher-level sequences.
3. Assign Approvers
- Job-based — Assign users to approval roles on the relevant Jobs (optionally via BU for bulk assignment)
- AC-based — Assign users to approval roles on the relevant Accounting Centres
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Resolution |
|---|---|
| "I can't see my approval" | Verify the user has the correct Approval Role assigned at the correct scope (Job, BU, or AC). Check that the role is on the specific Job or AC that the document belongs to. |
| "Further details shows no data" | Check if the Further Details Query is configured for the document type. If the query is missing or misconfigured, the panel will be empty. |
| "Wrong approver notified" | Confirm that the Rule Query correctly links the document to the intended Job or AC. Review the role-to-sequence mapping to ensure the correct approval role is mapped to the correct sequence. |
| "Approval stuck at a sequence" | Check if the approver for the next sequence has been assigned. If no user holds the required approval role at the document's scope, the approval cannot advance. |
| "Document approved but status unchanged" | Review the Approve Query configuration for the document type. The query may be missing or may have an error that prevents the status update. |
Keep rules simple: Start with the minimum number of sequences and roles, then extend only if needed. Model by value: Use thresholds so low-value items do not require senior approvers. Encourage notes: Short approval or rejection notes improve communication. Review scope first: Most visibility issues are due to missing Job/BU/AC role assignments.