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Approval Workflows

Configure multi-level approval workflows for documents, BOQ, quotations, and other entities. Each entity type can have its own approval workflow with multiple levels of review.

Note

Approval workflows are optional. If no workflow is configured for an entity type, items proceed without requiring approval.

Overview

Approval workflows define who needs to approve what, and in what order. When a workflow is active:

  • Items must be submitted for approval before they can proceed
  • Each level must approve sequentially (Level 1, then Level 2, etc.)
  • If rejected at any level, the item is sent back for revision
  • Once all levels approve, the item is marked as approved

Accessing Approval Workflows

  1. Go to Settings > Workflow Engine > Approval Workflows
  2. Use the entity type filter buttons (All, Document, BOQ, Quotation, Expense) to view workflows by type

Creating a Workflow

  1. Click Create Workflow
  2. Fill in the details:
    • Workflow Name — A descriptive name (e.g., "Design Document Review", "BOQ Approval")
    • Description — Optional explanation of when this workflow applies
    • Entity Type — Select which type of item this workflow applies to:
      • Document — For uploaded project documents
      • BOQ — For Bill of Quantities approval
      • Quotation — For internal quotation approval before sending to client
      • Expense — For expense claim approval
  3. Configure entity-specific options (see below)
  4. Add approval levels
  5. Click Create Workflow

Document-Specific Options

When the entity type is Document, two additional options appear:

  • Document Categories — Select which document categories use this workflow (e.g., Design Drawings, Contracts). Leave empty for manual workflow selection.
  • Set as Default Workflow — When enabled, this workflow applies to all document categories that don't have a specific workflow assigned. Acts as a catch-all fallback.

Non-Document Entity Types (BOQ, Quotation, Expense)

Only one active workflow is allowed per entity type. Categories and the default toggle are not applicable — the single workflow applies to all items of that type.

Adding Approval Levels

Each workflow must have at least one approval level. Levels are processed sequentially.

  1. In the workflow creation form, configure each level:
    • Level Name — Descriptive name (e.g., "Senior Engineer Review", "Director Sign-off")
    • Approving Role — Select the role whose members can approve at this level
    • Project-scoped approval — When enabled, only users with this role assigned to the item's project can approve
    • Admin can skip this level — Allows administrators to bypass this level
    • Auto-approve after X days — Automatically approve if no action is taken within the specified days
  2. Click Add Level to add more levels
  3. Levels are processed in order: Level 1 must approve before Level 2 can act

Editing a Workflow

  1. Click the three-dot menu on a workflow card
  2. Select Edit Workflow to change name, description, or categories
  3. Select Add Level to add a new level to the workflow
  4. To remove a level, expand the workflow and click the trash icon on the level

Activating / Deactivating

Use the toggle switch on each workflow card to activate or deactivate it. Deactivated workflows are not used for new submissions, but existing in-progress approvals continue to completion.

How Workflows Are Matched

When an item is submitted for approval, the system finds the right workflow:

  1. Category match (documents only) — If the document's category matches a workflow's configured categories, that workflow is used
  2. Condition match — If the workflow has conditions (e.g., amount threshold), they are evaluated against the item's data
  3. Default fallback (documents only) — If no category or condition matches, the default workflow is used
  4. No match — If no workflow is found, the item proceeds without approval

Validation Rules

  • Documents — Multiple workflows allowed, but each document category can only be assigned to one active workflow
  • BOQ / Quotation / Expense — Only one active workflow allowed per entity type