> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://hub.equipme.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://hub.equipme.io/dokumentation/procurement/approval-settings.md). # Configuring approvals Approval settings for administrators: automatic, simple and custom approval, approval types, mandatory justification and special cases. **Path:** Settings → **"Approval settings"** (administrators) This is where you define whether and by whom orders are approved. The setting applies to the entire company. ## Justification when ordering | Field | Values | Default | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | -------- | | **"Reason for self-service marketplace orders"** | "No", "Optional", "Required" | Optional | | **"Reason for new marketplace orders"** (orders via "Marketplace", not "My Marketplace") | "No", "Optional", "Required" | No | The approver sees the justification as "Justification of the service request". ## The three approval modes ### "Automatic approval" "Orders are processed directly without a manual approval step and can be edited directly via the order requests." All requests are immediately available under "Order requests" → "Approved". If you switch to automatic approval from another mode, approval requests that are already open remain, but are only accessible to administrators. ### "Simple approval" "Orders go through a predefined, single-step approval process." Under **"Approval Type"**, choose who approves. **Only one type can be active at a time.** | Approval type | Who approves | | ---------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **"Supervisor Approval"** | The **supervisor** of the employee the order is for | | **"Department Manager Approval"** | All **managers and deputy managers** of the groups of type "Department" the employee belongs to (see [Representatives](#representatives)) | | **"Location Approval"** | The **location managers** ("Location manager (purchaser)") of the employee's location | | **"Cost Center Manager Approval"** | The **managers of the employee's cost center** | {% hint style="warning" %} **Activating, switching or deactivating an approval type is saved immediately**, without "Save". A switch only applies to new orders; open requests keep their approvers. {% endhint %} If "Simple approval" is selected but **no type is active**, no approval requests are created. New items then remain under "Pending approvals" indefinitely. So always activate a type. **"Approval at the same level is required"** (also saved immediately): * **Off (default):** If the requester is one of the approvers, the request is approved automatically. * **On:** The request goes to the **other** approvers at the same level, e.g. the second department manager. If there are no others, it is approved automatically. In small organizations with only one approver per level, this option should stay off. ### "Custom approval" "Orders go through a customizable approval workflow." The process is built as a [workflow in the Automation module](/dokumentation/automation/workflows.md) and can have several stages, e.g. first the supervisor, and above a certain amount additionally the cost center manager. The building blocks for this are provided by the "Equipme Approval" module of the [equipme connector](/dokumentation/automation/connectors/equipme.md#equipme-approval-module). Manual steps go to people or groups as an approval request. {% hint style="info" %} This mode requires an active license for the **Automation module**. The request stays open until the workflow decides on it. Make sure a workflow is running. {% endhint %} ### Approver justification For simple and custom approval, you define whether the approver has to give a justification: | Field | Default | | ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | | **"Reason for approving an approval request"** | No | | **"Reason for rejecting an approval request"** | Optional (recommended: Required) | After changing the mode and justification fields, click **"Save"**. ## Which orders are approved? * All requests from the Marketplace, both from "My Marketplace" (self-service) and from the company "Marketplace". * Each ordering process creates **one approval request per employee** the order is for. If a manager orders for three employees, three requests are created. * Linked services are approved together with their main service. ## When is a request approved automatically? Even with "Simple approval", the following requests are approved without a human decision and logged with "System": * Items **without an employee**, e.g. orders for a location or a warehouse. * **Cancellations** of services and of orders. * The **requester is an approver** and "Approval at the same level is required" is off. * **No approver can be determined**, e.g. because no supervisor is entered, the department has no manager or the cost center has no manager. * The requester chose **"Skip approval"** (see below). {% hint style="warning" %} **Keep your master data up to date.** If the supervisor, department manager, location manager or cost center manager is missing, the order is approved automatically. Before activating an approval type, check whether the corresponding assignments are complete. {% endhint %} ## "Skip approval" Users with the **"Skip approval"** permission see an arrow on the assign button with the menu item "Skip approval". The order is then released without approval. This applies to the entire process and only in "Simple approval" mode. The permission is granted under [Roles and rights](/dokumentation/settings/roles-and-permissions.md). ## "Approve automatically" for individual self-service offers In the **"Self-service activation"** of a service (Marketplace → product detail page, administrators only), you can switch on **"Approve automatically"**. The service must be released for self-service first. The setting applies to all offers of the service. Despite its name, the setting does not skip any approval. It makes **approved requests be ordered immediately** instead of waiting in the order requests to be ordered. What happens depends on the approval mode: | Approval mode | Effect of "Approve automatically" | | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **"Automatic approval"** | New requests and cancellations for this service are approved immediately (like all requests in this mode) and **also ordered immediately**. For platform suppliers, the order goes directly to the supplier; for offline suppliers and own services, the order is created in equipme and processed there as usual. | | **"Simple approval"** and **"Custom approval"** | **No effect.** Like any other request, the request gets an approval request. After approval, you order the item as usual in the [order requests](/dokumentation/procurement/order-requests-and-checkout.md). | This applies to requests from "My Marketplace" and from the "Marketplace". The setting is useful, for example, for consumables or inexpensive accessories if you work without an approval step. ## Representatives If a **"Representative"** is stored for an approver (employee profile), this person is automatically added as an observer, receives the email and may decide. With "Department Manager Approval", however, the department's "Deputy Managers" are not observers but **approvers** themselves, on an equal footing with the manager. They can only decide with a role that allows approvals, e.g. "Team Manager". Only those who get the group role "Manager" receive this role automatically; assign it to deputy managers yourself if needed (see [Groups](/dokumentation/organization/groups.md#group-roles)). ## Approval notices from suppliers **"Approval notices"** are something different: suppliers store them, e.g. contract or delivery terms. They appear when ordering in the [order requests](/dokumentation/procurement/order-requests-and-checkout.md#ordering) and may have to be confirmed. They have nothing to do with the internal approval process. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. 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