Using iFinance: Workflow Approval - iSAMS

Following on from our exploration of the Fixed Asset Register, today we’ll be looking at another of iFinance’s handy and intuitive features: Workflow Approval. But, just before we get started, let’s have a brief recap on using iFinance.

The unique, cutting-edge solution has been designed to help your Finance and Senior Management teams avoid costly mistakes and the duplication of data, whilst also addressing many key areas of concern. By bringing your school’s academic, wellbeing and administrative elements together with a powerful accounting software, you’ll save time by streamlining and automating substantial aspects of your financial processes.

Find out more about iFinance.

What is Workflow Approval?

With our Workflow Approval, you’re able to automatically send paperless POs and purchase invoices for approval before they’re posted to the accounting system, including options to add customisable layers of approval. Not only does this significantly reduce the bulk of paperwork you need to manage and store, but it enables a seamlessly efficient approval process.

How can Workflow Approval help you?

There are numerous benefits to using iFinance’s digitised Workflow Approval, mainly through the amount of time it will save you when approaching approval processes. In automating the processes for reviewing or approving invoices by authorised personnel, in addition to avoiding laborious manual processing with our fully integrated invoice capture feature, your finance team’s accounting efficiency will only increase.

Not only this, but you can accurately keep track of each request with real-time views of the status of an approval, so you’ll always receive the most up-to-date information. Additionally, you can rest easy knowing that your data is secure and won’t be accidentally altered, as authorised approvers don’t necessarily need to be system users.

Inside Workflow Approval: how to…

Please find below a brief step-by-step guide on how to use our Workflow Approval feature.

1. Create a PO
   To create a new purchase order in iFinance, simply navigate to Purchases and Orders from the main dashboard. Here you can select ‘New Order’. Your PO will automatically be given a number, but you can fill in other key information such as the external reference, order date and expected delivery date (if not today), cost centre, supplier area and requester, and any additional details you might need.
2. Approve a PO 
   Once a purchase order (PO) has been submitted, an email will be sent to the designated approver and they can review and approve the PO via the email itself; all they will need to do is click on the designated link.
3. Register received items
   Navigate to Purchases and Orders, find the corresponding order number and simply click ‘receive’ in the column on the left-hand side. Here you can review the details of the order and check you’ve received everything you were expecting to. If you have, all you need to do is click ‘Receive All’ followed by ‘Save’.
4. Process received invoices
   When your invoice arrives, click through to ‘Purchases’ and ‘Deliveries’. Select ‘Invoice’ on the left-hand side next to the corresponding order number and fill in the invoice number and date. You can also check the details of the order and, once you’re happy, click ‘Save’. Following this, visit ‘Purchases’ and ‘Item Invoices’, where you can post the invoice into the Creditor’s Ledger ready for payment. Once the invoice has been posted the transaction will appear in the Supplier Account.