Approval matrix: who approves what
A worksheet for agreeing who approves which trips before you set it up. Its choices are exactly the ones the silentVIP portal offers: when approval is needed, the traveler's usual approver, and multi-level rules that add a further approver.
When approval is needed
Choose one. This is the approval setting in your travel policy.
- When a choice is out of policy
- For every booking
- Never (exceptions reported)
Whatever you choose, a restricted destination marked "Approval always needed" needs approval, and so does any trip a further-step rule below applies to. A change to an approved booking that costs more needs approval again, unless approval is set to Never.
Step 1: the usual approver
The traveler's usual approver is set on their traveler record (Approver). With none set, the portal shows Any travel manager, and the step goes to the first available approver, or failing that a travel manager, or failing that a finance user. Nobody ever approves their own trip.
| Traveler or team | Usual approver | Cover while they're away |
|---|---|---|
Further steps
Each rule adds one more approver after the usual one, in the order the rules were added: a named person, or a role (finance, a travel manager or an approver), in which case the first person with that role who isn't already deciding. One person decides one step, and a rejection at any step rejects the whole approval.
| When | Value | Then also approved by | Label (optional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The trip costs more than Value: the amount. In the portal it reads, for example: "When the trip costs more than $2,500, finance also approves." | |||
| The destination is restricted Value: none (it applies to every restricted destination). In the portal it reads, for example: "When the destination is restricted, a travel manager also approves." | |||
| The trip is for a department Value: the department. In the portal it reads, for example: "When the trip is for Engineering, an approver also approves." | |||
| The project code is Value: the project code. In the portal it reads, for example: "When the project code is ACQ-7, finance also approves." |
A silentVIP template, free to copy and adapt. silentvip.com/resources/templates
See these fields in the portal
In the demo we'll request a trip, route it for approval and open an incident, using the same fields.
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