Managing Approval Chains using the Signature Authority Form

In Certify AP, there are two types of transactions that need approval: Purchase Requisitions and Invoices. To view and edit approval chains for these transactions, you can use the Signature Authority Form (S.A.F), User-Based Approval, or Vendor-Based Approval or you can choose to use a Flexible Approval workflow. Your company-wide and department approval chains were set up during your company's original Certify AP setup.

The S.A.F is the official list of approvers for the whole company or a specific department who can approve Certify AP items. The S.A.F creates an approval chain based on the total dollar amount of the transaction.

This article will show you, a Certify Administrator, how to manage approval chains using the S.A.F.

Please Note: In order to use S.A.F, your company needs at least one No Limit Approver.

1. On your Certify AP homepage, click the gear icon.

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2. There are two options:

  • To set up the S.A.F for one department, select the department's name from the department tree.
  • To set up the S.A.F for your No Limit Approver, select your company's name.

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3. Click the S.A.F tab.

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4. There are two tabs to choose from:

  • Requisitions: This tab shows all employees in the department who have the Approve Requisition permission. Use this tab to set up the S.A.F for Purchase Requisitions.
  • Invoices: This tab shows all employees in this department who have the Approve Invoice permission. Use this tab to set up the S.A.F for Invoices.

Select one of the tabs to view the approval chain for that type of transaction.

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5. Enter the following criteria on the page to edit your S.A.F:

  • User: The name of the employee.
  • Department: The name of the employee's department.
  • Green symbol: This is the Limit for Transactions under Budget. Here, enter the maximum dollar amount this approver can approve when the department is under budget.
  • Red symbol: This is the Limit for Transactions over Budget. Here, enter the maximum dollar amount this approver can approve when the department is over budget.
  • No Limit: Check this box to make the user a No Limit Approver, an approver who has the highest spending and approving authority in the company. You must select at least one No Limit Approver for the company-level.
  • Add: Check this box if this employee is part of the approval chain for this department. 

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6. When complete, click Update.

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While adding approvers to the S.A.F, you can choose to increase the accountability for the No Limit Approver by adding a No Limit + 1 Approver. A No Limit + 1 Approver can approve or disapprove transactions that the No Limit Approver submits. View our article on Setting a No Limit + 1 Approver for further information.

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