Configure Second Level Approvers

Emburse Professional administrators can configure second-level approval for expense reports based on policy violations, approval limits, or departments. You must also assign a second-level approver to each user, or at the company level, to ensure the reports route to the correct individuals for approval.

Prerequisites

• You have administrator permissions in Emburse Professional.
• You can access policy, department, and user settings for your organization.
• You know which users, departments, or report conditions require second-level approval.

Configure Second-Level Approval for Policy Violations

You can route an expense report for second-level approval when the report contains a policy violation.

1. On the Emburse Professional home page, select Settings.

   

2. Under Travel and Expense Policy, select View and Edit Policy.

   

3. Select Locked Approval Workflow.

   

4. In the Second Level Approval section, select the applicable options:

   • Expense over category maximum amount: Routes the report for second-level approval if it contains an expense that exceeds the category maximum.
   • Expense older than allowed days: Routes the report for second-level approval if it contains an expense older than the allowed number of days.
   • Expense is missing a required receipt: Routes the report for second-level approval if it contains an expense without a required receipt.
   • Second level approval for all expense reports: Routes all expense reports to a second-level approver, regardless of policy violations.
   • Auto-Escalate to second level approver: Escalates the report to a second-level approver if the first-level approver does not approve or disapprove the report within the configured number of days.

   Configure the allowed number of days and global receipt requirements on the View and Edit Policy page. You can configure receipt exceptions for individual expense categories.

   The auto-escalation period includes weekend days.

   

Configure Approval Limits

Approval limits determine the maximum expense report amount that an approver can approve without an additional approval level.

For example, if an approver has a $1,000 approval limit, a report that exceeds $1,000 will require second-level approval after that approver approves it.

1. On the Emburse Professional home page, select Settings.

   

2. Under Travel and Expense Policy, select View and Edit Policy.

   

3. Select Locked Approval Workflow.

   

4. In the Approval Limits section, complete the following actions:

   • Create an Approval Limit: Create a limit that you can assign to users.
   • Apply Approval Limits to Users: Assign approval limits to users in bulk.

   

5. To create an approval limit, enter a unique name that makes the limit easy to identify.

   

6. To apply approval limits in bulk, select the limit, select Managers or Executives, and select the applicable department.

   

7. To assign an approval limit to an individual user, edit the user record on the Manage Users page.

   

Configure Second-Level Approval by Department

You can require second-level approval for all expense reports submitted by users in a specific department.

1. On the Emburse Professional home page, select Settings.

   

2. Under General, select View and Edit Departments.

   

3. Enter search criteria for a department, or leave the fields blank to return all departments. Then, select Submit.

   

4. Select the edit control for the department.

   

5. Select Obtain Second Level Approval.

   The approver shown on this page is not necessarily the second-level approver. This approver applies to Conditional Approval.

   

6. Select Next to save the changes.

Define a Second-Level Approver

After you configure second-level approval rules, assign the approver or approvers who will receive reports that require an additional approval level.

Emburse Professional uses the following hierarchy to identify the second-level approver:

1. The report routes to the second level approver configured on the user's profile. You can configure this approver on the Manage Users page.
2. If the user does not have a second-level approver, the report routes to the company wide second level approver.
3. If a company-wide second-level approver is not configured, the report routes to the user's first level approver's approver.

Configure a Second-Level Approver for a User

1. On the Emburse Professional home page, select Settings.

   

2. Under User Accounts and Billing, select Manage Users.

   

3. Use the search box and filters to locate the user.

4. Select the menu for the user, and then select Edit User.

   

5. In the drawer, go to the Approvals section and select a second approver.

   

6. Select Save.

Configure a Company-Wide Second-Level Approver

1. On the Emburse Professional home page, select Settings.

   

2. Under Travel and Expense Policy, select View and Edit Policy.

   

3. Select Locked Approval Workflow.

   

4. In the Second Level Approval section, enter the company-wide second-level approver.

   

5. Select Save.