Introduction


Approval workflows help you formally approve work at different levels in your business according to your preferred structure. By using Duplo Approval Workflows, you are assured of an easy and secure way to eliminate bottlenecks and boost efficiency for your company.


Approval workflows can be applied to different aspects of your company processes such as making payouts, managing expenses, raising bills, invoicing bills, etc.



To explore our Approval Workflow with a visual tour click here or continue reading. 




Payout Approval Workflow


The Payout approval workflow requires 3 Key steps:


 1. Setup your team members 

  • To begin the workflow, your business requires a minimum of two users: an Initiator first, then an Approver(s).
    • An Initiator is someone who initiates a payout.
    • An Approver is someone who approves payouts. You can have multiple Approvers, it depends on your preferences and business needs.
  • For bill policy, your business needs a payer.
    • A payer is one who pays bills. An initiator or an approver can also be given the role of a payer

    

    To set up your team members:

  1. Log in to your Duplo dashboard.
  2. From the top-left, select the Business you want to set the workflow on and then select Settings in the base of the menu bar.
  3. On the settings board, select  Team Members, then click on Invite Team Member.
  4. Fill in all the required information like email, job title (optional) and assign a role as shown below:

     

You've invited your team members successfully. Read below to see what to do next.


Note: The initiator and approver(s) you have invited will need to sign in and set up their accounts for their role to be active.

   


2. Setup your Approval Policy

  • Click on the Approval Workflow option in the settings board. Then, click Add Policy.

    

    To Create a Policy:

  1. Name your policy. This can be anything to help you remember what the policy is about.
  2. Select the policy type (Workflow payout policy is = Payout Amount/Bill Amount)
  3. For a custom amount, enter the amount range you want for the policy. 
  4. Select an approver or multiple approvers from the dropdown.
  5. Click on Create Policy as in the example shown below;

    

    

    Great job! You have successfully created a policy. To make a payout using your approval policy, simply read below:

   


3. Make your Payout;

  • As an Initiator
  1. Login to the dashboard
  2. Select the Payout tab then the Make New Payout button.
  3. You can then go ahead to initiate your preferred payout type i.e. single, bulk, etc. For details on how to make a payout click here
  4. After authenticating your payout with an OTP or Google Authentication, it will be routed to the approvers as defined in your approval policy and you will get a success page as shown below;

        

    

    Note: Approvers will be notified of the pending payout and you will be able to view the status of the payout at
    each point in time from the dashboard.

    

  • As an Approver:
  1.  Login to the dashboard
  2. The Home tab, click on the pending transaction you want to review OR Select the Approvals tab and click on the transaction you want to review as shown below;


  3. Select your preferred action on the transaction by clicking on the Approve or Deny button. If you deny the transaction, you will have to provide a reason.
  4. If you approve a transaction, it will be routed immediately. This could  either be processed immediately or sent to the next Approver depending on your Approval Policy.

    

Note: You will be able to view the status of the payout at 

each point in time from the dashboard.

    


OR



3b. Create and pay your Bill.


    As payout above, bills require an approval process. For details on bills click the respective links below;

  • To  learn how to create a bill click here
  • To learn how to Pay a bill click here




Great job, you're all set!






    


Frequently Asked Questions


  • Can I have more than one Initiator?
    • Yes, you can have as many initiators as you want however you only need one person to initiate a payment.

  • What happens if multiple approvals are selected for a policy?
    • When multiple approvals are selected for a policy, any payment that falls under that policy will require approval from all selected approvers in the order they were chosen before the payment can be processed.

        

  • What happens when the Any selected approver can complete workflow box is ticked?
    • If you tick the box that says ‘Any selected approver can complete workflow’, it means that the payment would not need to move in a hierarchical order through approvals anymore, once any of the selected approves the payment the workflow will be completed and  the payment can go through for processing.

  • Can I add my existing team members to the Workflow?
    • Yes, you can, however, you will need to ensure they have the expected roles for the workflow i.e. Initiator or approver.
    • You can edit your team member roles from the dashboard