Updated on February 12, 2025
Users can add Approvers via Approval Settings to review payment batches before they are submitted to suppliers. Custom rules can also be created based on specific conditions to automate payment approvals in Approval Policy.
If interested in enabling Payments, please contact support@prendio.com
To view details regarding Application & Bank Account setup for Payments, please visit:
Payments - Application & Setup
Order of Approvals in Payments
Setting Up Approval Settings
Approval settings can be set for other users to review a payment before it is processed. Setting approvals can ensure accuracy and may be required for internal polices and regulations.
Please note that Approval Settings can only be accessed by users with the Payment Setup role.
Navigate to AP Management > Payment Settings > Global Settings:
Starting Payment Number
A Starting Payment Number can be added to indicate the number the first payment will start with. This field is automatically defaulted to 1, but can be adjusted:
Save in the top right when complete:
After the first payment batch is generated, the Starting Payment Number field will be greyed out to prevent any changes:
Approval Settings - Auto Escalation for Payment Approvals
In Approval Settings, users can set controls for whether an approver will be skipped in a payment batch workflow if they do not respond to a payment batch in a defined timeframe:
Enable - Select to automatically move a payment batch to the next approver if the current approver doesn't respond within a set time. This ensures that payments are not held up due to inactivity.
Disable - Select to keep the approval with the assigned approver until they act. This might be preferable if you have specific reasons for wanting a particular approver to handle the batch.
Reminder Intervals
Reminders for approvers can be set to control the frequency of reminder notifications sent to approvers and the maximum of reminders sent to approvers before escalating to the next approver (if Enabled in Auto Escalation for Payment Approvals):
Reminder frequency - How often (in hours) should reminder emails be sent to the approver? Enter a number between 1 and 72. This allows you to balance the need for timely approvals with the risk of overwhelming approvers with notifications.
Maximum reminders - How many reminders should be sent before the approval is escalated? This gives approvers a chance to respond before the approval moves on.
Impact of Out-of-Office and Quiet Hours (Automatic)
Prendio automatically considers out-of-office dates for each approver and quiet hours settings for set under Admin > Notifications. This ensures that notifications and escalations are handled appropriately when someone is unavailable or during designated quiet times.
- If an approver is out of the office, the system will either escalate the approval (if auto-escalation is enabled) or hold it until they return.
- Notifications and reminders will be paused during quiet hours to avoid disruptions.
Default Approvers
Select at least one user from the dropdown list who will be responsible for reviewing and approving payment batches that don't match any specific approval rules you may have set up elsewhere in the system:
Additional default approvers can be added in case the primary approver is unavailable or to distribute the workload:
To adjust the order of Approvers, drag-and-drop by using the six dots to the left of the Approver:
After completing the Approval Settings, Save all updates at the top right of the screen:
Setting Approval Policy Rules
Users can automate payment approvals in Approval Policy by creating custom rules based on specific conditions.
Please note that the Approval Policy section can only be accessed by users with the Payment Setup role.
Navigate to AP Management > Payment Settings > Approval Policy:
To create a new approval policy or adjust a current policy, select Manage Rules in the top right. Any adjustments made to policies will be noted to the left of Manage Rules with a timestamp:
Any current rules will be open to make adjustments:
After making updates to current rules, Save when complete:
To create a new rule, select Add Rule:
New fields populate. Start by adding a Rule Name to identify the policy. Rule names must be unique and can contain up to 250 alphanumeric characters:
Users can define Conditions that will prompt the rule:
Payment Batch Total – The total amount for the payment batch.
Bank Account – Allows users to select a specific bank account from which payments are made.
Total Payment Approver per supplier – The total amount paid to a specific supplier.
Multiple Conditions can be combined to a single rule if preferred:
Assign an Approver from the dropdown menu. Please note that an Approver must have the Payment Approver role:
Multiple approvers can be assigned to a single rule, and their approval order can be adjusted by drag-and-drop using the six dots to the left of their names:
Save when complete:
The rule will display with the rule name and description summarizing the conditions and assigned approvers:
Multiple rules can be created to cover different approval scenarios. Rules and approvers are applied in the order they are created but can be rearranged using drag-and-drop. If a payment batch meets the conditions of multiple rules, all relevant approvers will be included in the approval process.
To adjust the order of rules or approvers, drag-and-drop by using the six dots to the left of Rule Name or Approvers:
To edit a rule, select Manage Rules. Please note that any updates will only affect future payment batches and not current batches in process:
Any adjustments made can be reverted by selecting Undo:
To delete a rule, select Remove. Confirm the deletion in the modal window, as this action cannot be undone:
When attempting to leave the page without saving, a modal window will prompt to save or discard changes:
Order of Approvals in Payments
After a payment batch is submitted it must be reviewed and approved before the payment can process. Approvers can be added in Approval Settings, to custom rules in Approval Policy, or a combination of both. Settings in these areas determine how a payment batch will move through approvals.
Auto Escalation for Payment Approvals
Please note that a payment batch will escalate from one approver to the next if Auto Escalation for Payment Approvals is Enabled:
If this setting is Disabled, the payment batch will stay with the current Approver until they respond and will not move to another approver.
Approvers Set in Approval Policy
Approvers associated with custom rules created in Approval Policy will be prompted to approve when a payment batch meets the criteria of the rule.
When a payment batch activates a custom rule, an approver for the rule must review and approve the batch.
Below is a custom rule, Payment Batch > 1000. If a payment greater than $1,000 is submitted, Christine will be prompted to review and approve the payment before it can be processed:
If there are multiple approvers listed for a custom rule, all approvers must approve if prompted from a payment batch.
In the example below, Christine and Gloria are approvers for the custom policy Payment Batch > 1000. If a payment greater than $1,000 is submitted, Christine will be prompted to review and approve the payment. After Christine approves, Gloria will be prompted to review and approve the payment batch:
If a payment batch meets the criteria of multiple rules, the approvers for each rule will be prompted to review and approve the payment before it can be processed.
In the example below, Christine and Gloria are approvers for the custom policy Payment Batch > 1000 and Rachel is the approver for the custom policy Bank Account 9847. If a payment greater than $1,000 is submitted using the bank account 9847, Christine will be prompted to review and approve the payment followed by Gloria and then Rachel:
If the approver(s) for a custom rule does not respond in a specific timeframe, and auto escalation is Enabled, the payment batch will move to Default Approvers set in Approval Settings:
In the example below, a payment batch submitted is greater than $1,000 and is using the bank account ending in 9847. All three approvers noted above Gloria, Christine, and Rachel are required to review and approve the payment batch.
Christine did not review the payment batch in time. Auto Escalation is Enabled and Christine has been Skipped. Susan, a Default Approver has been prompted to review the payment batch before the payment moves to Gloria and Rachel:
If Susan does not respond time and multiple Default Approvers have been added, the next Default Approver will be prompted:
If there are no Default Approvers, the payment will stay with the last approver set for a custom rule until an approver approves for the rule. Default Approvers will not be prompted to review a payment if the approvers for a custom rule(s) approve in time.
Some notes regarding when Default Approvers will be prompted to approve a payment batch include:
- The approvers for a custom rule(s) does not respond in a specific timeframe and auto escalation is enabled.
- The payment batch submitted does not fall into the criteria of any rules created in Approval Policy.
- There are no custom rules created in Approval Policy.
Next Up: Prepare and submit a payment batch for approval. After a payment batch clears approval, payments will be processed and pushed to an ERP system. To learn more, please visit:
Payments - Submitting a Payment Batch & Push to an ERP System