Apron

Our approvals process is designed to make payments as smooth and secure as possible, while making sure everyone involved is on the same page. 

At Apron, approval workflows can only be created by admins and members with a custom role that has permission to manage approval workflows.

There are two types of approval workflows in Apron:

Ad-hoc (that can be created and used by Admins only).

1. Permanent.
2. Ad-hoc (that can be created and used by Admins only).

Enter your (or your client’s company) and go to ‘Settings’.

Label the workflow so it will be clear to others in your team — when having more than 1 workflow for a particular payment type (e.g. payroll), they will have the option to select the relevant one when making payments.

Select the payment types you want to include within this workflow.

1. Supplier payments: Payments to suppliers which can be pulled from your QuickBooks or Xero account.
2. Payroll: For paying employees - when creating workflow for payroll payments, Admins will only be able to select members who have been given permission to access payroll. 
3. Manual payments: For payments which are not recorded in Xero / Quickbooks and for which you do not necessarily have an invoice e.g. to HMRC.

1. In the ‘Default’ workflow, all approvers approve in sequence and there can only be a single payer.
2. In the ‘Any of’ workflow, you can add several approvers and payers. Input from one approver and one payer is enough to complete a payment.
3. Creating a ‘Custom’ workflow allows you to select either sequential (default) or multiple (any of) approvers and payers independently of each other.

Once selected, assign members that will be Approvers and / or Payers. Payers are those who have access to the bank.

1. Enter your (or your client’s company) and go to ‘Settings’.
2. Select ‘Payment approval workflows’.
3. Click ‘+ Add workflow’.
4. Label the workflow so it will be clear to others in your team — when having more than 1 workflow for a particular payment type (e.g. payroll), they will have the option to select the relevant one when making payments.
5. Select the payment types you want to include within this workflow.
 1. Supplier payments: Payments to suppliers which can be pulled from your QuickBooks or Xero account.
 2. Payroll: For paying employees - when creating workflow for payroll payments, Admins will only be able to select members who have been given permission to access payroll. 
 3. Manual payments: For payments which are not recorded in Xero / Quickbooks and for which you do not necessarily have an invoice e.g. to HMRC.
6. Now select the Workflow type: 
 1. In the ‘Default’ workflow, all approvers approve in sequence and there can only be a single payer.
 2. In the ‘Any of’ workflow, you can add several approvers and payers. Input from one approver and one payer is enough to complete a payment.
 3. Creating a ‘Custom’ workflow allows you to select either sequential (default) or multiple (any of) approvers and payers independently of each other.
7. Once selected, assign members that will be Approvers and / or Payers. Payers are those who have access to the bank.

Ad-hoc approval workflows can be used by Admins in the following situations:

Company workflows are set up, but a payment requires a bespoke workflow

The approval workflow for a payment that is pending needs to be changed due to exceptional circumstances.

- Company workflows are not yet set up
- Company workflows are set up, but a payment requires a bespoke workflow
- The approval workflow for a payment that is pending needs to be changed due to exceptional circumstances.

In each of the above cases, when creating (or editing) a payment (selecting bills or uploading a payroll file), the Admin can choose who should perform a specific action (approve or pay) for that payment.

Note: Members who don’t have access to the relevant payment type cannot be selected as an approver or payer.

Permanent workflow

Ad-hoc approval workflow