Get started and administrate authorisation flows for supplier invoices

Guide for Finance managers on how authorisation workflows work and are administered in Kleer

In Kleer you can set up authorisation workflows for supplier invoices. Users with permission to authorise supplier invoices can be part of one or more authorisation workflows and can have an amount limit at the personal level.

Creating and changing authorisation workflows requires the Finance manager permission.

A supplier invoice route through Kleer

Approval

When a supplier invoice arrives, Kleer codes it, and the next step is approval. This step is usually done by the person who has bought something for the company, and is a check that what was ordered has been delivered as agreed. Using approvers is optional and the step can be skipped.

The approver is appointed in the following order of priority:

• The user who is set as Your reference on the supplier in the supplier register (you can choose to use this only as a fallback when the invoice has no reference)
• The user who is found as Your reference when the invoice is read in
• The user who has the invoice forwarded to them manually
• All users in Kleer can be approvers.
• Approval is done before authorisation, and the approval is not included in the authorisation workflows that are set up.
• If the user who is to approve is the same as the first person in the authorisation workflow, the approval step is skipped and that user authorises the invoice.

Authorisation

Once the approval has been made, the invoice is sent automatically to the first person in the chosen authorisation workflow for authorisation. This step is usually done by people who have the right to accept a cost in the company. They confirm that the amount is within budget and that they are willing to accept the cost.

An authorisation workflow can be started manually without an approver, or automatically after coding if you choose not to use approvers in your flows.

The authorisation workflow is appointed in the following order of priority:

• The authorisation workflow that is set on the supplier in the supplier register.
• The standard workflow
• An authorisation workflow that is chosen manually on a specific invoice
• The supplier invoice is sent to one person at a time, in the order of the chosen authorisation workflow.
• For the invoice to be authorised, it must have been approved and the last authoriser must have a sufficient amount limit. If you do not use approvers, at least two people must authorise and the last authoriser must have a sufficient amount limit.
• The invoice continues in the authorisation workflow until this is fulfilled, and then it stops and is fully authorised. People after that point in the chosen workflow are not involved. This means that at least two people always have to have approved or authorised for the invoice to be fully authorised.

Booked/fully authorised

The invoice is fully authorised and booked once it has passed at least two people and a person with a sufficient amount limit has authorised it.

Exception

You can set it so that the first person in the authorisation workflow may authorise if that person has a sufficient amount limit. The four-eyes principle, which we apply by default, is then not applied. If you want this, tell your Kleer consultant.

Payment

Once the supplier invoice is fully authorised, it appears under Pay. There it can be seen by users with payment permission, and they can pay the invoice.

1. Permissions

Give users who are to authorise supplier invoices the right permission. It requires the permission “Finance manager” or “Authorise own and my team’s supplier invoices”.

2. Limit amount

Set the amount limit for each user in the “Authorisation workflows” interface, on the tab Amount limits. You find it under Settings in the top menu.

https://my.kleer.se/web/secure/settings/supplierinvoicechains.xhtml

If no amount is set, the person has an unlimited amount limit. If you want the amount limit to be 0 SEK, enter “0” in the field. Amount limits also apply to credit invoices. A user with an amount limit of 5 000 SEK may also authorise credit invoices down to - 5 000 SEK.

All amounts include VAT.

3. Create authorisation workflows

Create the authorisation workflows the company needs in the “Authorisation workflows” interface, which you find under Settings in the top menu. Here you can also choose whether one of the workflows should be the standard, and so be used when none is set on the supplier.

https://my.kleer.se/web/secure/settings/supplierinvoicechains.xhtml

You can edit or add more workflows whenever you want.

Start an authorisation workflow

The process starts automatically if you use the function that forwards to Your reference. When the user who is set as Your reference has approved the supplier invoice, it is sent on automatically to the chosen authorisation workflow. If no authorisation workflow is chosen, the invoice ends up under the filter To do for users with the Finance manager permission.

If you want to skip approval, you can set on the supplier card that the authorisation workflow should start directly after coding. You then tick the setting “Start authorisation chain without approvers” and choose which authorisation workflow to use. When the invoice has been coded, it is sent directly for authorisation.

Finance managers can also start the process manually by clicking the button “Initiate authorisation workflow” on a supplier invoice and stating who is to be the approver and which authorisation workflow to use. If you do not want an approver, you can leave this field empty and the invoice is then sent directly to the first person in the workflow. This can also be done from the list To do.

The button “Initiate authorisation workflow” is found on the invoice, and so can also be found in the list view of invoices to handle.

In the dialog that opens, you fill in who is to be the approver and which authorisation workflow to use. You can also choose whether this workflow should be the standard for this supplier from now on.

Tips for more automation

• Set a user as Your reference on all suppliers in the supplier register and keep forwarding to Your reference switched on, so you avoid manual handling at approval.
• Set which authorisation workflow is to be used for each supplier in the supplier register. A Finance manager can also keep this updated as supplier invoices are handled. Also choose whether you want to start authorisation workflows with or without approvers.
• Set one of the authorisation workflows as the standard workflow if you usually have the same people authorising supplier invoices. That way you can be sure the invoice always ends up with someone who has good insight into how supplier invoices are handled. If they want to change the workflow, it is easy to do on the invoice.

FAQ