Approval Policies allow you to define approval workflows for new card and limit requests.
Spenders can submit spend requests and reimbursements, each triggering a custom approval workflow with one or more approvers. Approval Policy workflows can be customized based on the Team, the amount requested, and whether the request is for a temporary or recurring expense.
Multiple approval policies are available only in the Professional Plan. The essentials plan includes one editable default approval policy. Reach out to support@floatfinancial.com to upgrade!
Editing the Default Approval Policy
For businesses on Float's Essentials plan, and/or if a Team has not been specified on the spend request, the "Default Approval Policy" will automatically be applied.
To edit the Default Approval Policy, navigate to Settings > Approval Policies > Default Approval Policy > "Edit".
Creating a Custom Approval Policy (Professional Plan)
Approval policies live within your account settings. To create a new approval policy:
- Navigate to "Settings" → "Approval Policies"
- Click "Add Approval Policy" on the top right corner of the page
- Customize your approval policy:
- Add a policy name (e.g. Onboarding Expenses, Sales Team Expenses, etc.)
- Assign this policy to one or multiple Teams. This will determine the approval workflow for requests submitted by spenders within the team.
- Select the card request type, recurring or temporary.
- Recurring expense: This should only be selected for recurring spending, such as software subscriptions, vendor payments, advertising or monthly benefits.
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Temporary Limit: This should be selected for any one-time spend (such as a work travel trip or a team lunch) that will have a specific expiry date.
Adding Multi-layered Approvals
Approval policies can have multiple approvers. The policies can have different levels of approval based on the amount and type of limit! Here’s a how-to on implementing these controls.
Multiple Approvers
- Navigate to "Settings" → "Approval Policies" → select the Approval Policy you would like to edit or create a new one.
- Choose a first approver(s)
- Click “+Add Approval Step” and add as many layers of approval as you need!
Dynamic Approvers
Dynamic Approvers is an option for admins to assign a dynamic value for an approver when creating an Approval Policy that follows the organizational hierarchy. There are three options for the Dynamic Approvers - First-Level Manager, Second-Level Manager and Third-Level Manager.
First Level Manager - The direct manager of the employee computed dynamically based on who is making the request
Second Level Manager - A user's First Level Manager's manager. If this user doesn’t exist in the organizational hierarchy, their step is skipped.
Third Level Manager - The Second Level Manager's manager.
If you would like for an approval policy to be directed to the user's direct manager, choose one of the listed managers under "Dynamic Approver" in the drop-down.
You can also pick a specific Manager or Administrator as an Approver for any step by searching their name directly. To add more than one user to the same approval step, use an Approval Group.
Approval Level by Expense Type
Approval workflows are not the same for recurring or temporary limits. Toggle between the expense type to see what your policy looks like for each.
Approval Levels by Amount
You can add or reduce the approval steps and change approvers based on the amount of the request! Within the approval policy editor Click “Add Level” and choose the expense threshold for this level. You can now select a new approver and add an approval step for spend requests above this amount!
Approval levels are not the same for different expense types. You will have to create separate levels for recurring and temporary expenses.
When multiple policies are available to a user
If multiple Approval Policies are available to a user (for example if the user is a member of multiple teams), they'll be able to select between them when submitting the Spend Request.
The request will be routed for approval according to the configuration of the policy the user selects.
If users will have access to multiple policies, we recommend naming them clearly so users can identify the appropriate selection.
Auto-Approvals
Auto-approvals happen when a spend request is submitted and it’s automatically approved without needing action from another user.
Spend requests may be auto-approved in any of these situations:
The submitter is also the approver: If the submitter is listed as the only approver in an approval policy (like the "Default Approval Policy"), any request they submit will be auto-approved.
The submitter is one of many approvers at the same step: If the submitter is one of many approvers at a single step (e.g. Employee A, B, and C are all first-level approvers, and Employee A submits a request), it will be auto-approved since they're included as an approver in that step.
The submitter is both a team member and the team manager: If someone is assigned as the approver for their own team and also listed as a member, their submissions under that team will be auto-approved.
No approver is set in the Default Approval Policy: If a card or reimbursement request is submitted and no approver is set in the Default Approval Policy, the request will be auto-approved because there’s no one to send it to.