When activated, it automatically counts the user who creates a payment as one of the required approvers.
This can help reduce the number of manual steps needed to get a payment authorised, especially in teams where the creator's approval is an implicit part of the process.
Who can manage this feature?
Only users with Admin privileges can enable or disable this feature.
How to Enable or Disable the Feature
1. Log in to your Ebury Online account.
2. Navigate to the Approval Workflows section.
3. Within the Approval Workflows, find the Admin Approval settings area.
4. You will see a setting labeled "Treat payment creator as approval".
5. To enable the feature, check the box next to the label. An "Activated" tag will appear.
6. To disable the feature, uncheck the box. A "Disabled" tag will appear.
What happens when the feature is enabled?
When this feature is activated:
* When a user creates a payment that requires approval, the system automatically counts their action as the first approval.
* If your approval rule requires two approvers, only one additional user will need to approve the payment.
* If your approval rule requires only one approver, the payment will be considered fully approved as soon as it is created.
What happens when the feature is disabled?
When this feature is disabled:
* Creating a payment does not count as an approval.
* The payment will require the full number of specified approvers to authorise it, even if the creator is one of the designated approvers. They will need to approve it manually.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is the "Treat payment creator as approval" feature?
It’s a setting that automatically considers the creator of a payment as one of the required approvers. If this feature is on, the creator's action of making the payment is counted as their approval.
2. Who can manage this feature?
Only users with "Admin" permissions on the Ebury Online platform can enable or disable this feature in the Approval Rules settings.
3. How does this feature affect our payment approval workflow?
It reduces the number of manual approvals required. For example, if a rule requires two approvals, and this feature is on, only one more person needs to approve the payment after it's been created.
4. Does this mean payments are approved instantly?
Not necessarily. It depends on your approval rules. If a rule requires more than one approver, the payment will still need the remaining number of approvals before it is fully authorised. If the rule only requires one approver, then yes, the payment will be approved instantly upon creation.
5. Can the payment creator still approve the payment manually if this feature is disabled?
No. If the feature is disabled and the payment creator is part of an approval group, they cannot manually approve the payment.
6. What happens if our approval rule requires more than one approver?
The system simply counts the creator as the first approver. For instance, if three approvals are required, activating this feature means you will only need two more users to approve the payment.
7. Is this feature enabled by default?
No, this feature is disabled by default. You must be an Admin to activate it.
8. When should we use this feature?
This feature is most useful for companies where the act of creating a payment is considered a trusted action and an implicit first step of approval. It helps to speed up the payment process by reducing redundant manual steps, while still maintaining the security of multi-user approval for larger payments.
Let's break that down with a clear example.
Assume you have a rule that requires one approval from Group A and one approval from Group B. The "Treat payment creator as approval" feature is ON.
Let's call the payment creator User X.
Case 1: The Creator (User X) IS a member of Group A
1. User X creates the payment.
2. The system automatically adds User X's approval.
3. The system checks the approval rules:
* Does it have an approval from Group A? Yes, because User X is in Group A, their automatic approval satisfies this requirement.
* Does it have an approval from Group B? No.
4. Result: The payment now only needs one more approval from any member of Group B to be fully authorised.
In this scenario, the feature works very efficiently by knocking out one of the group requirements immediately.
Case 2: The Creator (User X) is NOT a member of Group A or Group B
1. User X creates the payment.
2. The system automatically adds User X's approval (this is the special exception rule).
3. The system checks the approval rules:
* Does it have an approval from Group A? No. User X's approval is counted, but it doesn't count for Group A because they are not a member.
* Does it have an approval from Group B? No.
4. Result: The payment still needs two more approvals: one from a member of Group A and one from a member of Group B.
In this scenario, the creator's approval is simply a "bonus" approval that doesn't satisfy any specific group's requirement.
Summary of the Difference:
| Creator IS in an Approval Group | Creator is NOT in any Approval Group |
What happens if | The creator's automatic approval satisfies that group's requirements | The creator's automatic approval is counted, but it does not satisfy any specific group's requirements |
Impact | You need fewer manual approvals because one group is already part of the group | You still need the full number of approvals from each required group. |