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How to use Rules in the Approval System

Learn all about the Rules section of the Approval System, along with creating rules

Marie Claire Saliba avatar
Written by Marie Claire Saliba
Updated over 2 months ago

About Rules

The first step to using the Approval System is setting up rules to govern πŸ‘¨β€βš–οΈ different requests.
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E.g. Automatically Approve or Reject all the Overtime requests coming from a specific Cost Centre.


Rules: Main Screen

The Rules screen is made up of a toolbar and a grid listing all the rules for the currently selected view.

The Rules toolbar contains the standard Refresh, Filter, Search, Column Selector, and Close actions, along with three more:

  • View Type: this dropdown lets you choose which Rules to view in the grid.

  • Priority: set the priority order for your listed rules using this button.

  • + Add Rule: click this button to add a new rule.

The Rules grid shows all the rules available for the selected View Type, and information based on the columns chosen in the Column Selector. You can activate or deactivate a rule directly from the grid via the switch under the Active column.

Rules: 'Add Overtime Rule' Screen

On clicking the + Add Rule button on the Rules toolbar, you're taken to a new screen to create the new rule, according to the type of rule selected in the View Type.

When 'Overtime' is chosen in the View Type dropdown, you'll be taken to the Add Overtime Rule screen. This is made up of three parts: Rule Settings, Settings Criteria, and Approvers.

Rule Settings

  • Rule Type: the system name for the type of rule being created.

  • Name: enter a name for your new rule.

  • Submission Type: choose whether the rule applies to requests submitted on the submitter's behalf (Self) or on behalf of others (On Behalf Of).

  • Active: you can toggle this switch to activate or deactivate a rule. By default, a new rule is set to Active.

  • Remark: enter any information, such as a description of the rule or an explanation about when it is applied.

Settings Criteria

For Overtime rules, set a rule to be triggered in certain circumstances via the 'Type' dropdown. You can choose from Overtime, User, or Employee scenarios.

  • Rules of Type: Overtime

    • Field: choose from Type, Hours, Date, Day, Month.

    • Operator: varies depending on what is chosen in Field.

      • When Field is Type, Day or Month: choose from Is Any Of, Is None Of.

      • When Field is Hours, Date or Day: choose from Equal To, Not Equal To, Greater Than, Greater Than or Equal To, Less Than, Less Than or Equal To.

    • Value: shows list, calendar, or time to be entered, depending on what is chosen in Field.

  • Rules of Type: User

    • Field: choose from User Role, Permission Set, Permission.

    • Operator: choose from Is Any Of, Is None Of, Contains, Does Not Contain, Equal To, Not Equal To.

    • Value: allows you to choose from a list, according to what is chosen in Field.

  • Rules of Type: Employee

    • Field: choose from Work Schedule Profile Code, Work Schedule Profile Description, Occupation Code, Occupation Description, Department Code, Department Description, Section Code, Section Description, Unit Code, Unit Description, Grade, Location, Cost Centre, Payroll Group Code, Payroll Group Description, Payroll Type, Daily Attendance Type, Employee Type, Is Attendance Employee.

    • Operator: choose from Is Any Of, Is None Of, Contains, Does Not Contain, Equal To, Not Equal To.

    • Value: allows you to choose from a list, according to what is chosen in Field.

Approvers

The first setting in Approvers is set to the far right of the title, and is a choice from 'Auto Approve', 'Auto Reject', and 'Configure'.

  • Auto Approve: as the name implies, requests that satisfy rules with this setting will be automatically approved by the system.

  • Auto Reject: this works the same way as Auto Approve, but this time the system would automatically reject requests satisfying a rule with this setting.

  • Configure: this setting lets you assign approvers to a rule and set conditions tied to approval processing.

Further settings on choosing 'Configure':

  • All must approve: all of the approvers listed must approve the request. If even one approver declines, the request is declined.

  • Anyone can approve: only approval from any single approver from the list is needed.

  • Approved in sequence: the request is approved by each approver in the order set out in the rule. If the first approver does not approve the request, the request will not be available to the second approver for processing, and so on.

  • Approved by Priority: the topmost approver's approval is always required, and once they have approved the request, it is fully processed and no other approval is needed.

You must then configure the approvers' settings, by specifying the Type and Level, and adding a row for each approver.

  • Type:

    • Manager: in Level, choose 1st Level Manager for the requesting employee's direct superior; choose 2nd Level Manager for any manager further up the Organisation Chart hierarchy than the employee's direct superior.

    • Employee With Occupation: allows you to choose a specific occupation from a list, such as manager. This means any employee with the specified position can approve the request.

    • Set Employee: choose an individual employee in your company to approve the request.


Creating a Rule

  1. Go to Approval System > Rules, then click the Take me there button or File > Add Overtime Rule.

  2. Configure the Settings Criteria under which the rule will be triggered.

  3. Choose from 'Auto Approve', 'Auto Reject' or 'Configure'.

  4. If you choose 'Configure', you must then select from: All must approve, Anyone can approve, Approved in sequence, Approved by Priority.

  5. Set the Type (Manager, Employee With Occupation, or Set Employee) of Approver needed for the rule. Add as many Approver entries as required.

  6. Once you have configured the rule to your satisfaction, click Save.

The Rules screen will update automatically to show your newly created rule listed in the grid.


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