---
title: Approval workflows
summary: Define who approves a record and in which order, then choose which workflow each area uses for the whole company or for one project.
order: 8
menu: Company settings > General > Approval Workflows
route: /approvalworkflows
who: People who have the View Approval Workflows permission. Creating and configuring need Add and Edit. Deleting a workflow needs Delete.
---

An approval workflow is a list of approvers. When someone submits a record, for example a purchase order (PO), it goes to the first approver. After that approver says yes, it goes to the next one. The record is approved when the last approver says yes.

You do two things on these screens. First you create the workflows. Then you tell Superwise which workflow each area uses. An area is a part of Superwise, such as Purchase Orders or RA Bills. You can set one workflow for the whole company and a different one for a single project.

## Before you start

- Create the roles and users who will approve. See [Roles](role.md) and [Users](user.md). A workflow can name a role or a user.
- A locked user cannot be part of a workflow. See [Users](user.md).

## How to create a workflow

1. Open **Company settings** in the left menu, then **General**, then **Approval Workflows**.
2. Click **Add New** (mark 1 in the first picture).
3. In **Name** (mark 1 in the second picture), type a name, for example Purchase order approval.
4. In **Code** (mark 2), type a short code, for example POA. The code must be new.
5. In **Subscribers** (mark 3), choose the users who get a message when an approver acts on a record. This is optional.
6. In **Workflow** (mark 4), write the steps. Write one step on each line. Type @ and choose a role or a user from the list. See the next section.
7. Check the picture on the right of the box. It shows the steps as a chart. If it says **Invalid Workflow**, fix the text.
8. Click **Save** (mark 5). A message says **Workflow Saved**.

![The list of approval workflows. The mark 1 is the button Add New, the mark 2 is the button Global Configuration and the mark 3 is the three dots of a row.](../media/approval-workflow-list.png)

![The workflow form. The mark 1 is Name, the mark 2 is Code, the mark 3 is Subscribers, the mark 4 is the box Workflow and the mark 5 is Save.](../media/approval-workflow-form.png)

## How to write the steps

Each line is one step. The first line is the first approver. Superwise sends the record to the lines in order.

```
@Role("Site Engineer") in 1 day
@Role("Project Manager") in 2 days
@Role("Accounts Head")
```

- Type @ and choose **User** or **Role** and the name from the list. The text shows as `@Role("Site Engineer")` or `@User("name")`.
- Add `in 2 days` after the name to set the review time in days.
- To let two or more approvers work at the same step, write them on one line and separate them with a comma.
- The last line must have a single approver.

## How to see, copy or delete a workflow

1. In the list, click the three dots at the end of the row (mark 3 in the first picture).
2. Choose **Show** to see the chart. The box has the buttons **Download** to save the chart as a picture and **Close**. If the workflow has subscribers, a button also switches between the chart and the list of subscribers.
3. Choose **Duplicate** to start a new workflow from a copy of this one. Change the name, the code and the steps, then click **Save**.
4. Choose **Delete** to remove the workflow. Confirm the question "Are you sure that you want to delete this workflow?".

## How to choose the workflow for each area

Company-wide settings apply to every project.

1. On the list of workflows, click **Global Configuration** (mark 2 in the first picture). The page **Company-wide Approval Workflows** opens with the columns **Area** and **Workflow**.
2. Click **Configure** (mark 1 in the third picture).
3. For each area, choose a workflow in **Select Workflow** (mark 2 in the fourth picture). The list offers only active workflows. Leave the field empty if the area needs no workflow.
4. Click **Save** (mark 3).

![The page Company-wide Approval Workflows. The mark 1 is the button Configure.](../media/approval-workflow-company-list.png)

![The page Configure Company-wide Approval Workflows. The mark 1 is the column Area, the mark 2 is Select Workflow and the mark 3 is Save.](../media/approval-workflow-company-configure.png)

## How to choose the workflow for one project

1. Select the project in the project selector at the top of the page.
2. On the list of workflows, click **Project Configuration**. The button shows only when a project is selected.
3. Click **Configure**.
4. For each area, the column **Company-wide Workflow** shows the company setting. Choose a workflow in **Select Workflow** to use another workflow for this project.
5. Click **Save**.

## What the columns mean

| Name | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Name** | The name of the workflow. |
| **Code** | The short code of the workflow. |
| **Inactive?** | A tick means the workflow is archived and cannot be chosen for an area. |
| **Area** | The part of Superwise, shown with its group, for example Accounts - Payments. |
| **Workflow** | The workflow chosen for the area. |

## Rules to know

- The name and the code are required. A code cannot be used twice. The message is "Cannot repeat workflow code".
- Each line must name a role or a user that exists. A role cannot be used twice in one workflow. A user cannot be used twice in one workflow.
- A locked user cannot be a step or a subscriber.
- A workflow must end with a single approver.
- You cannot choose an archived workflow for an area. The message is "Cannot select Archive Approval workflow."
- Each area can have only one workflow. The message is "Multiple workflows defined for a module".
- When an approver acts on a record, the subscribers of the workflow get a message. If the workflow has no subscribers, the person who created the record gets it.
- You cannot delete a role that is a step of a workflow. See [Roles](role.md).

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| Invalid Workflow | Check each line. Use the list that opens when you type @. |
| Invalid user/role specified at one of the steps | The name does not match a user or a role. Choose it again from the list. |
| Approval workflow contains duplicate roles | Use each role once. |
| Approval workflow contains duplicate users | Use each user once. |
| Approval workflow should end with a single user/role | Put only one approver on the last line. |
| Cannot repeat workflow code | Type a different code. |
| Workflow has no active users. | A step has only locked users. Unlock a user or change the step. |

## Related pages

- [Roles](role.md)
- [Users](user.md)
- [Projects](project.md)
- [Company setup masters](index.md)