Approval Workflows

Purchase requisitions in AcaTrove pass through an approval workflow before they can be ordered. This ensures spending is reviewed by the appropriate people and stays within budget constraints. The approval system supports multi-level chains, delegation, and configurable thresholds.

Accessing the Approval Queue

Navigate to /purchasing/approvals to see all requisitions awaiting your review. The queue shows each requisition's title, requester, total amount, budget account, submission date, and priority level. Urgent and critical requisitions are highlighted at the top.

Approval queue showing pending requisitions

Reviewing a Requisition

Click on any requisition in the approval queue to open its detail view. You can review:

• The justification provided by the requester.
• All line items with descriptions, quantities, unit prices, and vendors.
• The budget account and its current balance.
• Any attachments such as vendor quotes or specification sheets.
• Comments from the requester or other approvers.

Requisition detail view with approval actions

Taking Action

You have three options when reviewing a requisition:

Approve -- Click Approve to grant your approval. If additional approval levels are required, the requisition moves to the next approver. If yours is the final approval, the status changes to Approved and the requester is notified.

Reject -- Click Reject and provide a reason. The requisition is returned to the requester with a Rejected status. They can view your rejection reason and decide whether to revise and resubmit.

Request Revision -- Click Request Revision and explain what needs to change. The requisition is returned to the requester with a Revision Requested status. Once they make changes and resubmit, it re-enters the approval queue.

Multi-Level Approval Chains

Workspace administrators can configure approval rules based on:

• Amount thresholds -- Requisitions under a certain amount (e.g., $500) may require only one level of approval. Higher amounts trigger additional levels.
• Budget account rules -- Certain budget accounts may require approval from a specific person, such as a grant PI or department chair.
• Category rules -- Equipment purchases above a threshold may require additional institutional approval.

When a requisition requires multiple approvals, it progresses through each level sequentially. The approval history is visible in the requisition detail, showing who approved at each stage and when.

Delegation

If you will be unavailable (conference travel, sabbatical), you can delegate your approval authority to another workspace member:

1. Go to Settings > Purchasing Preferences.
2. Under Approval Delegation, select a delegate and specify a date range.
3. During that period, your delegate receives your approval queue items and can act on your behalf.

All delegated approvals are logged with both the delegate's and the original approver's names.

Notifications

Approvers receive notifications when new requisitions enter their queue. Requesters are notified when their requisitions are approved, rejected, or returned for revision. Notification preferences (in-app, email, or both) can be configured in Settings > Notifications.

Tips

• Add a comment before approving or rejecting to provide context, especially for borderline decisions.
• Check the budget balance shown in the requisition detail -- it reflects committed and spent amounts so you can see whether the purchase fits within remaining funds.
• Use the approval history on each requisition to understand the decision chain.