Employee Approval Templates

Create custom approval workflows for specific employees or groups.

Accessing Approval Templates

1. Click Approvals in the sidebar (Manager+ role required)
2. Click Settings
3. Select the Employee Templates tab

Admin Role Required

Only organization Admins can create and manage approval templates.

Overview

Approval Templates allow you to:

• Define custom approval chains for specific employees
• Override default organization-wide workflows
• Assign multiple approvers in sequence or parallel
• Activate/deactivate templates as needed

Templates vs Condition-Based Workflows

Feature	Condition-Based Workflows	Employee Templates
Applies To	All employees matching conditions	Specific assigned employees
Trigger	Amount thresholds, categories, etc.	Employee assignment
Use Case	General org-wide rules	VIP/exception handling

Creating a Template

Step 1: Open Template Editor

1. Click Create Template
2. The template editor dialog opens

Step 2: Configure Basic Settings

Field	Description
Name	Descriptive template name
Description	What this template is for
Approval Mode	Sequential or Any One
Active	Enable/disable the template

Step 3: Choose Approval Mode

Mode	Description
Sequential	Approvers must approve in order (1 → 2 → 3)
Any One	Any single approver can approve

Step 4: Add Approval Steps

1. Click Add Step
2. Select an approver (user or role)
3. Repeat for additional steps
4. Drag to reorder (sequential mode)

Step 5: Save Template

1. Click Save
2. Template appears in the list

Assigning Templates to Employees

From User Management

1. Navigate to Admin > Users
2. Find the employee
3. Click Edit
4. Select their approval template
5. Save changes

Template Takes Priority

When an employee has an assigned template:

• Template workflow overrides organization defaults
• Condition-based workflows are bypassed
• All expenses use the template chain

Managing Templates

Template List View

The template table shows:

Column	Description
Name	Template name and description
Mode	Sequential or Any One
Steps	Number of approval steps
Assigned	Employees using this template
Status	Active or Inactive

Template Actions

Action	Description
Edit	Modify template settings
Activate/Deactivate	Enable or disable
Duplicate	Copy to create a similar template
Delete	Remove permanently

Deleting a Template

Assigned Employees Affected

Deleting a template removes assignments from all employees using it. They will revert to default workflows.

1. Click the menu icon on a template
2. Select Delete
3. Confirm deletion

Use Cases

Executive Assistant

Create a template where:

1. Executive's assistant reviews first
2. Finance reviews second
3. CFO gives final approval

High-Value Employees

For employees with large expense accounts:

1. Assign a template with extra approval layers
2. Ensure proper oversight on all expenses

Temporary Workers

Create a stricter approval chain:

1. Manager approval
2. HR approval
3. Finance approval

Best Practices

1. Name clearly - Use descriptive names like "Executive Team Template"
2. Document purpose - Add descriptions explaining when to use
3. Use sparingly - Templates are for exceptions, not the norm
4. Review regularly - Audit template assignments quarterly
5. Test before deploying - Verify workflow works as expected

---

Related: Approval Workflows | User Management