Approval management solution
Shall you need to approve purchase requests, holiday requests, POs or other professional requests, xFLOWer is up to the challenge. All approval types and methods are supported, and are based on the company hierarchy and operational models. Click and learn more!
Approvals are also needed for your suppliers and partners for invoices, deadlines, documents or project changes! Such approvals can also be performed by xFLOWer's approval management module from the office or on the road - anytime, anywhere - so your partners will know immediately if you approved or declined anything related to them. Click here to learn more!
xFLOWer is able to make automatic decisions based on your requirements, thus behaving much like a software robot. For instance, a recurring invoice can be approved under a certain sum, the software can automatically approve it after examining the sum. Also, the system may send notifications in case it reveals anything out of ordinary and human interaction is needed.
In most cases, internal requests are handled on paper or in emails - maybe something very similar. However, many errors can occur in case of such activities: did the competent approver approve it? When was it approved? How to follow such approvals after a longer period of time? In most cases it is really challenging to give the right answers to these questions. Such - and many other - approval management challenges are resolved by xFLOWer approval module. It provides traceability for each and every approval case by storing all process steps, documents and interactions in a searchable, unified database and also it is only possible to change any data for users with appropriate user rights. Approval tasks can be prioritized, attached to deadlines - therefore making operations more fluent at organizational levels which depend on the approvals of higher levels. It is also important that no data can be deleted as there's no such option in the system.
Approval management processes are also needed for external partners, suppliers or service providers. Task completions, deadlines - or changes - invoice sums, quality requirements needs to be approved in large quantities, daily. Since such "smaller" approvals are present in rather large quantities even in smaller organizations, managing and storing such processes is essential. In case of larger organizations, these activities are almost compulsory to manage at system level to ensure fluent operations at all organizational levels which are in operative relation with the aforementioned external partners.
xFLOWer provides the most advanced process automation technology available today. The robust workflow system, available from the cloud, has the ability to automate 35 to 90 percent of operative office processes. Documents, event triggers, emails, forms or even decisions can be automated, increasing office productivity while achieving cost reduction in operative expenses. Not to mention that the company's workforce will be able to focus its efforts to more creative tasks or simply create more added value by saving work time. Such automations can be implemented to approval processes too, in case it is possible to decide - based on a previously specified set of business rules - what can be approved and what is not. A good example for such automatic approvals can be recurring invoices, say utility bills. For instance, if the invoice sum does not differ more than X% from the specified values, the system automatically approved it after examination. If the sum differs too much from the presets, the system alerts the competent person to clarify the difference and approve or dismiss the invoice.
APPROVAL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Organized work requires the exact identification of responsibilities. In case of an internal request, inside order or the arrival of a contract, the document must arrive to the responsible colleague, who is eligible to approve or deny the case. Since almost all operative processes require approval from different organizational levels, it is of key importance to appropriately manage such approvals.
xFLOWer is a robust and mature cloud based workflow and business process management solution with approval management functionality. Its development started more than 18 years ago, and it evolved through the years based on international business experience and the actual needs of business leaders throughout Europe. Contrary to other approval management systems, xFLOWer is not only a set of „wired” processes, in which some steps may follow each other, but a much more comprehensive, yet easy to use approval management system with comprehensive workflow capabilities.
The xFLOWer approval management module is part of the xFLOWer process management framework, including the most required business processes and data sets predefined. Although, all these predefined values can be tailored and expanded as needed during the implementation period or anytime later!
xFLOWer approval management is a cloud based solution, however it "only" provides a framework to create a business environment for your company - one in which you don't have to change your systems and operations frequently. Check out the xFLOWer product range - you can access all these features anytime: if you need any of it now, it is available, if it will be needed later, implementation into your existing xFLOWer instance will be flawless.
In the xFLOWer approval management module, everything is controlled by business processes to which documents are attached. The processes are guiding all colleagues step by step through the administration tasks, so it is not possible to omit any required step of approval management processes. There are no limitations in xFLOWer, regarding the types of processes you may want to use:
Of course, you are free to decide what processes you use, however, we will suggest some processes to start with. All processes can be tailored to your exact needs during the implementation period. Have a look at all xFLOWer Cloud modules and find the processes that best fit your needs.
We offer a great variety of approval management processes. The above list does not mean that only one of these features – processes – can be chosen, much rather any amount of processes you need can be implemented. All these processes can be used at the same time, and each business process may communicate on different channels.
For example, if an invoice shall be approved by 3 approvers, they may access even three different interfaces:
It is not exaggerating to say that the possibilities are limitless in terms of business mobility and flexibility with xFLOWer. Any „go-no go” or „OK – not OK” type approvals might be done through the above described interfaces. Also, in case a process needs a similar decision to be made in order to keep going, it also can be done using the above described methods.
xFLOWer approval management module includes customer data sets by default, however, you are free to decide what further types of data you want to store and manage. The possibilities are endless: store customers' company size, location, buying potential, premises, contact persons or unique data types such as foot size, language knowledge, turnover, political relationships or the GM's kids’ names - really whatever you may imagine!
Related to your specialties, information linked to your product or service can be managed at the level of individual customers, or you may create different approval management processes for different product or service types.
In case you have existing data sets in different systems, it is possible to establish interface connections to these systems. Hence, there's no need to re-enter existing data into xFLOWer during implementation.
In case you need different data sets, not only a customer database, it is also possible with xFLOWer. Create data sets for HR, real estate, receivables, accessories, partners or anything else. Approval management processes will always be attached to the appropriate data set.
A dedicated mobile application is available for listing, organizing and managing approval decisions. Also, approve processes might include deadlines, so that approvals or denial will not slow down operations. It is possible to attach comments, remarks or proposals to approvals.
E-mail reply
xFLOWer is able to send a simple e-mail message regarding approvals. In that case, a simple Reply message containing „OK” or „Approved” can be sent back into system, which therefore will consider the given case approved, and pushes the process further based on the answer. Of course, different messages can also be predefined during implementation.
E-mail links
Imagine the workflow and document engines jointly creating e-mails which contain active links. Hence, based on the workflow defined, the system is able to automatically send an email with an attachment for approval. The e-mail contains links for approval or dismissal, so by just clicking on one of them the given document might be approved or dismissed.
xFLOWer can send SMS notifications about certain events occurring in the business processes. By using the predefined commands (eg. OK, I approve...) in the answer SMS, the process can be pushed forward. Of course, all these events are stored in the case history with the SMS message itself, therefore all events – approvals, dismissals, contents, etc. – will all be traceable. By using this method, any type of approval can be performed: invoice approvals, payments, holiday requests, costs or anything that needs your „GO – NO GO” decision.
The browser interface provides a comprehensive workspace to manage all business process related tasks, including approvals.
In case you want to manage approvals via telephone, then by using call center integrations, it is also possible. Have any client approve any service modification, change request or even approve voice contracts! The result of all telephone conversations, is stored in the history – also, the results – shall it be a voice file or the push of a certain button, or others can be used as workflow triggering events,. modifying processes, initiating tasks or closing certain process phases. A good example can be a request for SOS maintenance: „Push button 1 if you accept the extra fee for SOS delivery or press button 2 if you accept delivery in one week for free”
Of course you are free to decide what process types you want to use in your operations. The business logic and the related processes can be defined during the implementation period.
Some of your choices:
Example:
In case the client pays a monthly fee (eg. for overhead costs) which is not likely to change and the client has no debts, the invoice is approved automatically. Certain limitations may be applied: if the client’s invoice shows – for example – more than 10% change compared to last month’s bill, then the invoice must be checked and approved manually.
xFLOWer Cloud internal approval process management module makes approval processes transparent and provides identification of all responsibilities as well. Entitlements and eligibilities are delegated based on these presets. The module enables task automation for approval processes, eg. shall all required data be available for an order form, the module automatically fills the required fields and forwards the form for approval.
The below example shows an example of recurring purchase requests for office supplies.
1. Incoming request, form filling – The requester records his request in the module. The request is saved automatically for future use.
2. Bidding – Suppliers can be defined in the module, from whom the system can automatically request quotations based on the request by email.
3. Request and offer forwarding – The module forwards the request and the offers to approvers. Either all offers might be forwarded or only those chosen by the requester (eg. lowest price, highest service level, etc.)
4. Order – The module forwards the order to the chosen supplier in case an offer is accepted. Furthermore, the module closes the ordering process.
5. Forwarding to finance department – After closing the request and approval process, the module forwards to purchasing or financial departments to complete the order and payments.
Even the best system can’t provide a complete solution if operational processes are designated erroneously. For this reason, ready – made processes based on international best practices are integrated into all xFLOWer modules, which ensure professional organization of work from the first moment of usage. This unique feature enables business leaders to redefine operational processes solely by appointing coworkers for certain tasks – the rest is done by xFLOWer.
xFLOWer Cloud internal approval management module contains all the above features and enables the definition, management and automation of all operational processes regardless the number of processes, users of documents involved. By automating certain tasks, resources are freed within the organization, hence saving costs, time and energy for your enterprise. Therefore the company is enabled to focus on sales, clients and the constant development of its core competence to retain its competitive edge.
