Setting up approval workflows in Business Central

Set up approval users first

Open Approval User Setup and add each person who will ask for or give approval. The Approver ID field names the person's manager. The amount limit fields cap what each person may approve for sales, purchases and requests. An unlimited checkbox marks the top of the chain. One user should be the Approval Administrator, who can act on any request.

Fill in the Substitute field, so requests do not get stuck when someone is away. An approver can also delegate a single request from the Requests to Approve page. For approvals by a team in sequence, create a Workflow User Group. Then give each member a sequence number.

Create approval workflows in Business Central from templates

Go to Workflows and choose New Workflow from Template. Templates exist for purchase orders, purchase invoices, sales orders, credit limit checks and general journal batches. Others cover changes to customer, vendor and item records. Picking one creates a workflow with its events and responses already in place.

Each step has a When Event, an optional condition and a Then Response. For a purchase invoice, the first step reads: when approval is requested, create an approval request and send it. Later steps release the document when all requests are approved, or reopen it when one is rejected. Tick Enabled once the steps look right.

Conditions, approver types and limits

Click the condition on the first step to filter which documents the workflow covers. For example, pick only invoices above an amount, or only one purchaser code. Several workflows for the same document type can run side by side with different conditions. So small and large purchases can follow different routes.

In the response options, choose the Approver Type. That can be the approver from user setup, a workflow user group, or the salesperson or purchaser on the document. The Approver Limit Type then decides the route. Approver Chain sends the request up each level. Direct Approver goes to the immediate manager. First Qualified Approver skips to whoever has a high enough limit.

Tracking requests in approval workflows in Business Central

On the document, the requester chooses Send Approval Request, and the status changes to Pending Approval. The approver sees the item in Requests to Approve on the Role Center. They open the document and choose Approve, Reject or Delegate, with a comment if needed. The requester can cancel a request that went out too early.

Each user sets notifications in Notification Setup. They can arrive as a note in the client or as email, at once or on a schedule. Email needs an email account in Business Central and a running job queue. The Approval Entries page then shows the full history of each request.

Power Automate and approval workflows in Business Central

The built-in workflows cover most needs inside the system. Power Automate is worth a look when approvers do not use Business Central. A request can reach them in Teams or Outlook, and they can answer there. Microsoft provides flow templates for Business Central. You can also start a flow from an action on the document page.

Flows also help when approval depends on something outside the system, such as a value in a spreadsheet or another app. Still, keep an eye on who owns each flow and how failures are reported. Our consultants can help you decide which approach suits each document. We can then build either one with your finance team.

Approval workflows in Business Central: questions

Which documents can have an approval workflow?

Templates cover sales and purchase quotes, orders, invoices, credit memos and return orders. They also cover general journal batches and lines, and new or changed customers, vendors and items. An extension can add other tables, if it publishes the needed workflow events. So most daily documents already have a template to start from.

Can approval depend on the invoice amount?

Yes, in two ways. A condition on the workflow can limit it to documents over a set amount. And the approval limits in Approval User Setup decide how far up the chain a request must travel before someone may approve it. So approval workflows in Business Central can route small invoices to a manager and large ones higher.

What happens if an approver is on vacation?

If you name a substitute in Approval User Setup, the approver or the approval administrator can delegate open requests to that person from Requests to Approve. Some companies also add a due date on requests. Then overdue ones are flagged to the requester. That way, one absence never stalls approval workflows in Business Central or a whole payment run.

Why can I not edit my workflow?

An enabled workflow is locked. Clear the Enabled checkbox, make the change and enable it again. If documents already wait on that workflow, finish or cancel those requests first. Changing steps in the middle of an approval can leave them without a valid next step. So plan edits for a quiet time.

Do approvers need a full license?

Microsoft's Team Members license is made for light use that includes approving documents. So occasional approvers often do not need an Essentials or Premium license. Check the current licensing guide on Microsoft's site for what each license type permits. We can also go through your approver list and match each person to a license type.

Related controls for approval workflows in Business Central

Approvals are one layer of control. These pages cover permissions, purchasing and payables processes. They also describe the Power Automate work we do when built-in approval workflows in Business Central are not enough. Start with the permissions guide, so each approver sees only what they need, and then return to tune your workflow steps. For the product detail, see Use approval workflows on Microsoft Learn.