Approval Workflows: A Guide for Multifamily

Approval workflows are a vital part of any organization's financial management process. They ensure that all spending requests are properly reviewed and approved before funds are disbursed or before new contracts are signed. This helps prevent unauthorized spending and promotes accountability and transparency.

Unfortunately, most companies haven’t had the time to embrace technology yet to ensure that Vendor & Expenditure Requests go smoothly and actually follow the necessary procedures.

Here’s an example of a public manual approval processes we found available: vendor request packet.

Approval Workflow Process

The old way:

provide your new vendor with 9 pages of PDF and hope that they complete everything to your satisfaction.  Email back and forth for a few weeks.  Waste lots of time.

The new way:

An automated workflow with logic built in.

Give vendors a clear process with the following features, rather than relying on manual steps that may not be followed:

1. Assigning mandatory steps.
2. Exact answers that can be validated and checked.
3. Ability to skip sections if they don’t apply.

The approval workflow process typically involves the following steps:

1. Request Submission: The employee submits an expense request, which includes details such as the amount being requested, the purpose of the expense, and any supporting documentation.
2. Initial Review: The request is reviewed by a supervisor or manager to ensure that it is complete and accurate. The supervisor may also check to see if the expense is in line with the organization's budget and policies.
3. Approval: If the supervisor approves the request, it is then forwarded to the next level of approval, typically a department head or financial manager. This person reviews the request and ensures that the expense is justified and necessary.
4. Final Approval: The final approval is typically granted by a senior executive or the CEO. This person has the authority to make the final decision on whether or not to approve the expense.
5. Payment: Once the expense request has been approved, the payment is processed, and the employee is reimbursed for their expenses.

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Benefits of Approval Workflows

Approval workflows offer several benefits for multifamily organizations, including:

• Improved Control Over Spending: Approval workflows help organizations control spending by ensuring that all requests are properly reviewed and approved before funds are disbursed.
• Increased Accountability and Transparency: Approval workflows promote accountability and transparency by providing a clear record of who approved each expense.
• Reduced Risk of Fraud: Approval workflows help reduce the risk of fraud by making it more difficult for unauthorized individuals to obtain funds.
• Improved Efficiency: Approval workflows can improve efficiency by streamlining the expense approval process and reducing the time it takes to get requests approved.

Best Practices for Approval Workflows

There are several best practices that organizations can follow to ensure that their approval workflows are effective and efficient. These include:

• Clearly Define Roles and Responsibilities: Organizations should clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each person involved in the approval process. This includes who is responsible for submitting requests, reviewing requests, and approving requests.
• Use a Centralized System: Organizations should use a centralized system for managing expense requests. This makes it easier to track requests and ensures that all requests are reviewed and approved in a timely manner.
• Automate the Process: Organizations should automate as much of the approval process as possible. This can save time and reduce the risk of errors.
• Monitor the Process: Organizations should monitor the approval process to ensure that it is working effectively. This includes tracking the time it takes to get requests approved and identifying any bottlenecks in the process.

Approval workflows are an important part of any organization's financial management process. By following best practices, organizations can ensure that their approval workflows are effective and efficient.

Pivott has embedded workflows to meet your needs and our professional services team does all the heavy lifting so that you don’t need to learn any new software.