Approval Policies let you require review before important documents move forward. Instead of relying on informal chat or verbal sign-off, SevenLedger can enforce a structured approval flow directly inside the document.
If an active policy exists for a supported document type, the document no longer follows its normal status flow automatically. The user must save the document, request approval, and wait for the configured approvers to act.
Open Approval Policies
Navigate to Configuration > Approval Policies.
Supported Document Types
Approval policies can be configured for these document types:
- Sales Order
- Sales Invoice
- Credit Note
- Purchase Order
- Bill
- Vendor Credit
- Payment Received
- Payment Made
- Warehouse Transfer
- Inventory Adjustment
- Cash Transfer
- Manual Journal
- Expense
Create an Approval Policy
Start a new policy
Click Create Policy.
Name the policy
Enter a clear Policy Name such as Finance approval for invoices or Operations review for warehouse transfers.
Choose the document type
Select the Document Type the policy should apply to. Each policy is tied to one document type.
Set the policy status
Use the Active toggle to control whether the workflow is currently enforced.
Add approval steps
Build the approval sequence one step at a time. For each step, define:
- Label: A clear name such as
Branch Manager RevieworFinance Approval - Approver Type: Role or User
- Step Mode: Any One or All
Choose the approver
Depending on your setup:
- choose a Role when any user in that role can handle the step,
- choose a User when a specific person must act,
- choose multiple users when Approver Type = User and Step Mode = All.
Reorder the flow
Use the step reorder controls to place the steps in the correct sequence.
Save the policy
Click Create Policy or Update Policy.
How step mode works: Any One means one approver can complete that step. All means every approver in that step must approve before the request moves forward.
What Users See on Documents
Once a policy is active, supported documents show approval workflow UI after the record is saved.
- No request yet: the document shows that approval is required and offers Request Approval
- Pending: the document shows Awaiting Approval with the current step number
- Approved: the request is completed and the document can continue normally
- Rejected: the requester reviews the feedback, edits the document if needed, and re-submits
Approvers with approval permission can act directly from the document using Approve or Reject.
Approval Panel and History
Inside the document’s approval area, users can typically see:
- the current workflow status,
- the active step,
- the full step sequence,
- who already acted,
- rejection comments,
- and previous approval cycles when a document has been rejected and submitted again.
Good Policy Design
- Keep policies short and intentional
- Use role-based approvers where possible so the workflow survives staffing changes
- Reserve user-specific approvers for true exceptions
- Avoid adding approval to low-risk documents unless it solves a real control problem
Deleting a policy removes the configuration for future requests, but documents that already entered an approval cycle keep their existing approval state and history.