When using the approval process within the Dokka system, there are multiple ways to set up an automated approval process through company settings.
In this guide, we will explain how to create approvers and customized approval rounds tailored to your organization's specific needs according to the following topics:
How to create an approver list
Creating a basic approver group
Creating an Advanced approver group
Setting up an approval round per vendor
1. Creating an Approver List
In every company within the Dokka system, it is necessary to predefine which users are authorized to be approvers. This can be done through the company settings by clicking on the grey person icon in the top corner of the screen > Settings > Approvals > "Approver List" - see screenshot below:
In this screen, all users required to approve documents must be defined by clicking the "Add Approver" button.
*Note: Approvers can only be added from existing users in the system. If a user has not yet been created, they must be added as explained in the following guide.
2. Creating a Basic Approver Group
This option allows the creation of fixed approver groups that users can use when initiating an approval process. This saves the effort of manually entering each approver separately by selecting a predefined group.
Creating the group is done through company settings by navigating to "Approvals" > "Basic Approval Group" > "Create Group".
In the opened window, select the desired group name and then choose the relevant approvers.
The order in which approvers are selected determines the approval sequence. Therefore, approvers should be added in the desired order before clicking "Save".
To create additional approver groups, click on the "+ Create Group" button on the right side of the screen.
When activating an approver group, navigate to the desired document, select the relevant approver group from the list, and start the approval process.
*Note: The order of the selected approvers determines the approval sequence—meaning that the second approver cannot approve the document before the first approver.
3. Creating an Advanced Approver Group
This option enables the creation of different approval levels and allows adjustments to the approval process based on amounts, including parallel approval rounds for multiple parties.
To set up this option, go to company settings and navigate to "Approvals" > "Advanced Approver Group" > "Create Group".
Upon clicking "Create Group," a window opens where custom groups can be created as follows:
Approval Level Column - Select the approver group to which documents will be sent.
Minimum Amount Column - Define the minimum amount required for the document to be sent for approval to the designated approver group.
Minimum Approvers Column - Specify whether all defined approvers in the row must approve the document or if partial approval is sufficient.
Sequential/Parallel Column - Choose whether the approval round is sequential (each approver receives the document only after the previous one approves) or parallel (the document is sent simultaneously to all approvers in the group).
*Note: Multiple approval levels can be defined (as shown in the screenshot), so additional approvers are included in the approval round based on the actual document amount.
4. Setting Up an Approval Round per Vendor
This option is relevant for companies where the approval process is repeated for each invoice and is determined per vendor, eliminating the need to change approver sequences for each document uploaded to the system.
To configure this, go to company settings and navigate to "Approval Round" > "Approval Round per Vendor".
In this screen, you will see the list of vendors pulled from your company's accounting system, allowing you to assign different approval rounds to each vendor based on one of the following options:
Manually selecting each approver individually
Choosing a basic approver group
Choosing an Advanced approver group
Additionally, the following actions and options are available on this screen:
Enable Approval Round: Clicking the checkbox will automatically activate the approval round for the selected vendor when a document is uploaded to Dokka, without further user intervention.
Allow the document creator to edit the approval round: Clicking the checkbox will enable the document uploader to modify the approval process after activation.
Notify the document creator upon request rejection: Clicking the checkbox will send an email notification to the document uploader if the document is rejected.
Additional users with approval round modification permissions: Additional users can be granted permission to modify the approval round alongside the document uploader.
4.1 Initial Setup and Ongoing Maintenance via Excel Import/Export
The initial setup of the approval module can be efficiently carried out using an Excel file, which can be downloaded directly from the "Approval Round" screen and imported once completed.
The advantage of using Excel is the ability to apply the same data to multiple vendors quickly.
To proceed:
Download the file using the "Export to File" button at the top of the screen.
Fill in the Excel file as instructed, ensuring not to alter its structure.
*Note: In the approver fields, you can select approvers' emails from a predefined list or manually enter their email addresses. Ensure that users are first created in Dokka and assigned to the relevant company before adding them to the approval process.
The file contains all vendors from the connected ERP system.
Once completed, save the Excel file, return to the "Approval Round" screen in Dokka, and upload the file using the "Import from File" button.
You can combine manual changes with Excel import/export to set up, edit, and modify the automated approval process as needed.