Create and Maintain Approvals

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The Maintain Approvals window displays a number of options for creating and maintaining approvals. Click a link or right-click on an approval and select an option from the popup menu. Right clicking on a column header displays a popup menu with options for sorting columns in ascending/descending order and grouping columns.

The following table describes the options on the Maintain Approvals window.

Create Approvals

Approvals are tasks that help you automate the periodic production of client statements. You can create approvals at the entity, client, batch, and dynamic batch levels. To create an approval, you first define the approval and then assign the approval to one or more users or business groups, as described in the following procedures.

Create Batch Level Approvals

To create a batch level approval, you define the approval by associating it with one or more batches. Then, you assign the approval to one or more users or business groups. When the batch is submitted, either manually or through the Scheduler, a pending Approval record is created. Once the Approval is marked as Approved, the Batch is ready to run.

To create an approval at the batch level:

1. Click the Create New Approval link on the Maintain Approvals window.
   You see the Create New Approval dialog box.

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2. Complete the options on the Create New Approval dialog box.

3. Click the batches and click the Add link.

4. Click Next.
   The Approval Users tab appears. On this tab, you assign the approval to one or more users or groups. Both users and business groups can edit a given approval. Also, you can assign users from two separate business groups to the same approval and each user can edit the approval.

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5. Complete the options on the Approval Users tab.

6. Click Finish.
   You have created a batch level approval.

Create Entity or Client Level Approvals

To create an entity or client level approval, you define the approval by associating it with one or more entities or clients. Then, you can assign the approval to one or more users or business groups. An approval created at the entity or client level applies to that entity or client, regardless of the number of batches to which the entity or client belongs.

Define an Approval

To define an approval at the entity or client level:

1. Click the Create New Approval link on the Maintain Approvals window.
   You see the Create New Approval dialog box.

2. Enter the name of the approval in the Name field, and any comment about the approval in the Approval field.

3. Click the Entities/Clients button.

4. Select Entities or Clients from the drop down list.
   You see the Create New Approvals dialog box - Entities/Client Level. A list of entities or clients appear, depending on your selection.

5. Select the entities or clients.

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6. Click Next.
   The Approval Users tab appears. On this tab, you assign the approval to one or more users or groups. Both users and business groups can edit an assigned approval. Additionally, users from two separate business groups can be assigned to the same approval and each user can edit the approval.

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7. Click the Users or Groups button.
   You see a list of users or business groups to whom you can assign the approval.

8. Select the users or business groups and click the Add link.

9. Complete the options on the Approval Users tab.

10. Click Finish.

You have created an entity or client level approval.

Create Criteria Based Approvals

Criteria based approvals are approvals that include rules for automatically determining which entities or clients are included in a batch. This makes it easier to manage new entities and clients as they are added to the system.

To create a criteria based approval:

1. Click the Create New Approval link on the Maintain Approvals window.
   You see the Create New Approval dialog box.

2. Click Custom Entities Filter (to create a criteria based approval at the entity level) or Custom Clients Filter (to create a criteria based approval at the client leve)l.

3. Click the Define Custom Filter link.
   You see the Custom Filter dialog box.
   If you selected the Custom Clients Filter button, the Custom Filter dialog box displays field attributes created against the CLIENT table in the Field section of the dialog box.
   If you selected the Custom Entities Filter button, it displays the field attributes created against the ENTITY table in the Field section. Double click a field to select the field. If a field is configured with a reference code, the code values are displayed in the Value section of the dialog box.

4. Use the fields and code values with arguments and operators in the key pad to define the criteria based approval. Use “C” to clear a selection and “AC” to clear all your selections. Click OK when you are done defining criteria based approval.

5. Data that meets the filter criteria is displayed on the Create New Approval dialog box and you can select from the following links:
   - Edit Custom Filter. Allows you to edit the criteria based approval.
   - Clear Custom Filter. Allows you to clear the criteria and redefine the criteria based approval. You cannot save the approval without defining the criteria.
   - Evaluate Custom Filter. Allows you to preview the clients or entities in the approval via the Entities/Clients dialog box.

6. Click Finish.
   The entities or clients that match the criteria are automatically included in the approval when the batch is submitted for processing.

The next section describes how to preview the entities and clients specified in a criteria based batch. If the list is not what you expect, you can modify the criteria until the clients or entities are included.

Preview the Entities and Clients

Use the Evaluate Custom Filter link on the Create New/Edit Batch dialog box to preview the entities and clients you specified for a criteria based approval.

When you click the Evaluate Custom Filter link, the Clients dialog box is displayed if you created a criteria based client approval, or the Entities dialog box is displayed if you created a criteria based entity approval. The Entities/Clients dialog box lists the clients/entities that meet the criteria you defined in the criteria based batch.

To sort the clients or entities on the dialog box in ascending order, single click the column heading. To sort the clients or entities in descending order, double click a column heading. You can customize the columns on the Clients/Entities dialog box using the Configure Fields link. Click Configure Fields to display the Configure Fields dialog box.

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To select a field for display in the Entities/Clients dialog box:

1. Double-click the field in the left pane of the Configure Fields dialog box or select the field and click the right arrow button. To select all fields, click the right double arrow button.

2. Click OK to save the field selections.

To remove a field from display within the Entities/Clients dialog box:

1. Double-click the field in the right pane of the Configure Fields dialog box or select the field and click the left arrow button. To remove all fields, click the left double arrow button.

2. Click OK to save the field selections.

To re-order fields:

1. Select the fields in the right pane and use the Move Down and Move Up links to change the order of the selected fields.

2. Click OK to save the field selections.

Create Dynamic Approvals

Dynamic approvals provide an easier way to synchronize the entities or clients in a batch and the entities or clients in an approval. When an approval is created and you select the Dynamic Batches button, the batches in the system are displayed on the dialog box.

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You select batches for a dynamic approval. However, a dynamic approval is executed for the entities or clients contained in the selected batches.

If an entity or client is removed from one of the selected batches, the entity or client is dynamically removed from the dynamic approval. This change takes affect the next time that batch is submitted and does not affect historical batch records. Similarly, if an entity or client is added to one of the selected batches, then the entity or client is dynamically added to the dynamic approval.

For example, if batch 1 contains client 1 and client 2 and a dynamic approval contains batch 1, approval status records for the dynamic approval are created for client 1 and client 2 when batch 1 is submitted. The enumeration of the dynamic approval from the batch to the client or entity level occurs when the batch is submitted. So, if client 2 were removed from batch 1 before the batch was submitted, a dynamic approval status record would only be created for client 1.

Similarly, if client 3 were added to batch 1 before batch 1 was submitted, then approvals status records for the dynamic approval would be created for client 1, client 2 and client 3.

The relationship between the dynamic approval and the client does not extend beyond the batch selected within the dynamic approval. For example, if batch 2 also contains client 1, but the dynamic approval only contains batch 1, an approval status record for the dynamic approval would not be generated when batch 2 was submitted.

The Define Approval Dependencies link in the Create New/Edit Batch dialog box recognizes dynamic approvals.

The Approval Dependencies dialog box displays approvals defined against the current batch, as well as those defined directly against the entities or clients contained in the batch.

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To retrieve the dynamic approvals associated with the batch, click the Fetch All button. Like other approvals, dynamic approvals can have their Order value set or they can be ignored from the current batch.

A dynamic approval based on a batch that contains entities can also contain batches defined at the client level. For this reason, the Type column in the Approval Dependencies dialog box displays Dynamic for dynamic approvals.

Dynamic Approvals can also be defined against a criteria based batch. The Approval contains the entities or clients that meet the criteria specified in the selected batch.

Configure Approvals

You configure approvals via the Configure link on the Maintain Approvals dialog box.

1. Click the Configure link on the Maintain Approvals dialog box.
   You see the Configure dialog box.

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2. On the Maintain Approvals tab, you configure settings for the approvals displayed on the Maintain Approvals window. The following table describes the options on the Maintain Approvals tab.

General Tab

The General tab in the Configure dialog box has a number of settings that apply to all Client Reporting functions. The following table describes the options on the General tab.