This section describes how to use the Client Reporting’s Maintain Approvals function to create and maintain approvals. Approvals are tasks that help you automate the periodic production of client reports. You can create approvals at the entity, client, or batch level.
Approvals are stored in the CR_APPROVAL, CR_APPROVAL_DETAIL, CR_APPROVAL_EMAIL and CR_APPROVAL_LIST tables in the Rules database.
Topics Covered in This Section
Work With the Maintain Approvals Window
Create Approvals
Create Entity or Client Level Approvals
Create Criteria Based Approvals
Create Dynamic Approvals
Configure Approvals
Maintain Approvals Window
To work with the Maintain Approvals window:
From any Eagle window, click the Eagle Navigator button to access the Eagle Navigator.
Enter Reporting in the Start Search text box.
Click the Reporting Center link to access the Reporting Center component. ou see the Client Reporting workspace.
Open the Client Reporting folder, and double-click the Administrative folder to see the Client Reporting options.
Double-click Maintain Approvals.
You see the Maintain Approvals window.
Maintain Approvals Window
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.
Option | Description |
Sort Options | To group columns, right-click a column header and select Show in Groups. To determine which columns are available for grouping, right-click a column header and select Sort Multiple Columns. The Sort Multiple Columns dialog box shows which columns are available for grouping. You can also use it to sort multiple groups. |
Current Filters | Displays the Filters Maintain Approvals dialog box, which allows you to filter the Maintain Approvals window by approval type, stage, and update date. You can also select the following options: Show All Approvals. Displays approvals that are accessible to you through your business group. Show Only My Approvals. Displays approvals you own. Show Approvals Assigned to Me. Displays approvals assigned to you. |
Maintain Approvals Menu | Displays a list of the other Client Reporting functions you can access from this window, such as Batch Status, Batch Status and Control, Custom Distributions, Maintain Batches, Approval Status, and Maintain Views. |
Configure Link | Displays the Configure dialog box, which allows you to filter approvals by type, stage, expiration, and update date. You can also display only your approvals, those assigned to you, and control the number of items displayed per page. |
Quick Links Menu | The Quick Links menu contains the following options: Clients. Displays the Clients dialog box, where you can create, edit, and view clients. Date Rules. Displays a popup where you can find, create, view, edit, copy, and delete date rules for a specified time frame. Field Attributes. Displays a popup where you can perform actions on field attributes, such as find, create, view, edit, copy, and delete. Actions depend on the set of field attributes you are accessing. Application Server Log. Displays the PACE Application Server Log dialog box. On this dialog box, you can view, save, and email log files with information about Client Reporting processes. Refresh Cache. Displays the Refresh Cached Data dialog box, which allows you to refresh the inventory of fields and reference codes for the local client and refresh table joins for the remote server. |
Search Menu | You can perform a text search or use the Search menu. To perform a text search, enter the text or string in the Search field, located to the right of the Search menu and click Enter. Client Reporting searches through the information on the Maintain Approvals window for a match. If a match is found, the row is highlighted. To use the Search menu, click the arrow next to the Search link. The Search menu displays the following options: Search for client approvals. An advanced level search that finds client approvals that meet the specified criteria. Search for entity approvals. An advanced level search that finds entity approvals that meet the specified criteria. Search for batch approvals. An advanced level search that finds batch approvals that meet the specified criteria. Search for clients. A general level search that finds clients that meet the specified criteria. Search for entities. A general level search that finds entities that meet the specified criteria. Show Search Window. Displays the standard Windows Find dialog box. |
Create New Approval Link | Displays the Create New Approval dialog box. On this dialog box, you define an approval at the entity, client, batch, and dynamic batch levels and assign approvals. |
Edit Approval Link | Displays the Edit Approval dialog box. On this dialog box, you modify information for the selected approval. For example, you can add or remove the entities, clients, or batches in an existing approval, create or edit an approval due date, create or edit an approval notification list, and add or remove one or more users and groups assigned to an approval. |
View Approval Link | Displays the View Approval dialog box. On this dialog box, you view information for the selected approval. |
Copy Approval Link | Displays the Copy Approval dialog box. On this dialog box, you copy the selected approval. Enter the new name and click OK. The new approval is displayed on the Maintain Approvals window. |
Delete Approval Links | To delete an approval, select an approval and click the Delete Approval. Or, right-click, and select Delete Approval from the popup menu. The following confirmation message appears. Click Yes to delete the specified approvals. |
Print Link | Click to display the Print dialog box and print the list of approvals. |
Refresh Link | Click to refresh data on the Maintain Approvals window. |
Options – 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
The 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:
Click the Create New Approval link on the Maintain Approvals window.
The Create Approval dialog box appears. See Figure 33: Create New Approval Dialog Box - Batch Level.
Create New Approval Dialog Box - Batch Level
Complete the fields on the Create New Approval dialog box as described in the following table.
Option | Description |
Name | Enter the name of the approval. |
Comment | Enter a comment about the approval. |
Approval Method | Select an approval method: Approve each. Approve any one. Allow Only Clients to Approve. Select to determine if the approval runs for a client only, or for a client and overridden contacts. |
This Approval is based on | Select the Batches button. This option is selected by default when creating a new approval. |
Name | Enter the name of the approval. |
Options – The Create New Dialog Box
Click the batches and click the Add link.
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.
Create New Approval Dialog Box - Approval Users Tab
Complete the fields on the Approval Users tab as described in the following table.
Option | Description |
User/Groups | A list of users or business groups to whom you can assign the approval appears. If you select the Groups button, you can view the users contained in the business group. Select a business group, right click, and select Show Business Group Users from the popup menu. A dialog box appears that displays the Users contained in the selected business group. Select users or business groups and click the Add link. |
Approval Stage | Defines where the approval resides in the workflow. Before Run. The approval must be approved before the batch is run and imaged through the Advanced Reporting engine in the PACE Server. After Run. The approval must be approved before the batch results are distributed to a receiving party, such as print vendor, or email recipient. Post Distribution. The approval must be completed before the batch is considered complete. If there is a third party involved in the distribution process and the approval has run, it needs to be completed before the batch is considered Complete. A pending post distribution approval does not prevent imaging or distribution, but it does prevent a batch from moving to a completed status. |
Approval Express | Defines how often the approval update history is refreshed. Every Run. Update approval history every run. Each time an approval record is created for a submitted batch, the approval must be approved. Monthly. Update approval history monthly. If an approval record is created for a second time in a month, the approval status history is maintained. An approval with a Monthly expiration that was marked as approved in the initial run would start as approved when the approval record was created for the second time in the same month’s period. This feature does not apply to batches that are submitted using the Batch Status window. |
Comments Required for Rejection | This option allows you to specify, at the individual approval level, that an approval requires comments when its status changes to Rejected. Refer to Appendix A, “Configuring PACE for Client Reporting” for detail on system settings for required comments. |
User Defined Approval | This field is optional. You can enter a Visual Basic project and class that performs specific error checking functions, such as searching for key words in reports or comparing numeric values from one report to another. Through use of this class, you can reduce the amount of time you spend reviewing reports. For example, you can create a class to search for the word “unknown” in reports. Or compare the Total Market Value from one report in the package to another. The Visual Basic project that contains the class (the associated DLL file), must be registered on the PACE server for the error checking functionality to run successfully. |
Define Approval Notification List | Defines a list of contacts to be notified when an approval status changes on the Define Notification List dialog box. Add User. Click to add a contact to the Approval Notification List section. Notify Upon: Select when to notify the contact of the approval. Approved. Notifies a contact when the approval is approved. Rejection. Notifies a contact when the approval is rejected. Due Date. Notifies a contact when the approval moves past its specified due date. |
Approval Due Date | Specifies a due date for the approval, and, if you define an approval notification list, send email notifications to recipients when the approval moves past its specified due date. Client Reporting assigns one of the following status values to an approval that moves past its due date: Ready. Indicates the current date is earlier than the approval’s due date and there are no preceding dependencies in a pending state. Delayed. Indicates the current date is later than the approval’s due date and there is at least one preceding dependency in a pending state. Late. Indicates the current date is later than the approval’s due date and there are no preceding dependencies in a pending state. You can define the Due Date as either a specific number of days greater than the Batch creation date, or base it on a Date Rule which calculates the Due Date by using the Batch creation date as the reference date. Notification is also sent when approval status changes to either rejected or approved, depending on what you selected in the notification. |
Options - Create New Approval Dialog Box
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:
Click the Create New Approval link on the Maintain Approvals window.
The Create New Approval dialog box appears.
Complete the fields on the Create New Approval dialog box as described in the following table.
Option | Description |
Name | Enter the name of the approval. |
Comment | Enter a comment about the approval. |
Table 14: Fields - Create New Approval dialog box
Click the Entities/Clients button.
Select Entities or Clients from the drop down list.
A list of entities or clients appear, depending on your selection (Figure 35: Create New Approval Dialog Box - Entities/Clients Level).
Select the entities or clients.
Create New Approval Dialog Box - Entities/Clients Level
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.
.
Create New Approval Dialog Box - Approval Users Tab
Click the Users or Groups button.
A list of users or business groups to whom you can assign the approval appears.
Note: | If you select the Groups button, you can view the users in the Business Group. Select a business group, right-click, and select Show Business Group Users from the popup menu. A dialog box that displays the Users contained in the selected Business Group appears. |
Select the users or business groups and click the Add link.
New Approval Complete the options on the Approval Users tab as described in the following table.
Option | Description |
Approval Stage | The approval stage defines where the approval resides in the workflow. Select one of the following options: Before Run. The approval must be approved before the batch is run and imaged through the Advanced Reporting engine in the PACE Server. After Run. The approval must be approved before the batch results are distributed to the receiving party, such as a print vendor, or email recipient. Post Distribution. The approval must be completed before the batch is considered complete. If there is a third party involved in the distribution process and the approval has run, it needs to be completed before the batch is considered Complete. A pending post distribution approval does not prevent imaging or distribution, but it does prevent a batch from moving to a completed status. |
Approval Expires | This option defines how often the approval update history is refreshed. Select one of the following options: Every Run. Update approval history every run. Each time an approval record is created for a submitted batch, the approval must be approved. Monthly. Update approval history monthly. If an approval record is created for a second time within a month, the approval status history is maintained. An approval with a Monthly expiration that was marked as approved in the initial run would start as approved when the approval record was created for the second time in the same month’s period. Comment Required for Rejection. Select this check box if, at the individual approval level, an approval requires comments when its status changes to Rejected. Refer to Configure PACE for Client Reporting for details on system settings for required comments. |
User Defined Approval | This field is optional. It allows you to enter a Visual Basic project and class that performs specific error checking functions, such as searching for key words within reports or comparing numeric values from one report to another. Through use of this class, you can reduce the amount of time you spend reviewing reports. For example, you can create a class to search for the word “unknown” within reports. Or compare the Total Market Value from one report in the package to another. The Visual Basic project that contains the class (the associated DLL file), must be registered on the PACE server for the error checking functionality to run successfully. |
Define Approval Notification List | Defines a list of contacts that should be notified when an approval status changes. |
Approval Due Date | Specifies a due date for the approval, and, if you define an approval notification list, sends email notifications to recipients when the approval moves past its specified due date. |
Options - Create New Approval Dialog Box - Approval Users Tab
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:
Click the Create New Approval link on the Maintain Approvals window.
The Create New Approval dialog box appears.
Click the Custom Entities Filter or Custom Clients Filter button.
Custom Entities Filter. Used to create a criteria based approval at the entity level.
Custom Clients Filter. Used to create a criteria based approval at the client level.
Click the Define Custom Filter link.
The Custom Filter dialog box appears.
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.
Use the fields and code values with arguments and operators in the key pad to define the criteria based approval and click OK.
Note: | Use “C” to clear a selection and “AC” to clear all your selections |
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. See the Preview the Entities and Clients for more information.
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 this link to display the Configure Fields dialog box.
Configure Fields Dialog Box
To select a field for display in the Entities/Clients dialog box:
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.
Click OK to save the field selections.
To remove a field from display within the Entities/Clients dialog box:
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.
Click OK to save the field selections.
To re-order fields:
Select the fields in the right pane and use the Move Down and Move Up links to change the order of the selected fields.
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.
Create New Approval Dialog Box – Dynamic Approvals
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.
Dynamic Approvals – Approval Dependencies
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
Click the Configure link on the Maintain Approvals window to display the Configure dialog box.
On the Maintain Approvals tab, you configure settings for the approvals displayed on the Maintain Approvals window.
Configure Dialog Box
The following table describes the options on the Maintain Approvals tab.
Option | Description |
Use this Custom View | Select a custom view for display, if defined. |
Filter Approvals by Type | This option allows you to filter approvals on the Maintain Approvals window by entity, client, batch, and dynamic batch. |
Filter Approvals by Stage | This option allows you to filter approvals on the Maintain Approvals window by stage. The approval stage defines where the approval resides in the workflow. |
Filtering Approvals by Expiration | This option allows you to filter approvals on the Maintain Approvals window by approval expiration. The approval expiration defines how often the approval update history is refreshed. |
Filtering Approvals by Update Date | This option allows you to filter approvals on the Maintain Approvals window by update date. |
Displaying Only My Approvals | This check box allows you to display only your approvals on the Maintain Approvals window. |
Displaying Approvals Assigned to Me | This check box allows you to display approvals that are assigned to you on the Maintain Approvals window. |
Page Size | From this drop down list, you can specify how many items you want to display per page. |
Options - 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.
Configure Dialog Box - General Tab
The following table describes the options on the General tab.
Option | Description |
Use this as a Startup View | From this drop down, specify which window you want to view on start up. |
Client Identification | The Client ID and Client Display Name check boxes allow you to display the client ID and client name on windows for identification purposes. The Display contacts using this color link allows you to display contacts in a different color for easy identification. The Select an additional Client column drop down list allows you to display additional client related columns. |
Save Most Recent Settings when Closing | When this check box is selected, your most recent settings are automatically saved when you log out of Client Reporting. |
Enable the Troubleshooter/Trace Window | Select this check box to display the Troubleshooter dialog box for troubleshooting assistance. |
Resetting All Settings | When this button is selected, your saved preferences, including window filters and sort settings, grid control settings, and default view settings are automatically reset |
Options – Configure Dialog Box – General Tab
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