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Workflow FAQ & Troubleshooting
Common questions about approval workflows, SLA tracking, and delegation in PayInvoice Next.
Q: My document is stuck in "Pending Approval" — who has it?
Open the document and look at the Workflow History section at the bottom. It shows the current state, the assigned approver, and when the document entered that state. You can also check the workflow state indicator at the top of the form — it displays the current approver's name.
If the approver is unavailable, ask them to set up a delegation or contact your administrator to reassign the document.
Q: How do I know if a document has breached its SLA?
Documents approaching or past their SLA display a visual indicator on the form — yellow for warning, red for breached. You can also check the daily SLA summary email sent at 8:00 AM on weekdays, which lists all currently breached documents.
For a full list, use the SLA Breach Report from the Reports menu. See SLA Dashboard & Reports for details.
Q: I rejected a document by mistake. Can I undo it?
No. Rejection is a permanent workflow action recorded in the audit trail. However, the document creator can correct the document based on your feedback and resubmit it for approval. The resubmission creates a new workflow cycle, and the rejection history remains visible for audit purposes.
If you meant to return the document for corrections (rather than reject it outright), use the Return action instead of Reject in future — this sends the document back without a negative disposition.
Q: I am going on leave. How do I make sure my pending approvals are handled?
Set up a delegation before you leave. Go to Workflow Delegation, create a new delegation with the delegate user, from/to dates, and optionally limit it to specific document types. The delegation activates automatically on the start date and expires at the end date.
See Delegation & Escalation for step-by-step instructions.
Q: Can I approve a document on behalf of someone else without a formal delegation?
No. PayInvoice Next requires a formal delegation record for audit compliance. If someone needs to approve on your behalf, you must create a delegation. This ensures the audit trail captures that the action was taken under delegated authority, not by the original approver.
Q: What do the workflow states mean?
Workflow states vary by document type, but common states include:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Document is being created or has been returned for correction. |
| Pending L1 Approval | Awaiting first-level approver action. |
| Pending L2 Approval | First level approved; awaiting second-level approver. |
| Approved | All required approvals received. |
| Rejected | An approver has rejected the document. |
| Cancelled | The document has been cancelled after approval. |
| Returned | Sent back to the creator for correction. |
Your organization may have additional or different states configured for specific document types.
Q: How is turnaround time (TAT) calculated? Does it include weekends?
TAT is calculated based on your organization's configured working hours. If working hours are defined (e.g., Monday–Friday, 9 AM–6 PM), weekends and non-working hours are excluded from the calculation. If no working hours are configured, TAT uses calendar time (24/7).
Holidays defined in the Holiday List are also excluded from working-hour calculations.
Q: I received an SLA breach notification but I was not the approver. Why?
You may be receiving the notification as the approver's manager. When a document breaches its SLA, the system escalates notifications to the manager level to ensure visibility. Check the notification details — it will indicate which approver the document is assigned to and your role in the escalation chain.
Q: Can I see the complete approval history of a document?
Yes. Open the document and scroll to the Workflow History section. It shows every state transition with timestamps, the user who took the action, the action performed (approve, reject, return), and any comments or reasons provided. This history cannot be edited or deleted.
Q: What happens if an approver leaves the organization?
If an approver's user account is deactivated, documents pending their approval will be flagged by the inactive approver detection system (runs daily at 7:00 AM). Their manager receives a notification to set up a delegation or request an administrator to reassign the pending documents.
Contact your system administrator to reassign documents from a deactivated user.
Q: Can multiple people approve the same document simultaneously?
This depends on your workflow configuration. PayInvoice Next supports both sequential approval (L1 must approve before L2 sees the document) and parallel approval (multiple approvers at the same level, any one can approve). Your administrator configures which model applies to each document type.
Related Pages
- How Approvals Work — Step-by-step approval process
- Delegation & Escalation — Setting up delegations
- SLA Tracking — Turnaround time monitoring
- SLA Dashboard & Reports — Viewing SLA metrics