# Approve Invoices > When an Invoice or Credit Note is in an 'Awaiting Approval' state, it contains one or more Flags - i.e. discrepancies - that require review and approval by an Source: https://www.purchaseplus.com/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note Markdown: https://www.purchaseplus.com/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note.md # Approve Invoices When an Invoice or Credit Note is in an 'Awaiting Approval' state, it contains one or more Flags - i.e. discrepancies - that require review and approval by an appropriate user at your Organisation. Nominated Approvers can Approve or Decline an Invoice or Credit Note. Approving the [Invoice](/docs/for-purchasers/introduction-to-invoices) or [Credit Note](/docs/for-purchasers/introduction-to-credit-notes) will mark it as Reconciled, and Declining the Invoice or Credit Note will mark it as Cancelled.  **Jump to:** - [About Approval Workflows (Legacy vs New)](#InvoiceApprovalWorkflows) - [Approve with legacy workflows](#approve-with-legacy-workflows) - [Approve an Invoice (New Workflows)](#ApproveAnInvoiceNew) - [Invoice 'Super Approver' Permission](#SuperApproverPermission) - [Viewing Past and Upcoming Approvers in a Workflow (Audit Trail)](#ViewPastUpcomingApprovers) - [Reviewing Invoices that are Awaiting Approval](#ReviewAFlaggedInvoice) - [Best Practice for Reviewing Invoices that are Awaiting Approval](#BestPractices) ### About Approval Workflows (Legacy vs New) PurchasePlus his historically supported Role-based Invoice and Credit Note Approval Workflows, with Operational users (e.g. Head of Food and Beverage) providing their Approval first, and then Financial Users (e.g. Accounts Payable) providing their Approval second. We call this Workflow model 'Legacy Workflows', and many Purchasers will still be using this Approval Workflow model. As of February 2025, PurchasePlus has delivered new [Rank-based Approval Workflows](/docs/for-purchasers/invoice-and-credit-note-approval-workflows), that are more scalable and performant than the Legacy Workflow model. We refer to this updated model as 'New Workflows'. Newer Purchaser Organisations or Purchasers that have migrated with the assistance of our Configuration teams will be using New Approval Workflows.  The two models cannot operate in tandem; an Organisation must have one model or the other enabled for their Account. Please [get in touch with us](mailto:help@purchaseplus.com) to enable New Workflows for your Organisation if you would like to switch. [_Learn more about the difference between Legacy and New Workflows._](/docs/for-purchasers/invoice-and-credit-note-approval-workflows#DifferenceWithLegacyWorkflows) ### Approve with legacy workflows 1\. Click \[**Invoices Awaiting My Approval**\] on the Home page, or select \[**Invoices**\] → \[**Awaiting My Approval**\] from the side navigation bar. ![Invoices Awaiting My Approval page](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-1.avif) 2\. In the Invoices Awaiting My Approval table view, you can complete the following tasks: a. Use \[**Search**\] to find a specific Invoice. b. \[**Manage Columns**\] to adjust information shown in table. c. Click the \[**Invoice Number**\] to open an Invoice. d. \[**Reference**\]. Hover on the Reference to add or edit the Invoice Reference. e. View the 'Supplier' invoice is from. f. \[**Expense Account**\]. Hover on the Expense Account to add or edit the Department or Account that the Invoice is expensed against. g. \[**Purchase Order**\]. Determine if the Invoice has been matched to a Purchase Order. See our [Match a Purchase Order to an Invoice](/docs/for-purchasers/match-a-purchase-order-to-an-invoice) article to learn more. h. \[**GR Notes**\]. View the Goods Receiving Notes or create a [Goods Receiving Note](/docs/for-purchasers/introduction-to-receiving-notes) against the [Purchase Order](/docs/for-purchasers/introduction-to-purchase-orders).  i. \[**PDF Copy**\]. View the PDF Copy of the Invoice, if the Invoice was created from a PDF. j. Operationally or Financially \[**Approve**\] the Invoice, depending on your permissions. ![View Flagged Invoice Table](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-2.avif)3\. You can also click into an Invoice Awaiting Approval and you will find the Financial and Operational Approval buttons in the Invoice header. Here you can Operationally or Financially \[**Approve**\] the Invoice depending on your permissions. ![Approve Flagged Invoice within Invoice](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-3.avif)4\. Once both Operational and Financial approval has been granted, the Invoice will be progressed to the 'RECONCILED' state.  If your Organisation creates batch Export Files see our [Mark an Invoice or Credit Note as Export Ready](/docs/for-purchasers/mark-invoice-or-credit-note-as-export-ready) article to learn more about preparing Invoices for Exporting. If your Organisation exports Invoices and Credit Notes individually, see our [Export an Invoice or Credit Note](/docs/for-purchasers/export-an-invoice-or-credit-note) article.  ![Invoice Reconciled](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-4.avif) ### Approve with new workflows Users have the ability to Approve or Decline an Invoice or Credit Note that has been coded to an Organisation Unit where (a) there is a new Workflow Assigned, and (b) they are an Approver in one of its Workflow Ranks. Approvers can either Approve or Decline an Invoice from the **\[Invoices\] → \[Awaiting My Approval\]** pages, and Credit Notes from the **\[Credit Notes\]** **→ \[View All\] → \[Credit Note\]** page. Please note, Approvers in the second (and subsequent) Ranks of the Workflow will only see Invoices or Credit Notes in these lists after they have been granted Approval by the earlier Rank(s): ![Invoices Awaiting My Approval page](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-5.avif) Additionally, Approvers can click into an Invoice or Credit Note and use the **\[Approve\]** or **\[Decline\]** buttons in the header of the document: ![Approve and Decline buttons on an Invoice](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-6.avif) **What happens when an Invoice or Credit Note is Approved?** - If the document's value is greater than the Approver's Rank Maximum Value, the Invoice or Credit Note will be progressed to the next Approval Rank. Users in the next Approval Rank will be notified by email. - If the document's value is less than the Approver's Rank Maximum Value, the Workflow considers this 'Final Approval', and the Invoice or Credit Note is automatically moved to the state of Reconciled. It can be exported to your external AP system for payment. **What happens when an Invoice or Credit Note is Declined?** - Approvers will be prompted to add a Comment, and the Invoice or Credit Note is automatically transitioned to a Cancelled state. [_Learn more about New Approval Workflows._](/docs/for-purchasers/invoice-and-credit-note-approval-workflows) #### Invoice 'Super Approver' Permission The 'Can Super Approve Invoices And Credit Notes' permission enables two important functions in the context of Invoice and Credit Note approval workflows: 1. The permitted user can forcefully transition any 'Awaiting Approval' Invoice or Credit Note into the 'Reconciled' state, regardless of whether or not it is in an Approval Workflow. This permission is therefore an effective way for authorised individuals to 'skip' workflow approval ranks. 2. The permitted user can editing the details (except the Department and Invoice Lines) of an Invoice or Credit Note when it is in the Reconciled state. The Super Approve action is found in the **\[More\]** menu of the Invoice or Credit Note header when in the 'Awaiting Approval' state: ![Super Approve an Invoice](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-7.avif) Because of the increased power that Super Approvers have, it is important that only genuine Super Users and/or highly skilled and authorised administrators be granted this permission. #### Viewing Past and Upcoming Approvers in a Workflow (Audit Trail) You can view the Previous and Upcoming Approvers relating to a specific Invoice or Credit Note in an Approval Workflow by navigating to **\[Invoices\] OR \[Credit Notes\]→ \[View All\]** or **\[Invoices\] OR \[Credit Notes\] → \[Awaiting My Approval\]** and clicking the **\[View\]** button in the **\[Workflow\]** column: ![View Invoice Workflow from All Invoices table](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-8.avif) The information will be displayed in a pop-over window, where you can review timestamps, status updates, Approver names, and more: ![View Invoice Approval Workflow modal](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-9.avif) ### Awaiting approval There are many reasons that an Invoice or Credit Note may be flagged, and each of the Flag reasons are shown on the document's **\[Flags\]** tab and in the Flags column on each Invoice or Credit Note line. As the Approver, you may review each Flag reason and decide if you wish to rectify the Flag reason, or approve the document without rectifying some or all of the Flag reasons. Flags are customised per Organisation, so speak with an administrator at your Organisation if you believe any of the Flags appearing on your Invoices or Credit Notes are unnecessary. 1\. Select the Invoice or Credit Note in the **\[Awaiting My Approval\]** list to view it in detail. You can use the quick action buttons in the document's header to: a. \[**Power Editor**\]. View and manage details about the Invoice or Credit Note, alongside the original PDF copy.. b. \[**Show or Hide Details**\]. View more in-depth information about the Invoice or Credit Note. c. \[**View PDF**\]. View the original PDF that our system used to create the Invoice or Credit Note (if any). d. **\[Related Documents\]**. View any Requisitions, Purchase Orders, Goods receiving Notes or Credit Notes that are associated with this Invoice. e. **\[More Options\]**. View the Invoice's Audit Log, Print the invoice, and more.  ![invoice header options explained](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-10.avif) 2\. If required, click \[**Update Values**\] to manually adjust the Invoice or Credit Note values to bring it into balance. The Invoice or Credit Note Balance panel appears on all Invoices and Credit Notes, and indicates if the sum of the document's lines balance with the document's totals.  ![Update Flagged Invoice Values](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-11.avif) 3\. All Invoice or Credit Note lines are listed within the \[**Product Summary**\] tab of the document. Here you can: a. Choose \[**Advanced View**\] to view Sub-Lines. View help article [Update Invoice Lines using Advanced Mode](/docs/for-purchasers/update-invoice-lines-using-advanced-mode) for more information. b. \[**Add Invoice OR Credit Note Line**\], depending on whether you are viewing an Invoice or Credit Note. c. \[**Link**\] Invoice Line Items to Purchase Order Line Items. If your Organization matches Invoices to Purchase Orders, it is important that each line of the Invoice is linked to a corresponding line on the matched Purchase Order. See our [Link Invoice Lines to Purchase Order Lines](/docs/for-purchasers/link-invoice-lines-to-purchase-order-lines) article to learn more. d. \[**Flags**\] View the reasons why the Invoice or Credit Note is Awaiting Approval. If one or more Flags are present on the Invoice or Credit Note line, a red flag icon will be present. e. \[**Received**\] Status. Understand if the matched Purchase Order line has been marked as received on one or more Goods Receiving Notes.  f. \[**Info**\] View detailed information about the Invoice or Credit Note line. g. Invoice or Credit Note Quantity, Unit Price, Tax % and Line Totals. ![Flagged Invoice line details](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-12.avif) Aside from the default **\[Summary\]** tab, there are other tabs on the Invoice or Credit Note that contain important information: 1\. The \[**Flags**\] tab provides a summary of the Flag reasons for the Invoice or Credit Note. 2\. The \[**Analysis**\] tab provides a detailed view of the 3-Way/2-Way Match Analysis.  3\. The \[**Settings**\] tab enables you to view and manage details about the Invoice or Credit Note, such as Document Number, Reference, Document Date, Currency and Department and Account Code. 4\. The \[**Comments**\] tab shows the Internal or External Comments that have been added to the Invoice or Credit Note by users at your Organization. 5\. The **\[Credit Notes\]** tab shows any Credit Notes that have been linked with the Invoice, if any. 6\. The \[**Purchase Order**\] tab shows the Purchase Order that has been matched to the Invoice, if any. 7\. The \[**Receiving Notes**\] tab shows the Goods Receiving Notes that belong to the matched Purchase Order, if any. 8\. The \[**Attachments**\] tab shows the attached files that have been added to the Invoice or Credit Note by users at your Organization, if any. ![Invoice tabs](/images/docs/for-purchasers/approve-an-invoice-or-credit-note-13.avif) ### Review tips #### Match Purchase Orders & Invoices - If applicable to your Organization, ensure a Purchase Order is matched to the Invoice before reviewing any Flag reasons. - Link Invoice Line Items to Purchase Order Line Items, if needed. #### Receive Goods & Services - Check if items have been received. If applicable to your Organization, receiving a Purchase Order is a critical step in ensuring the items have been delivered and signals to the Invoice Approver that the Invoice is okay to be approved. #### Check Line Items on Invoices and Credit Notes before Approving - In case of discrepancies between Purchase Order price and Invoice or Credit Note price, you may wish to reach out to the Supplier for a potential Credit Note for any variance.