Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 Document Approval

Supportability White Paper

V1.0

Released: December 4, 2012

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About the Authors

Author:

Pallab Mukhopadhyay

Bio:

Pallab is Support Escalation Engineer with CSS APGC Group based in Sydney Australia
with 9 years NAV experience. Pallab was working as Project Lead with a Dynamics
Partner before joining Microsoft.

Table of Contents
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Contents ................................................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION TO DOCUMENT APPROVAL................................................................................................................... 2
OBJECTS INVOLVED IN THE FUNCTIONALITY .................................................................................................................. 3
SETUP OF DOCUMENT APPROVAL SYSTEM ................................................................................................................... 4
Approval Setup ..................................................................................................................................................4
SETUP APPROVAL TEMPLATES ................................................................................................................................... 5
APPROVAL USERS AND AMOUNTS .............................................................................................................................. 9
TEST APPROVAL USER SETUP .................................................................................................................................. 11
NOTIFICATION SYSTEM .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Getting Email Notifications .............................................................................................................................14
Overdue Notifications .....................................................................................................................................15
Overdue Documents .......................................................................................................................................16
Notification Templates ....................................................................................................................................17
ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL FLOW ............................................................................................................................... 19
DELEGATION ....................................................................................................................................................... 21
ENHANCEMENTS IN MICROSOFT DYNAMICS NAV 2013 ............................................................................................... 24
KNOWN ISSUES IN DOCUMENT APPROVAL FUNCTIONALITY ............................................................................................ 25

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Summary
This white paper on Document Approval explains the basic functionality of the feature along
with the known issues and limitations from a supportability perspective.

Contents
This white paper includes the following topics:

Introduction of the Document Approval functionality

Understand Document Approval functionality in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.

Objects involved in the functionality

Learn about the list of objects in the Document Approval feature in Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2013.

Approval Setup
Understand and learn how to set up Document Approval.

Approval Templates
Understand and learn how to set up Approval Templates.

Approval Users and Amounts

Understand and learn how to set up the Approval hierarchy, define amounts for
Approvers.

Test Approval System

Understand and learn how to test the Approval system setup.

Notification System
Understand and learn about the Notification system of Document Approval.

Alternative Approval Flow

Understand and learn how to set up the alternative approval flow.

Delegation
Learn how to Delegate Approvals.

Enhancements of the Document Approval functionality in Microsoft Dynamics

NAV 2013

Known issues in the Document Approval functionality in Microsoft Dynamics

NAV 2013

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Introduction to Document Approval

The Document Approval functionality in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 allows a user to
submit Sales and Purchase Documents for approval as per a predefined hierarchy of
approval Manager with defined Approval limits.
Additional Approvers can also be set up for specific documents for persons responsible for
Sales and Purchases.
A Substitute Approver can be set up in the system to approve the documents when the
specified Approver is out of office. The Administrator has to manually initiate the process.
An email notification system can be set up for the Document Approval system to inform the
specific Approver of the pending Approvals. Alternately each Approver (user) can view the
pending approvals from the Order Processing Menu.
The focus and tasks in the Approval system vary depending on the role of an individual
(user) in the organization. Hence it is important that appropriate roles are assigned to be
Approvers in the Approval process.
The overall principles and workflow is same for both Sales and Purchase documents with
some exceptions.

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Objects Involved in the Functionality

The list of the objects present in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 for Document Approval is as
shown in the following figure:

Figure 1: List of objects present in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 for Document Approval

No new objects have been added for Document Approval functionality in Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2013.

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Setup of Document Approval System

Approval Setup
To set up the Approval System in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013:
1. Go to Department, click Application Setup, click Document Approval, click
Tasks and then click Approval Setup.

2. You can set up the following information using the Approval Setup page in the Edit
mode:

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Due Date Formula Define the formula to calculate the due date by which a
document should be approved by each Approver. For example, if all
documents require approval within a week then enter 1W in the field.

Approval Administrator Select the User ID for the Administrator of the

Approval System from the drop down list. The Administrator has access to
set up all users and can go and check document for all users.

Request Rejection Comment Put a check mark in this field if you want
the Approver of the document must specify a reason for rejecting the
document.

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Setup Approval Templates

To set up the Approval Templates in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013:
1. Go to Department, click Application Setup, click Document Approval, click Lists,
click Approval Templates and then click Edit List.

2. You can setup the following information in Approval Templates.

Approval Codes Select the name of the Approval Templates in this field.
You can select from a set of pre-defined standard Approval Templates.
Options are:
o

Quote

Order

Invoice

Credit Memo

Return Order

Blanket Order

The pre-defined standard template is available for both Sales and Purchase
documents.

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Approval Type In this field you define the flow of the approval process, in
other words it identifies who will approve a specific document as the next
person in the hierarchy of the approvers. The options available are:
o

Approver The User who sends the document for approval

determines the Approver. The normal approval flow is used when
Approver is selected.

Sales Pers. /Purchaser The Sales Pers/Purchaser selected in the

document will determine the Approver.The alternative flow is used
when this is selected. To have this work correctly, Sales or Purchase
person is to be setup in the Approval User Setup page.

Blank if the field is blank, Additional Approver is to be set up for

the Approval Templates. Additional Approvers will be Approvers.

In the example above:

The Sales Order is set up with Approval Type = Sales Pers./Purchaser as a
Sales Person is connected to a Sales Order and hence connected to the Sales
Persons approval flow.
The Purchase Order is set up with Approval Type = Approver and will follow
the normal approval flow following the hierarchy of Approvers of the person
who creates the order.
The Purchase Blanket Order is set up with Approval Type = Blank and an
Additional Approver is selected for approval of the documents.

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Document Type In this field, you select the type of document for which an
approval entry is to be created. The document types available are:
o

Quote

Order

Invoice

Credit Memo

Return Order

Limit Type You select the Limit type applicable for each Approval
Template in this field. The options available are:
o

Approval Limits There is a check on Approvers approval limit

Approval limit when the Approver approves the document. Select
this option if you want to approve documents as per Approval
hierarchy.

Credit Limits This normally applies to Sales documents. The

Customers credit limit is checked. Select this option if you want to

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approve documents based on the defined Credit limit of the

Customer.

Request limits This is used for Purchase requests (Quotes) and

checks if the Approver can make a Purchase request for the amount.

No Limits This is used when there is no check on amount limits.

This option will require an Additional Approver to approve the
document. You typically select this option when no hierarchy for
Users are setup for the approval workflow and the Additional
Approver approves the documents.

Additional Approvers If there is a need for Additional Approvers to

approve a document then put a check mark in this field and select the
Additional Approver by clicking Additional Appr. Icon at the top of the
page.

Select the Additional Approver in the Approver ID field.

Additional Approver feature may be used as an alternative to define the
approval hierarchy and not specifying all the roles and management levels in
the approval setup. For example, in a small company where the owner or
manager approves all documents, Additional Approver may be used.

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Enabled A check mark in this field enables the Approval Code. In the
above example, the P-ORDER and S-ORDER Approval codes are enabled.

Table ID This field displays the Table ID connected to the respective

Approval template. In the above example, P-ORDER Approval template is
linked to the Purchase Header Table ID 38.

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If there is a business opportunity, Partners may add more Approval

Templates build on other Tables in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.

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Approval Users and Amounts

To setup the Approval Users in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013:
1. Go to Department, click Administration, click Application Setup, click Document
Approval, click Tasks and then click Approval Setup.

2. Click the User Setup icon

The following Page will be displayed which shows an example of an approval
hierarchy.

In the above example of approval hierarchy, Susan and Alicia are the Order
Processors. Alicia and Susan have an approval limit of 5,000 LCY for Purchase and
Sales. Their respective mangers are PMANAGER and SMANAGER. PMANAGER and
SMANAGER have an approval limit of 20,000 LCY for Purchase and Sales.
Both the Managers are headed by the DIRECTOR who has unlimited Sales approval,
100,000 LCY as Request approval limit and 100,000 LCY as Purchase approval limit.
ADMIN is the Administrator for the Document Approval system and is the highest
level in the hierarchy. ADMIN has unlimited approval for all categories.
PS is the Sales Person and has an approval limit of 50,000 LCY for Sales. ADMIN is
the substitute approver for him during his absence.

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User ID In this field, select the User Name from the Users Setup.

Salespers./Purch.Code In this field, select the Salesperson or Purchaser

code of the User ID. This code is used to refer to the Salesperson or
Purchaser code in the Sales order or Purchase order. In this way, the system
can be setup to use this persons approval flow instead of the original
approvers flow.

Approver ID In this field, select the User ID of the person who will
approve the document created by the User. In the above example, DIRECTOR
is the Approver for PMANAGER and SMANAGER.

Sales Amount In this field, enter the amount limit (in LCY) for the User
(Approver) to approve a Sales document. When the Sales document exceeds
this limit, the document goes to the Approver for further approval.

Purchase Amount In this field, enter the maximum amount limit (in LCY)
for the User (Approver) to approve a Purchase document. When the
Purchase document exceeds this limit, the document goes to the Approver
for further approval.

Request Amount In this field, enter the maximum amount limit (in LCY)
for the User (Approver) to approve a Purchase Request. When the Purchase
request exceeds the limit, the document goes to the Approver for further
approval.

Substitute In this field, enter the substitute Approver to approve the

documents when the original Approver is not available. The Administrator
has the rights to setup this up.

Unlimited (Sales, Purchase, Request) Approval Put a check mark in

these fields when there is no maximum limit for the User (Approver).

E-mail Enter the e-mail address for the Approver so the notification
system can send e-mails out for approval. You have to setup the Notification
system to send e-mails.

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Test Approval User Setup

To test the Approval User Setup in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013:
1. Go to Department, click Administration, click Application Setup, click Document
Approval, click Tasks and then click Approval Setup.
2. Click Approval User Setup Test icon.

The following page is displayed

3. Click Preview to display the results on the screen or Print to print the report.

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You can test each User for Sales Approval Setup, Purchase Approval Setup, or
Request Approval Setup depending on what flow the User is part of.
It is recommended to select All.
The test ensures that there are no loops in the approval process and the amount
limits on different Approver are setup correctly.
In the above example, the approval limit for Alicia the Purchasing Agent has a limit
of 5,000 LCY. The limit for Alicias Approver should be more than or equal to 5,000
LCY for the system to work correctly.

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Notification System
To setup the Notification System in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013:
1. Go to Department, click Administration, click Application Setup, click Document
Approval, click Tasks and then click Approval Setup.
2. Expand the Notification fast tab.

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Approvals To notify the Approver by e-mail about the documents the

Approver has to approve, select this field.

Cancellations To notify the Approver by e-mail about any cancellations on

the document approved by the Approver select this field. It may be
convenient to be able to follow the process for a document you have
approved, but the resulting e-mails may affect the performance of the
system.

Rejections To notify the User by e-mail when the Approver rejects a

document sent for approval by the User, select this field. It is recommended
to have this field activated in order to inform the Users about any rejections.

Delegations To notify the User that an approval task created by the User is
being delegated to another person (substitute Approver) select this field

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Note:

By default, all above options are disabled. To send e-mail notifications, you must
activate them.

E-mail notification for Approvals and Delegations are enabled in the above example.
The use of Notification system is optional. Do not select any check boxes in the
Notification fast tab if you do not wish to send e-mails for approvals, rejections,
cancellations and delegations.
3. Alternatively each user can directly go and view the pending approvals by:
Going to Departments, click Sales & Marketing, click Order Processing, and then
click Approval Entries for Sales documents
OR
Going to Departments, click Purchase, click Order Processing, and then click
Approval Entries for Purchase documents

Getting Email Notifications

The approval process is initiated by e-mails when the Notification system is setup and the
person responsible for approval will receive an email informing documents are available for
approval.
An email notification mail may look like the following figure:

Figure 2: Sample of email notification mail

You can customize this notification to suit the needs of your individual Customers.
The e-mail notification informs you about who has sent the approval notification, the
Vendor/Customer, Amount, due date etc. A link is available from the e-mail notification to
the document. On clicking the link, the program opens the Approval Entries window to
approve the document and to view all the outstanding approvals.
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Overdue Notifications
The Administrator send out the overdue notifications to ensure that all approvers will
remember to approve their documents.
To send overdue notifications:
1. Go to Departments, click Administration, click Application Setup, click
Document Approval, click Tasks and then click Approval Setup.
2. Click Navigate.

It will display the above page.

3. To send overdue mails, click Send Overdue Mails.
Approvers who have overdue approvals will receive e-mails.
The Last Run Date is updated with the date on which last overdue mails were sent. The due
date formula along with the last run date ensures that overdue notifications for approvals
already sent are not sent out again.

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Overdue Documents
The overdue date is calculated by using the Due date formula. All documents have creation
date. The due date is calculated as Creation date + Due date formula. If the current date
exceeds the due date, documents are overdue.
For example, overdue messages are sent today. The approvals that have a due date before
todays date will receive a notification. When the overdue check is run next time, system
checks the last run date plus 1 week (Due date formula). The approvals that have a due date
before that date are sent the overdue notifications.
Lists of all overdue entries that are found and sent out are displayed in the Overdue
Notification page. This is a log showing if there are any overdue entries. If the window is
empty, it indicates that there are no overdue entries.
The list of overdue approvals that were sent out is shown in the Overdue Notification
Entries page. To display the entries:
1. Go to Departments, click Administration, click Application Setup, click
Document Approval, click Tasks and then click Approval Setup.
2. Click Overdue Log Entries.

The following page will be displayed

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You cannot edit the entries in the Overdue Notification Entries page. This is an
information log from the system.

Notification Templates
The templates for the e-mails to can be customized using the Approval Mail Template. You
can use this to import, export or delete a template. The exported Templates are HTML
Document format.
To import, export or delete a mail template:
1. Go to Departments, click Administration, click Application Setup, click
Document Approval, click Tasks and then click Approval Setup.
2. Click Navigate.

3. Click Approval Mail Template.

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You can import, export or delete an overdue mail template in a similar way using the
Overdue Mail Template.
Note:

Microsoft delivers these templates along with the demo data company. It must be
copied from here to other databases. It is important to do this way for the templates to
work correctly.

You have to setup the SMTP Mail to have the Notification system working. To setup the
SMTP Mail in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013:
1. Go to Departments, click Administration, click General, click Tasks, click SMTP
Mail Setup.

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SMTP Server Enter your SMTP server name.

SMTP Server Port Enter port of the SMTP server. The default value is 25.
If you specify the port and set it up, ensure that you allow incoming and
outgoing communications on the port for both Role tailored Client and
Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server.

Authentication The default value is Anonymous which requires no User

ID and Password. If you select Basic, enter the User ID and password. This is
generally the administrator ID and password for the SMTP server that you
and your user are registered on.

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Alternative Approval Flow

The alternative approval flow functionality is relevant in case the person responsible for the
document does not create the order or receive the invoice.
For example, the Order Processor creates the order. In the normal approval flow, the Order
Processors Manager is responsible for approval of the order. However, in case of Sales
Order, the Sales Accountant is responsible for approving the Order and if the order amount
is more than the Sales Accountants limit it must be approved by the Sales Accounts
Manager.
To use the alternative approval flow:
1. Select a code in the Sales Person code in the Sales Order and Sales Quote.

2. Select a code in Salespers./Purch Code field in the Approval User Setup.

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3. Select Approval Type = Sales Pers./Purchaser in the Approval Template for template
= S-ORDER

Note:

This works similar for a Purchase Order or Purchase Quote. In the Purchase Order,
Purchase Quote the field is known as Purchaser Code.

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Delegation
The Administrator can delegate documents pending for approval to Substitute Approvers if
any approver is out of office.
To delegate a document to a substitute approver:
1. The Substitute Approver is to be selected from the user in the Approval User
Setup. All the documents will be sent to the substitute approver once the
Administrator activates the delegate entries function.

2. If the notification is setup to send notifications when delegating documents, an

email is sent to the user that the document has been delegated.

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3. To delegate, the Administrator has to go to Approval Request Entries and click

Delegate.

Note:

In case the Approvers substitute is also out of office, the Administrator has to manually
change the Substitute Approver in the Approval User Setup. The delegation to substitute
approvers can be done by the Administrator as part of the maintenance routine from
the Approval Request Entries page.

Any User can delegate approval tasks relating to the document they have sent for
approval from the Approval Request Entries page.
Users can also delegate their own Approval task to another User by going to the
Approval Request Entries window and clicking the Delegate icon.

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Enhancements in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013

There have been no enhancements in the Document Approval functionality in Microsoft
Dynamics NAV 2013.

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Known Issues in Document Approval Functionality

1. The system will allow you to add a new line of Type = G/L Account or Charge (Item)
in an approved document. You can the post the document.
For example, the following Sales Order is approved and has a Status = Released

You can add a Line of Type = G/L Account or Charge (item) without re-opening the
document.

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The last 2 lines have been added.

You can post the modified Sales order without any further approval.
2. The User who creates a Document and sends it for Approval does not receive any
notification on approval of the document. The User who creates can go to
Departments >> Purchase >> Order Processing >> Approval Request entries
(for Purchase documents) or Departments >> Sales & Marketing >> Order
Processing >> Approval Request entries (for Sales Documents) and check the
Status of the Documents created by them.
For example, User SUSAN creates a Sales Order. The Approver approves the Sales
Order. SUSAN will not receive any notification after the approval.

3. The document has to be sent for approval even if the Document Amount is less than
the Users Approval limit if the Approval template for the Document is enabled.
For example, SUSAN has an approval limit of 5,000. If SUSAN creates Sales Order,
less than 5,000 the Sales Order has to go for approval.

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4. Additional Approver is to be selected for Limit Type = Credit Limit in the Approval
Template setup. For a business scenario where multiple Approvers have to approve
a Sales document if the amount is more than the credit limit of the Customer the
Additional Approvers may be setup as below:

5. No Approval Limit can be set for Additional Approver

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