Invoice approval workflow for firms: your client approves, your firm stays in control
With approval flows in TriFact365 you create a tailored invoice approval workflow per client administration: who authorises, checks and approves for payment, in up to five stages, matching how your firm and your client work. Every step is in the audit trail.
The decision with the right person
No more asking by email whether an invoice may be paid.
Your client authorises themselves, in TriFact365.
Four-eyes principle on journal entries
No more journal entries seen by only one pair of eyes.
A senior approves for payment what a junior has checked.
Demonstrable approval
No discussion afterwards about who approved what.
Every step is in the audit trail, next to the original document.
What is an invoice approval workflow?
An invoice approval workflow is the fixed route an invoice follows before it is processed or paid: who approves, in which order, and who gives the final approval. Every step is recorded.
This page is about approval flows between firm and client. How workflows work for a business with its own approvers is explained under invoice approval.
Which approval flows do firms use?
Per client administration you create a tailored flow, matching how your firm, your client or both work. These are three set-ups we often see in practice.
Client approves before payment
For clients who want to decide themselves what gets paid.
Four-eyes principle within the firm
For quality control on your own work, without the client in the flow.
Two payment approvals: firm and management
The firm validates the journal entry; the client’s management then approves the payment.
How do approval flows work for firms?
Every client administration gets the flow that suits that client. Your firm sees in one overview where every invoice is.
A tailored flow per client
Client and firm, the firm only or more steps: up to five consecutive stages, set up per client administration.
Book in advance, payment blocked
Per administration you choose: book after payment approval, or book in advance with a payment block. How that block works differs per accounting package.
Also for your client’s receipts
Your client’s receipts can follow the same flow as invoices, per client administration.
Approval next to the original, recorded in the audit trail
Whoever approves sees the original document alongside and can leave a comment. Every step is in the history, and approvers get an email reminder if you wish. How approval routes work in general is explained under invoice approval.
How do you apply the four-eyes principle to journal entries?
The four-eyes principle means that a second person checks the work of the first before it becomes final. Firms also use payment approval for this internally, without the client in the flow.
That way you maintain quality as juniors take on more work, and you can show afterwards who checked what.
Approve in TriFact365, pay in the package
In TriFact365
Authorising, checking and approving for payment. A client who only approves does not need an accounting package account for that.
In the accounting package
The journal entry after approval, and the payment batch your client prepares. With book before approval, an invoice stays blocked for payment until approval, if the package supports it.
What goes well with approval flows
Approval flows work best when the rest of the pre-accounting is in TriFact365 too.
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Frequently asked questions about invoice approval workflows
Authorising happens before checking: you approve or reject the invoice itself. Approving for payment happens after checking: you approve or reject the final posting proposal, after which the journal entry goes to the accounting package.
Yes. Approval routes work for invoices and receipts. Other documents, such as articles of association in the client file, do not go through a flow.
Yes. You can set up a flow without the client, for example an employee who checks and a senior who approves for payment. That is the four-eyes principle on your own work.
Approval flows are included in Plus for firms
Plus for firms costs €39 per month and includes workflows, authorisation and payment approval management and automatic email reminders. For your client administrations you choose between variable and fixed.