May 2022

Workflow elements were introduced to Unit4 Financials around a decade ago, at the same time as Procurement and Invoice Matching functions. However, it is worth noting, that the use of workflows is not solely limited to the above POP & PIM functionality.

You can use workflows to support:

• Purchase orders
• Procurement and purchase invoices
• Invoice matching
• Approving sales or invoices – both in the Billing module and in Financials
• Approving purchase invoices directly in Financials or through a third-party application
• Elements – e.g., approving suppliers, vendors, and projects

Workflow Overview

Within Workflow, there are three main components:

• Messaging
• Position hierarchies
• Element responsibilities

Here is a closer look at these elements:

This refers to the ability to send or schedule an email (and/or SMS text) to the relevant approver so that approval can be actioned.

This Messaging function element has been enhanced recently, with the useful addition of an ‘out of office’ within the application. If the respondent is away, the message can be automatically forwarded to another delegated user.

Position hierarchies are usually set up in the administration module and are made up of what are known as ‘positions’.

A position is an element of the hierarchy. You can have more than one user within each position. Normally, a position determines the monetary authorisation limit for all persons within that position.

So, for example, you might have three positions: £10k, £50k, and £100k, with multiple employees, included in each position.

Whereas a position tells the system how much an employee can authorise, element hierarchies tell it what type of transaction they are authorised to approve.

As Unit4 Financials users are aware, an element determines a GL code, project, or department. On each user profile, you can set up an element responsibility and specify that the user is responsible for, e.g., the IT department or Marketing department.

So whatever document requiring approval arrives on the system – e.g., purchase order or invoice – this combination of ‘element responsibility’ and ‘position’ will effectively tell Financials to whom to direct it to.

Want to know more? Watch a Workflow demonstration

In this video, we demonstrate a purchase invoice going into Unit4 Financials and then through a workflow.

(Even if you do not have Procurement and Invoice Matching in place, we explain how it is possible to approve purchase invoices directly in Financials.)

Need further help?

For further tips and advice on optimising your approvals process, please do get in touch. Millennium Consulting’s Unit4 Financials experts are always happy to help.