It should be noted that FocalPoint approval is an entirely customisable process, and as such there is no 'generic' approval within FocalPoint. The exact routes taken by FocalPoint during approval will vary greatly between different organisations however, the below steps will enable the checking of FocalPoint approval processes to establish the route being followed when a transaction is entered.
The method of checking approval routing is the same for both Purchase and Sales Request types.
Firstly, access the correct transaction type record:
For Purchase Requests: System Options, Purchasing, Purchase Requests Setup.
For Sales Requests and invoices (Fee Notes): System Options, Sales & Billing, Sales Invoices Setup.
From this point forward, the steps necessary to check the routing are the same, regardless of the transaction type being checked.
Select the relevant transaction type from the list.
Click on Edit.
Select the Approval tab (ensure that the Approval Type is N Level as otherwise this article will not apply).
This will display the stages of approval for the transaction type. When a transaction is first submitted, the approval starts at stage one and follows the approval path that has been setup.
Select the relevant approval stage from the list, followed by Edit.
On this screen there are four tabs:
Approval Stage - The core approval. This decides who approves the transaction, what happens when it is approved, and what happens if it it rejected. This tab also contains additional options depending on the approval type you have set.
Alerts - This contains any alerts that will be sent out during the approval process. Alerts are emails that will be sent by FocalPoint during the approval process (for example an alert may be sent to the approver to advise that they have something to approve).
Pre-Stage Rules - These are rules that are designed to check something specific within the transaction and then act on that information before the current stage of approval. For example, a rule could be configured to check a specific field for certain information and then re-route the transactions based on whether that information is true of false. For a pre-stage rule this check happens before the approver actually sees the transaction.
Post-Stage Rules - These work the same way as pre-stage rules, however, for post stage rules, the rule is checked after the approver has approved.
This information can then be used to establish whether FocalPoint is routing approvals as needed.
This process can then be discussed with the internal FocalPoint administrator and accounts department should changes be needed.