Accounting and finance departments face the greatest pressure in a business environment to manage bills and vendor payments accurately and efficiently. If the approval process is not clear, numerous problems may arise, including errors, fraud, duplicate payments, and cash flow disruptions. To manage this problem, QuickBooks Online provides a feature. I.e., Bill Approval Workflows. This is an automated system that ensures that every bill is processed only after proper review and approval. In this blog, we learn about Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online, with its setup and use in detail.
What are Bill Approval Workflows?
Bill Approval Workflows are an automated approval process that ensures that all vendor bills or expenses go through one or multiple levels of approval before it is paid. That means in a company, if a bill is raised, then it is not directly forwarded for payment. It needs to follow a predefined route and rules. This bill goes to the manager first, then goes to the finance controller, and then, after being approved by the senior management, the payment decisions are finalized.
All these processes work automatically and are managed in QuickBooks Online. Bill Approval Workflow is a security layer that ensures that each approval is documented. There, the audit trail automatically maintained, and it almost eliminates all the chances of getting unauthorized payments. It was able to manage the company’s business transactions accurately and transparently.
Reasons to Set up Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online
Every business needs to create a bill approval workflow because, without doing this process, many risks and issues, like unauthorized payments or duplicate bills, are involved in the financial operations. Without a strong approval system, financial losses become quite common.
- Transparency and Accountability: It tracks all the bills to provide accurate and transparent results.
- Fraud Prevention: The system automatically eliminates unauthorized bills and fake invoices.
- Time Saving: The comparison of manual approval and automated workflow was too fast.
- Cost Control: Every payment has been processed after verification. Therefore, unnecessary expenses are saved.
- Audit Ready: Whenever an audit takes place, all approval records are clearly available.
- Vendor Trust: By doing fast approval and payment, the relationships with vendors become strong.
How to Set Up Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online?
To Set Up Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online, there is a simple process. You need to follow this process to set up perfectly to get accurate and transparent results.
- Log in to the QuickBooks Online Account.
- Click the settings.
- Choose Bill Approval Workflow from the Workflow library.
- There, you find multiple templates that you can customize.
- Now the important point was to define the approval rule (such as which bill was automatically approved and which bill was approved by the manager or higher authority).
- Now, to assign Approvers, create an Approver list.
- There is an option to set notifications. If the bill is waiting for approval, then the assigned approver gets the notification through the main or the In-app.
- For testing the workflow, create a demo bill and confirm that the system is automatically sending the bill to the right approver.
- When testing is completed, just activate the workflow and start running it live.
Process of Using Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online
After setting up Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online. There is no manual follow-up required. The system tracks everything automatically. It is very simple to use. Whenever a vendor bill created in QuickBooks Online, it followed the selected workflow route for payment. The responsible approver instantly receives the notification, and they can approve or reject the bill by reviewing it in QuickBooks Online. If any bill was rejected because of some issues, then vendor payment was not processed until the issue was resolved. When a final approver approves the bill, the payment is processed for transfer.
Importance of Using Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online
It is important to have some knowledge and a better understanding of the importance of the bill approval workflow in QuickBooks Online. Because this is not just a technical feature but a strategic tool that streamlines the financial operations.
- Financial Control: The business is able to maintain complete control over its cash flow because no payment is processed without approval.
- Transparency: Every step is documented, and management gets clear visibility as to who approved or rejected which bill. This transparency also increases workers’ accountability.
- Error Reduction: By the bill approval workflow, the chances of fake bills, unauthorized overpayments, and manual errors are eliminated.
- Faster Decision Making: The bill approval workflow allows for faster decision-making as automated notifications and system reminders instantly send notifications through mail or in-app, which help approvers make timely decisions.
- Scalability: As a business grows, the bill approval workflow automatically scales by learn from previous mistakes, which helps to increase its importance even more.
Benefits of Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online
Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online have many benefits that directly impact the growth and stability of the business.
- Efficiency Increase: Its automated process saves much time by replacing manual paperwork.
- Audit Readiness: In bill approval workflows, a complete audit trail is available.
- Better Vendor Relationships: Vendors remain satisfied with Timely Payments.
- Risk Management: Fraud and unauthorised transactions can be detected and stopped by this workflow.
- Cost Saving: eliminating errors and delays saves unnecessary expenses.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
During the setup of the bill approval workflow in QuickBooks Online, people make certain mistakes that can reduce the efficiency of the system.
- Too Many Approval Layers: When creating the rule for approving bills, having too many approval Layers can slow down the workflow.
- Unclear Roles: If the bill is unclear, then who will approve? Then the bills get stuck pending. So, assign Approvers in their respective departments.
- Ignoring Notifications: If approvers ignore notifications, the process gets delayed.
- No Testing: Errors may occur if the setup is not properly tested before activating the workflow.
- Lack of Updates: Even after the business grows, inefficiency is created if workflows are not updated.
Conclusion
Bill Approval Workflows in QuickBooks Online is a complete feature that makes the accounts payable workflow process fast, transparent, and secure. Shifting from manual paperwork to automated approvals is a smart decision for every business. If you face any issues during the setup and use, then immediately contact the QuickBooks Experts for an instant solution.