Using Approval Workflow Within PeopleSoft eProcurement

This section provides an overview of managing approvals, a list of common elements, and discusses how to:

• Define roles, actions, and user lists.

• Define approval filter criteria.

• Perform approval tasks.

• View details about requisition line items.

• Approve requisitions.

• Deny requisitions.

• Push back requisitions.

• Insert ad hoc approvers.

• Set up email approvals for eProcurement.

Understanding Approval Management

Requisition Approval is the process of taking a transaction through the organization until it is accomplished or stopped. Using the Approve Requisitions feature, approvers and reviewers join the business analysts and requesters to complete the approval workflow process. When the process is complete, the transaction is promoted to its next stage. In the case of a requisition, the next stage is that it's sourced as a purchase order.

After a requisition is created, the system routes the requisition to an approver. The approver can view and take action in two ways: one is through the worklist, and the other is through the Approve Requisitions page. In either case, you can preview, in a graphical format, the path that a transaction approval will take, view who has already approved the transaction, and see any comments that previous approvers have entered.

While the system awaits approval action, the approval workflow engine (AWE) maintains the overall state of the transaction, invokes routings, and interacts with the application classes.

During the approval process these actions take place:

• The system notifies approvers and reviewers that there is a pending transaction that needs their attention.

• Approvers and reviewers access the transaction details, provide comments, and take action (approve, deny, or push back) for the transaction.

• The system checks for additional routings in the same routing path.

  If all steps have been completed for the stage, then the next step is started in the next stage. If there are multiple routing paths, the system routes them in parallel.

• Once all approvers of a transaction have approved the requisition, the AWE notifies the eProcurement application. The requisition is then prepared for sourcing.

Note. Workflow approval is an optional feature for PeopleSoft Enterprise eProcurement, which is determined by the Workflow Approval Required option on the eProcurement Business Unit Options page.

Mass Approval

The approver may select multiple requisitions, and complete all approvals at one time without approving each requisition individually. The approver must participate in a role that is associated to the eProcurement role action of MASS_APPROVER.

Email Approvals

Email approvals are designed to route approvals to the approver's email address to take action, yet not require the approver to log into the system. The approver can approve, deny, add comments, and submit the requisition for approval within the email.

See Also

Setting Up Approval Workflow Process Definitions

Setting Up Email Collaboration

Defining Roles, Actions, and User Lists

This section discusses how to define roles, actions and user lists.

Pages Used to Define Roles, Actions, and User Lists

Defining Roles, Actions, and User Lists

To define roles, actions and user lists:

• Modify or add Roles using the Roles page.

  Use this navigation path: PeopleTools, Security, Permissions & Roles, Roles

• Create and maintain user lists using the User List Definition page.

• Setup User Profiles using the User Profiles - Roles and the User Profiles - Workflow pages.

• Attach role actions to user roles.

Defining Approval Filter Criteria

This section discusses how select approval filter criteria.

Page Used to Define Approval Filter Criteria

Defining eProcurement Requisition Approval Filter Criteria

Access the Approve Requisitions page.

Use this page to limit the scope and number of requests that appear on the page. For example, you can limit the requests to a specific business unit, requester, or approval status. After displaying the requisitions, you can select individual requisitions to review and update, such as approving or denying a requisition or adding an ad hoc reviewer.

Note. If the approver is a member of the MASS_APPROVER role action, then the approver can elect to apply an approval action to multiple pending transactions at one time. This can be accomplished at the header or line level.

Performing Approval Tasks

This section discusses how to perform approval tasks.

Page Used to Perform Approval Tasks

Performing eProcurement Requisition Approval Tasks

Access the Requisition Approval page.

Use the Requisition Approval page to approve or deny requisitions at the header or line level, review and edit approvers and reviewers, and make comments for other approvers and reviewers. The example page demonstrates line-level approval.

Note. The line level approval can be used only if the Process ID is configured for line-level approval on the Register Transactions page.

The page displays details about the requisition, such as the date it was entered, its name and priority, and the number of lines on the requisition. Also appearing is the total monetary value of the requisition and the currency in which it's measured.

Note. If you select a line that does not require action, you receive a message telling you to select a line that is pending an approval.

Line Information

Use this section of the Requisition Approval page to review requisition line details and perform approval tasks. Line items that are awaiting approval are highlighted and selected as default values when you access the page.

Review/Edit Approvers

Use this section of the Requisition Approval page to review the approval flow, such as who approved the requisition before you and who will approve it after you. Click the plus + symbol to insert ad hoc approvers and reviewers. If you want to remove an ad hoc approver or reviewer click the minus — symbol. A confirmation message appears when you make the selection.

All qualified ad hoc approvers or reviewers must be defined as part of the Ad Hoc User List on the Configure Transactions page.

See Defining the Approval Transaction Registry.

Approver Comments

Use this section to enter comments about the requisition. If you deny a requisition, the system requires that you enter a comment.

Comment History

Use this section to view the previous workflow stream.

See Utilizing the Approval Monitor for a Specific Approval Process.

Viewing Details About Requisition Line Items

This section discusses how to view line details.

Page Used to View Requisition Line Details for Approval

Viewing Details About Requisition Line Items

Access the Requisition Line Details page.

Use this page to review shipping and accounting details for line items that you selected to review using the Requisition Approval page.

Approving Requisitions

This section discusses how to approve requisitions.

Page Used to Approving Requisitions

Approving Requisitions

Access the Requisition Approval page.

Approving a Requisition Line

To approve a requisition line:

1. Select a line that is pending the approval, if line-level. Otherwise, header is implied.

   You can only approve lines that are pending the approval.

2. Click the Approve button.

3. Use the Review/Edit Approvers section to review comments by previous approvers.

Note. Requisition line approval appears as the Approve button at the Line Information section. Approve or deny requisitions at the header level by using the buttons under the Enter Approve Comments section.

Note. If commitment control is turned on for line-level approvals in PeopleSoft eProcurement, then you must add a row to the Source Transactions component. From the Source Transactions component, select the Source Transaction Type of REQ_PREENC, and click the Selection Criteria tab. Add a row with a Field Name of REQ_STATUS, and a Field Value of LA .

Denying Requisitions

This section discusses how to deny requisitions.

Page Used to Deny Requisitions

Denying Requisitions

Access the Requisition Approval page.

Denying a Requisition Line

To deny a requisition line:

1. Select a line that is pending the approval.

   You cannot deny a line that is not waiting for the approval.

2. Enter comments in the Enter Approver Comments section. This is required before denying the requisition.

3. Click the Deny button.

4. Use the Review/Edit Approvers section to review comments for the denial.

Note. Requisition line approval appears as the Deny button at the Line Information section. For requisition header you would approve or deny using the buttons under the Enter Approve Comments section.

Pushing Back Requisitions

This section discusses how to push a requisition back to previous approvers or the requester.

Page Used to Push Back Requisitions

Pushing Back Requisitions

Access the Requisition Approval page.

Select Pushback to return an approved requisition back to the previous approver or the requester with comments. This is possible only if there was a previous approver in the same path. You cannot push back a requisition across stages.

Pushing Back Requisitions

To pushback a requisition line:

1. Select a line that is pending the approval.

2. Enter comments in the Enter Approver Comments section. This is required before pushing back the requisition.

3. Click the Pushback button.

4. Use the Review/Edit Approvers section to review comments.

Note. Requisition line approval appears as the Pushback button at the Line Information section. For requisition header you would pushback using the buttons under the Enter Approve Comments section.

This page illustrates the results of the Requisition Approval page after the Pushback button is used.

Inserting Ad Hoc Approvers

This sections discusses how to insert an ad hoc approver or reviewer.

Page Used to Add an Ad Hoc Approver

Inserting Ad Hoc Approvers

Access the Requisition Approval page.

To insert ad hoc approvers and reviewers, click the plus + symbol for a pending requisition line. The Insert additional approver or reviewer window appears for you to select the user ID, and to indicate whether the person is an ad hoc approver or reviewer for this line.

You cannot change ad hoc approvers or reviewers; however, you can delete and add them again to indicate whether they are approvers or reviewers. To delete an approver or reviewer, click the minus – symbol. To add multiple approvers or reviewers click the plus + at the point where you want the additional approver or reviewer to receive the approval.

Setting Up Email Approvals for eProcurement

This section discusses how to set up email approvals for eProcurement.

Setting Up Email Approvals for eProcurement

To utilize collaborative emails with eProcurement, you must activate the service operation.

PeopleSoft delivers service operations in PeopleSoft Integration Broker with a default status of Inactive. You must activate each service operation before attempting to send or receive data from a third-party source or another PeopleSoft system, such as CRM. To set up this service operation:

1. On the Configure Transactions page, select the Requisition Process ID and add a user list in the Email Approval User List field.

2. Setup within Integration Broker and Enterprise Components:

   Use the information in this table and refer to the setup instructions in the PeopleSoft Supply Chain Management Integrations 9.0 PeopleBook, “Implementing Integrations” chapter, Setting Up Service Operations section.

See Setting Up Service Operations.

See Enterprise PeopleTools 8.48 PeopleBook: Integration Broker

Example of Email Approval

Here is an example of the Email Approval form that is sent to approvers:

See Also

Pages Used to Set Up Email Collaboration