Setting Up Journal Entry Approval in PeopleSoft Workflow

This section discusses how to:

Review the current workflow approval setup.
Modify the workflow approval rule properties.
Modify the rule step definition properties for a workflow item.
Define the rules for a journal entry approval workflow item.
Set up the events for a journal entry approval workflow item.

Pages Used to Set Up Journal Entry Approval in PeopleSoft Workflow

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Open Definition	Not applicable (NA)	Access PeopleSoft Application Designer and click File, Open.	Select Approval Rule Set in the Definition field to display a list of Approval Rule set definitions.
JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL	NA	Enter JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL in the Name field or click this name in the list of Definitions matching the selection criteria box on the Open Definition page, and click the Open button.	The JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL (Approval Rule Set) page displays.
Approval Rule	N/A	Right-click in the JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL page and select Definition Properties to display the Approval Rule Properties page.	Select the Approval Active check box on the General Tab page to activate the approval rule that is used by the Virtual Approver workflow method).
Approval Rule Step Definition	NA	Right-click on one of the icons (Supervisor Approval, Manager Approval) in the JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL page, and select Item Properties.	Accesses the Approval Rule Step Definition.
Approval Rule Step Definition - Definition	NA	Access the rule step definition by right-clicking one of the icons in the approval rule step and selecting Item Properties.	Set up or modify the approver roles that apply to journal entry approval workflow process as well as the workflow process steps.
Approval Rule Step - Rules	NA	Click the Rules tab on the Approval Rule Step Definition page.	Sets up the minimum and maximum amounts that you can use in selected journal records and fields, as well as the minimum and maximum quantities. Also identifies whether the row-level rules are determined by route control or SQL object.
Approval Rule Step - Events	NA	Click the Events tab on the Approval Rule Step Definition page.	Use to associate journal approval activities with workflow events.

See also PeopleTools Documentation: Workflow Technology, "Defining Approval Processes”

See also PeopleTools Documentation: PeopleSoft Application Designer Developer's Guide, "Using PeopleSoft Application Designer"

Reviewing the Current Workflow Approval Setup

Use the Open Definition page (Not applicable (NA)) to select Approval Rule Set in the Definition field to display a list of Approval Rule set definitions.

Navigation

Access PeopleSoft Application Designer and click File, Open.

Use the JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL page (NA) to the JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL (Approval Rule Set) page to review the current workflow approval setup.

Navigation

In PeopleSoft Application Designer, enter JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL in the Name field or click this name in the list of Definitions matching the selection criteria box on the Open Definition page, and click the Open button.

In PeopleSoft Application Designer, access the JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL.1900–01–01 approval rule set by selecting File, Open and then clicking the approval rule set name in Open Definition dialog box.

Image: JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL.1900–01–01 approval rule set

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL.1900–01–01 approval rule set. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Supervisor Approval and Manager Approval

These icons represent the workflow for approving a journal entry that is delivered with the sample data. You can click on the items and modify the workflow journal entry approval rule properties or the selected icon's workflow rule step definitions.

Modifying the Workflow Approval Rule Properties

Use the Approval Rule Properties page (N/A) to select the Approval Active check box on the General Tab page to activate the approval rule that is used by the Virtual Approver workflow method).

Navigation

Right-click in the approval rule set window of the JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL page and select Definition Properties to display the Approval Rule Properties page.

Image: Approval Rule Properties page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Approval Rule Properties page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Approval Active

Select this check box to activate the journal entry approval process using workflow.

Allow Self Approval

Select to allow the user who enters a journal to approve the journal.

Note: If you define only one approval step in the Approval Rule Set Definition, the approvers will always be able to self-approve the journals they submit for approval (regardless of who entered the journals), even if the Allow Self Approval check box is selected. This behavior is true for the Virtual Approver's design (the last step's approvers can always self-approve the transactions they submitted for approval regardless of the Allow Self Approval setting), since there is no further step/approvers to which the Virtual Approver routes the approval request. Therefore, if your business requirement does not allow the first level approvers (for example supervisors) to approve the journals they submitted for approval, you could add a second approval step (for example manager approval step) to handle those journals' approval requests.

Note: If you select to use the Approval Framework workflow method instead of the Virtual Approver, the aforementioned workaround is not necessary. When using Approval Framework, those journals will be routed to the other approvers (supervisors) available for the same approval step.

See Understanding Configurable Workflow

Modifying the Rule Step Definition Properties for a Workflow Item

Use the Approval Rule Step Definition - Definition page (NA) to set up or modify the approver roles that apply to journal entry approval workflow process as well as the workflow process steps.

Navigation

Right-click on one of the icons in the approval rule step (Supervisor Approval, Manager Approval) in the JOURNAL_ENTRY_APPROVAL page, and select Item Properties.

Image: Rule Step Definition - Definition

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Rule Step Definition - Definition. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Icon Descr (icon description)

Modify the workflow icon description.

Route to Role

Select a different role to apply to the icon.

Equally Authorize Roles

Modify the current role and click Add to add more than one approver for the role, or click Remove to remove an approver role. For example, you might have two managers approve a journal entry before the supervisor approves it.

See PeopleTools documentation: Workflow Technology

Defining the Rules for a Journal Entry Approval Workflow Item

Use the Approval Rule Step - Rules page (NA) to sets up the minimum and maximum amounts that you can use in selected journal records and fields, as well as the minimum and maximum quantities.

Also identifies whether the row-level rules are determined by route control or SQL object.

Navigation

Click the Rules tab on the Approval Rule Step Definition page.

Image: Rule Step Definition - Rules tab

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Rule Step Definition - Rules tab. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Amount Rule

Enter the minimum and maximum amounts for a specific record and field.

Quantity Rule

Enter the minimum and maximum quantity (for statistical journal entries) for a specific record and field.

Row-level Rule

Select the appropriate radio button if the row-level activity is based on route control or a SQL object.

If you select Route Control, enter the route control name and its related record and field values.

If you select SQL Object, enter the SQL object name and the related record and field values.

Setting Up the Events for a Journal Entry Approval Workflow Item

Use the Approval Rule Step - Events page (NA) to use to associate journal approval activities with workflow events.

Navigation

Click the Events tab on the Approval Rule Step Definition page.

Image: Rule Step Definition - Events

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Rule Step Definition - Events. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

On Pre-Approved

Select the activity and event that you want to occur when a journal entry is preapproved.

On Deny

Select the activity and event that you want to occur when a journal entry is denied approval.

On Recycle

Select the activity and event that you want to occur when a journal entry is recycled for approval.