Voucher Approvals

A manual voucher moves money on someone's say-so. The approval chain decides whose say-so, in what order, before the books believe it.

How a chain works#

The business configures up to four approval levels. Each level is satisfied by either a role (any manager) or named users (specifically the finance controller). A manual voucher enters the chain on creation and touches the ledger only when the last level signs.

While a chain is active:

• The maker cannot self-approve their way through — the create-form's "approved" shortcut and the quick-toggle are disabled for manual types.
• The day close's voucher prompt shows pending vouchers but cannot bypass the chain — bulk approval is for businesses without one.
• Every action — who approved, who rejected, when, at which level — is journaled append-only. The history of a voucher is part of the voucher.

What never queues#

System-generated vouchers (daily sales, consumption, settlements, salaries where automated) post directly — the day's sales don't wait for a signature, and no approver wants to sign three hundred of them. The chain governs exactly the entries where human judgment created the number.

Designing your chain#

• One level catches most of what chains are for — a second pair of eyes on every manual entry. Start there.
• Add levels for amount-driven policy only if your organization genuinely runs that way; four levels on a five-person team is theatre.
• Name roles, not people, where you can — chains built on named individuals break on their day off.
• Watch the pending queue's age in the first month. An approval chain that runs slower than your suppliers' patience becomes a workaround factory.