Back to Documentation

How to configure approval policies

Design multi-step approval chains with amount thresholds, department rules, and escalation paths to control spend before it posts.

10 min readUpdated May 18, 2026

Why approval policies matter

Policies translate your internal controls into automated routing. Instead of ad-hoc email approvals, every expense follows a documented path with timestamps and approver identity preserved for audit.

Policy structure

Policies are evaluated in priority order. The first matching rule wins, so place more specific rules above general defaults.

  1. Define conditions: amount range, category, department, project tag, or vendor type.
  2. Assign approvers: direct manager, finance reviewer, or named individuals.
  3. Set escalation if no action occurs within your SLA window.
  4. Require receipt attachments above configured amounts.

Tip

Pilot a policy with one department before rolling out company-wide.

Test and monitor

Submit test expenses from a sandbox user or low-value real claims to confirm routing. Use the Approvals report weekly to find bottlenecks.

Related guides

Need more help?

Talk to our team or explore features