This guide helps ITILITE administrators configure expense approval workflows for their organization. You will learn how to create and manage approval rules that define who approves which expense reports, under what conditions, and in what sequence.
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
To proceed, you need:
- Administrator access to ITILITE.
- Approvers mapped to users in the Settings > General > Users section.
- Employee parameters (such as Department, Business Unit, or Entity) configured for users if you plan to use them in approval rules.
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these steps to create a new expense approval rule:
- Navigate to ITILITE Expense platform. From the Organization Settings, select the Expense Settings tab, then click on Approval Flow.
- Click the Create New Rule button to begin configuring a new approval workflow.
- In the Approval Rule Configuration form, enter a clear and descriptive Rule Title. This title is for internal administrative reference.
- Define the policy level for the rule. By default, the rule applies Across all employees. To limit it to specific groups, turn off the "All Employee" toggle and click Add Employee Parameter to select specific Business Units, Entities, or Departments.
- Choose the Rule Type to specify when this approval rule should trigger:
- Default: Applies to all expense reports within the defined employee scope.
- Outside Policy: Triggers only if the expense report contains at least one expense marked as "Out of Policy."
- Total Report: Applies based on the total monetary value of the expense report.
- If you selected Total Report as the rule type, set the Min Amount and Max Amount thresholds. The rule will only apply if the total report amount falls within this range. For example, to apply a rule for reports exceeding $1,000, set Min Amount to 1,000 and Max Amount to 999,999 (or a similar high value).
- Define the Approval Sequence. Select the approver(s) from the dropdown list who will receive the expense report for approval. You can add multiple approval sequences to create multi-level approvals. Each sequence can also have its own amount range. Approvers must be pre-mapped to users in Settings > General > Users. Where enabled, you can also select individual users directly by email.
- Once all approval parameters are set, click the Create Rule button to save and activate your new approval rule.
- The newly created approval rule will now appear in the list on the Approval Flow page, confirming its successful creation.
Pro-Tips & Guardrails
NOTE: Employee parameters like Department, Business Unit, or Entity are only visible for selection if users are already mapped to these attributes in the Settings > General > Users section.
NOTE: Approvers must be assigned to users in Settings > General > Users before they can be selected in an approval rule.
PRO-TIP: Each approval rule has a Priority. Rules with a higher priority (typically a lower priority number) are evaluated first by the system when an expense report is submitted.
PRO-TIP: Any changes made to approval rules will only affect future expense reports submitted. Reports that have already been submitted will continue to follow the approval chain that was active at the time of their submission.
Verification & FAQs
After creating an approval rule, verify its presence and settings on the Approval Flow page. You can also test the rule by submitting a sample expense report that matches its criteria.
A: Approval Rules define how expense reports move through approvers before reimbursement. They specify who approves which reports, for which employees, under what conditions (policy type and amount), and in what sequence.
Q: How do I define which employees an approval rule applies to?
A: You can apply a rule Across all employees (default) or limit it to specific groups by turning off the "All Employee" toggle and adding Employee Parameters such as Department, Business Unit, or Entity.
Q: What are the different Rule Types?
A: The available Rule Types are Default (applies to all reports in scope), Outside Policy (triggers only for reports with out-of-policy expenses), and Total Report (applies based on the total monetary value of the report).
Q: Why can't I find certain approvers when creating a rule?
A: Approvers must first be assigned to users in the Settings > General > Users section. Once mapped, they will become available for selection in the Approval Flow rules.
Q: What happens if multiple approval rules could apply to an expense report?
A: The system evaluates active approval rules based on their assigned Priority. Rules with a higher priority (lower number) are checked first to determine the correct approval path.
Are your queries unanswered? Drop us an email at support@itilite.com or you can also call us on +1 833 460 5669 (Global), +91 8060007000 (India).
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