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Creating an Approval Policy

Approval policies define who needs to approve what, and under what conditions. This page walks you through creating a policy from start to finish.

note

Only Admin and Manager roles can create approval policies. If you do not see the option to create a policy, contact your admin.

Step-by-Step: Create a Policy​

1. Open the Policy Builder​

Go to Approvals in the left sidebar, then click the Policies tab. Click Create Policy to open the policy builder.

2. Name Your Policy​

Give the policy a clear, descriptive name that explains what it does. Good names make it easy for your team to understand the policy at a glance.

Good examples:

  • "High Value Invoice Approval"
  • "Vendor Credit Review"
  • "Invoices Over $25K - VP Approval"

Avoid vague names like:

  • "Policy 1"
  • "New Policy"

3. Choose What It Applies To​

Select the document type this policy covers:

OptionDescription
All InvoicesThe policy applies to every invoice, matched or unmatched
Matched InvoicesThe policy applies only to invoices that have been matched to a PO
Unmatched InvoicesThe policy applies only to invoices without a PO match
Vendor CreditsThe policy applies to vendor credit documents
ActionsThe policy applies to actions that require approval

4. Add Conditions (Optional)​

Conditions determine which specific documents trigger this policy. If you add no conditions, the policy applies to all documents of the type you selected in Step 3.

Click Add Condition to define criteria. Available condition types include:

  • Amount -- Trigger when the invoice total is greater than, less than, or equal to a specific amount (e.g., "amount greater than $5,000").
  • Vendor -- Trigger for a specific vendor or set of vendors.
  • Field value -- Trigger based on values in specific fields on the document.

You can combine multiple conditions. When you add more than one condition, the document must meet all conditions to trigger the policy.

5. Add Approval Steps​

This is where you define who approves and in what order. Click Add Step to create your first approval step.

For each step:

  1. Add an approver group -- Select one or more users or employee groups as approvers.
  2. Choose the approval requirement:
    • Any -- The step is complete when any one approver in the group approves. Use this when you have multiple people who can give the same level of approval.
    • All -- Every approver in the group must approve before the step is complete. Use this when you need sign-off from multiple people at the same level.

To require sequential approvals (e.g., manager first, then VP), add multiple steps. Step 1 must be fully completed before Step 2 begins.

6. Save the Policy​

Review your policy settings, then click Save. The policy is now active and will be evaluated against new documents going forward.

Real-World Example​

Scenario: You want invoices over $5,000 to require manager approval, and invoices over $25,000 to also require VP approval after the manager approves.

You would create two policies:

Policy 1: "High Value - VP + Manager" (Priority 1)

  • Applies to: All Invoices
  • Condition: Amount greater than $25,000
  • Step 1: Manager group (Any)
  • Step 2: VP group (Any)

Policy 2: "Standard - Manager Approval" (Priority 2)

  • Applies to: All Invoices
  • Condition: Amount greater than $5,000
  • Step 1: Manager group (Any)

Because Policy 1 has a higher priority (lower number), a $30,000 invoice triggers the two-step VP + Manager approval. A $10,000 invoice does not match Policy 1 (it is under $25,000), so it falls through to Policy 2 and gets single-step manager approval. A $3,000 invoice matches neither policy and does not require approval.

Understanding Priority​

When multiple policies could potentially match a document, only the highest-priority policy (lowest priority number) applies. Mod AI stops checking after the first match.

This means the order of your policies matters. Place your most specific, restrictive policies at higher priority, and your broader catch-all policies at lower priority.

To change policy priority after creation, see Editing & Reordering Policies.

tip

Start with simple policies and add complexity as you learn how your team works with approvals. You can always add more conditions, steps, and policies later.

Learn More​

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