Payment approval routing

Purpose

1. Establish a secure, traceable, and efficient approval process for payments within an animal protection non-profit.

2. Ensure only authorized personnel approve expenses related to animal care, advocacy, and operational costs.

3. Reduce manual oversight, accelerate funding routes, and maintain compliance with grant, donation, and policy restrictions.

4. Provide end-to-end visibility to accounting, executives, and auditors; maintain a full digital log of all actions.

5. Automate notifications, reminders, escalations, and approval/decline actions, improving workflow velocity and transparency.

Trigger Conditions

1. Submission of payment request in financial system (ERP/accounting, donation platform, or staff portal).

2. Detection of invoice status change, e.g., “Ready for Approval” or “Awaiting Review.”

3. Recurring scheduled review times (e.g., weekly payment review cut-off).

4. Meeting specific thresholds (amount limits, grant project codes, vendor type).

5. Request for budget allocation in advocacy campaigns or animal care programs.

Platform Variants

1. Microsoft Power Automate

• Action: “Start an approval” — configure endpoint for sequential/multi-level approvals; connect to Office 365 for notifications.
  

2. SAP Concur

• API: Expense/Approval API — trigger “Submit For Approval”; route to manager or finance.
  

3. Salesforce

• Feature: “Approval Process” — define criteria (e.g. Amount> $500); auto-notify role hierarchy.
  

4. Slack

• Action: “Custom Workflow Builder” — create step for finance bot to post approval requests with Yes/No buttons.
  

5. DocuSign

• API: “EnvelopeRecipientCompletion” — require signature/approval on expense docs; callback for status.
  

6. QuickBooks Online

• App: “Workflows for Approvals” — trigger on “Bill Created,” assign approval to custom user group.
  

7. Xero

• API: “Approvals Endpoint” — auto route bills to account manager; webhook for status update.
  

8. Google Workspace (Apps Script)

• Script: “Form Submission Trigger” — send approval form responses to defined approvers; trigger email.
  

9. Zoho Creator

• Logic: “Approval Workflow” — configure role-based routing; conditional fields for grant payments vs. admin expenses.
  

10. Zapier

• Trigger: “New Expense Submission” — multi-step zap for filtering, Slack/Teams notification, and approval log in Sheets.
  

11. Trello

• Power-Up: “Card Approvals” — attach expense docs to card; trigger approval checklist for managers.
  

12. Monday.com

• Automation: “Item status changes to ‘Review’” — notify approver, initiate two-tier approval; update board.
  

13. PandaDoc

• Feature: “Approval Workflows” — document track & approve step for expense authorizations.
  

14. ServiceNow

• Module: “Flow Designer Approvals” — assign request to approval path based on department or budget.
  

15. Asana

• Rule: “Task Custom Field = ‘Payment Request’” — auto-assign to budget owner; send Slack DM.
  

16. Oracle NetSuite

• API: “SuiteApprovals SuiteFlow” — workflow for PO/bill review and sequential signoff tracking.
  

17. Jira Service Management

• Workflow: “Approval required” — custom approval gate for financial issue tickets; automate status changes.
  

18. Workday

• Function: “Expense Workflow Routing” — rule-based approvals triggered by expense submission event.
  

19. FreshBooks

• Module: “Expense Approvals” — configure approval rules by vendor or grant; notify via email.
  

20. HubSpot

• Workflow: “Deal or Ticket Approvals” — route payment requests above thresholds to finance supervisor for signoff.
  

21. Airtable

• Automation: “Record enters ‘Needs Approval’ view” — email stakeholder and log action in base.
  

22. Box

• Feature: “Workflow Automations” — on file upload (e.g., vendor contract), request digital approval from assigned users.
  

Benefits

1. Reduces manual errors and delays in payment processing.

2. Ensures compliance with grants, donor restrictions, and policy.

3. Increases transparency with a full digital audit trail.

4. Accelerates operational efficiency, freeing staff for mission-critical work.

5. Scales easily across more departments, chapters, or nationwide advocacy campaigns.