Supplier invoice approval workflows

Purpose

1. Automate, accelerate, and standardize the supplier invoice approval process for Haute French restaurants, ensuring regulatory compliance, reducing manual effort, preventing errors, supporting multi-signatory chains, and enhancing financial governance in the food & beverage sector.

2. Enables automated multi-channel alerts, digital archiving, centralized status dashboards, policy checks, audit trails, and vendor communication for efficient invoice routing and approval across both single- and multi-location establishments.

Trigger Conditions

1. Automated invoice upload via email receipt, dedicated upload portal, or EDI from a supplier.

2. Detection of new invoice records in ERP or accounting software.

3. Manual request trigger by finance/admin staff for approval on pending or paper-based invoices.

Platform Variants

1. Microsoft Power Automate

• Feature/Setting: "When a new email arrives (V3)" + "Start an approval" — automate detection of invoices in shared inbox and initiate an approval workflow.
  

2. Zapier

• Feature/Setting: "New File in Gmail" + "Push to Approval Donkey" — automate pulling vendor invoices from email and initiating 2-step approval with reminders.
  

3. DocuSign

• Feature/Setting: "Envelope Approval Workflow" — automate collecting digital signatures and routing PDF invoices to pre-configured approvers.
  

4. QuickBooks Online

• Feature/Setting: "Create Bill" API + "Bill Approval Workflow" — automated creation of bill with invoice upload triggering internal approval sequence.
  

5. Xero

• Feature/Setting: "Bills to Pay API" + automated approval rules — invoice parsing and automated status update to next reviewer.
  

6. SAP Ariba

• Feature/Setting: "Invoice Collaboration" API — automate supplier invoice intake and multi-level automated approval flows.
  

7. Netsuite

• Feature/Setting: "SuiteFlow" automation — supplier invoice event triggers multi-tiered automated approval path with full audit record.
  

8. Trello

• Feature/Setting: Butler automation "When a card with attachment is added to ‘Invoices’ list" — automatedly move, assign, and notify finance staff for approval.
  

9. Google Workspace

• Feature/Setting: Google Apps Script — automate parsing invoice PDFs from Gmail, logging records to Sheets, requesting approval automatedly via Google Chat.
  

10. Slack

• Feature/Setting: Workflow Builder + incoming webhook — auto-post supplier invoice to #Approvals channel for automated thumbs-up or -down workflow.
  

11. Approve.com

• Feature/Setting: Automated approval rules and API — parse invoice data, automatedly route for compliance review, capture action/approval logs.
  

12. ServiceNow

• Feature/Setting: "Flow Designer" + "Approvals" — automate ticket creation, assign to compliance managers, automate reminders/escalations.
  

13. Coupa

• Feature/Setting: Invoice Automation API — synchronize supplier invoice input/output, trigger multi-stage approvals with automated escalation logic.
  

14. monday.com

• Feature/Setting: Automation recipes — "When file added to item, assign to Finance" — automatedly update progress/status on approval boards.
  

15. Airtable

• Feature/Setting: Automations — "When record meets conditions, send approval request" — notify managers on invoice upload.
  

16. FreshBooks

• Feature/Setting: Invoice Approval API — automate approval request when new bill is entered or attached.
  

17. Email (SMTP/IMAP)

• Feature/Setting: Automated parsing (Mailparser, Parseur) — extract PDF invoice data and automatedly forward for approval cycle.
  

18. Dropbox

• Feature/Setting: "File upload triggers" — automate notification to finance team, launch approval form on file creation in shared folder.
  

19. Atlassian Jira

• Feature/Setting: Automation for Jira — "When issue updated with attachment, start review and approval flow".
  

20. Kissflow

• Feature/Setting: Invoice Approval Workflow Template — digitize, automate, track multistage approval and compliance for supplier invoices.
  

Benefits

1. Reduces operational delays by automatedly routing invoices for fast tracked approval.

2. Ensures process compliance and audit-ready trails via automation.

3. Minimizes manual errors, redundant communication, and approval bottlenecks.

4. Accelerates supplier payments and strengthens vendor relationships using automatable workflows.

5. Enables real-time spend visibility, digital document archiving, and automates regulatory policy enforcement.