> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.dash.fi/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Approval workflows

> Gate card requests, bill payments, and vendor changes behind a configurable review process.

Approval workflows let you put a review step in front of high-impact spend actions before anything executes. Admins define the rules. When an action triggers a policy, it routes to the right approver automatically. If approved, Dash.fi fulfils the underlying operation — no manual follow-through needed.

## What requires approval

Approval workflows apply across three areas:

* **Card requests** — employees request a card with a name, spend limit, category restrictions, and cardholder. The policy determines whether it auto-approves or routes to a manager.
* **Bill payments** — bills can be gated before payment is initiated.
* **Vendor management** — creating a vendor, updating vendor details, and adding or changing vendor payment methods all support approval routing.

## How routing works

Each action type has a policy attached to it. When a request is submitted, the policy evaluates it and one of three things happens:

1. **Auto-approved** — the request meets the criteria and is fulfilled immediately, no human review needed
2. **Routed for review** — an approval request is sent to the designated approver
3. **Auto-declined** — the request fails the policy check and is rejected

Once a request is live, the system handles follow-up: automatic reminders go to approvers with pending requests, and escalations trigger if a request isn't acted on within the configured window.

## Request lifecycle

```
Draft → Submitted → Approved → Fulfilment in progress → Fulfilled
                 ↘ Declined
                 ↘ Returned → (requester revises) → Resubmitted → …
```

* **Draft** — created but not yet sent to a decider
* **Submitted** — in the approver's queue, pending a decision
* **Approved** — Dash.fi is executing the underlying operation
* **Declined** — rejected; the action won't proceed
* **Returned** — sent back to the requester for revision; not a hard rejection
* **Fulfilled** — the operation completed successfully

## Where approvals surface

| Action type        | Location in Dash.fi         |
| ------------------ | --------------------------- |
| Card requests      | Inline in card management   |
| Bill pay approvals | Bill Pay → Pending Approval |
| Vendor approvals   | Vendors → For Approval      |

Approvers have a dedicated view showing only the requests assigned to them.

## Notes and collaboration

Any party can add notes to an approval request — useful for approvers to explain a decision or for submitters to add context upfront. Notes are visible to all parties involved and preserved in the audit trail.

## Audit trail

Every approval request records when it was submitted, who submitted it, when a decision was made, who decided, and when fulfilment completed. The full history is available on each request.

## Configuring policies

Approval policies are self-service — admins configure them in **Company → Policy** without any help from Dash.fi. See [Policy Manager](/spend-management/policy-manager) for a full guide to building and managing rules.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Who can be assigned as an approver?">
    Policies can route to a specific user, a user group, a role, or a structural role like a user group manager. This lets you mirror your org chart without hard-coding individual names.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What's the difference between Declined and Returned?">
    Declined is terminal — the approver said no and the action won't proceed. Returned sends the request back to the submitter for revision and resubmission. It's not a hard rejection.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can actions be auto-approved without a human reviewer?">
    Yes. Policies can be configured to auto-approve requests that meet certain criteria — so low-risk or routine actions don't create unnecessary friction.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does the system chase approvers for pending requests?">
    Yes. Automatic reminders go out to approvers with requests sitting in their queue. Escalation triggers if a request isn't actioned within the configured window.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who configures the approval rules?">
    Org admins configure policies themselves in Dash.fi. No involvement from Dash.fi's team is required.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>