Bill approval workflows
A bill approval workflow in Cleo Pay decides who must sign off on a bill before anyone can pay it, based on the bill amount. Set steps by role or by teammate, from a department head to the owner, for restaurants, venues, hotels and event companies.
Rules by amount
Each workflow covers an amount range, so small bills and large bills follow different paths.
Steps by role or teammate
Send a step to a role such as Approver or to a named teammate, and set how many approvals it needs.
Policy in plain English
Write your AP policy in a sentence and Cleo drafts the matching rules. In early access.
How it works
How bill approvals work
Create a workflow for an amount range and add the approval steps in order.
A new bill waits in Awaiting Approval until each step signs off.
Once approved, the bill moves to Ready to Pay. Nobody can pay it before then.
Decide who can create, approve and pay.
Roles carry permissions across Pay, Get Paid, Contacts, Budgets and more. Use the default Payer and Approver roles or build your own, so approving and paying can sit with different people.
See a demo- Amount ranges with approval steps in order
- Steps assigned to a role or a named teammate, with a required number of approvals
- Custom roles next to the default Payer and Approver roles
- Admin approval when a bill goes over its budget
Why it matters
Nothing paid early
A bill cannot be paid until its approvals are complete.
Email updates
Each teammate chooses which payment and invoice emails they receive.
Fits your plan
Starter includes single-step approvals. Growth and Max add multi-step routing, and Custom adds custom rules.
Questions
What is a bill approval workflow?
It is a set of rules for who must approve a bill before it can be paid. In Cleo Pay, rules follow the bill amount and each step goes to a role or a teammate.
Can bills of different amounts need different approvers?
Yes. Each workflow covers an amount range, so a small delivery and a large contract can follow different approval steps.
Can a bill be paid before it is approved?
No. A bill stays in Awaiting Approval until its required approvals are in, and only then can it be paid.
Which Cleo Pay plans include multi-step approvals?
Starter includes single-step approvals. Growth and Max add multi-step routing, and Custom adds custom approval rules.
What is the AP policy feature?
You describe your approval rules in plain English and Cleo drafts structured rules for you to review and publish. Rules can use the amount, vendor, category and tags. It is in early access.