How does Cash Advance Workflow determine the default approver

[faye]

Our Cash advance workflow has 3 Expense Approver lines. How does the system determine if it's for the default cash advance approver when the only role available is Expense Approver?

Thanks!

[asansolo · Accepted solution]

Hi @faye thank you for reaching out here in the Community with your question.

When your Cash Advance workflow contains multiple Expense Approver steps (lines), the system determines which step routes to the default cash advance approver based on how the workflow is configured and how the approver is assigned in the employee's profile — not by a distinct role name, since the role used is "Expense Approver" throughout.

Here is how the determination works:

How the Default Cash Advance Approver Is Identified

• In the Cash Advance workflow, the Expense Approver role is used for the approval step(s). The cash advance approver may or may not be the employee's manager and may or may not be the same as the employee's expense report approver.
• When the default Cash Advance workflow is used as-is (with the Expense Approver step intact), the system routes the cash advance request to the cash advance approver defined in the employee's profile — this is the designated "default cash advance approver."
• This approver is set at the user/employee profile level in User Administration (Expense Admin → User Accounts → Edit User), where a specific person is assigned as the cash advance approver for that employee.

What Distinguishes the Three Expense Approver Lines

Since all three steps share the "Expense Approver" role, the distinction between them is determined by:

1. Step Order — The workflow processes steps sequentially. The first Expense Approver step in the order is typically the one mapped to the default cash advance approver defined in the employee profile.
2. Step Rules / Conditions — Each step can have Step Rules configured that define conditions under which the step is executed or skipped. This allows the system to route to different approvers based on criteria (e.g., amount thresholds, exception codes).
3. Approver Assignment in the Step — Within the workflow step configuration, a specific approver or approver logic (e.g., "Change Approver") can be hardcoded into the step, overriding the profile-based default.

Key Distinction: Default vs. Additional Approver Steps

• The first Expense Approver step in the Cash Advance workflow is treated as the default cash advance approver step, pulling the approver from the employee's profile assignment.
• Any additional Expense Approver steps (2nd or 3rd lines) are supplemental approval steps, typically driven by Step Rules or specific approver assignments configured directly in the workflow.

Note: Authorized Approver role is not applicable to Cash Advance workflows — it applies only to expense report workflows. All approval steps in a Cash Advance workflow use the Expense Approver role.

Recommended Action

To clarify which of your three Expense Approver lines maps to the default cash advance approver, review:

• Administration → Expense → Workflows → open your Cash Advance workflow → inspect each step's Step Order, Step Rules, and any Change Approver settings.
• Confirm the employee profile has the correct cash advance approver assigned under User Accounts.

I hope this helps!

[faye]

Hi @asansolo! Thank you, this is veru helpful!

I submitted this inquiry cause in our current workflow, our first step is supposed to be the Line Manager/default cash advance approver on profile but it's going to the manager's manager for some reason. Note that we have a skip step condition for this Line Manage step. Is it because of the skip step?

Thanks!