Workflow Template
Budget Approval Workflow
Enables a department or project owner to submit a new budget or a budget change request with supporting calculations. Finance reviews the request, routes it to a manager or finance director based on the requested amount, and on approval records it as approved and notifies the owner. If changes are requested, the submission is returned to the owner to revise and resubmit.
Budget requests often stall because there's no clear path for review, and approvers don't know who should sign off on what amount. This workflow lets a department or project owner submit a budget request with supporting calculations, then automatically routes it to a manager or finance director based on the amount requested. Finance teams and approvers run it directly in assess.one, with every decision, revision, and approval logged against the request.
Business Outcomes
- Cut budget approval turnaround time by removing email back-and-forth
- Ensure every request over a set threshold reaches the finance director automatically
- Reduce approval errors with a single audit trail of finance review notes and decisions
- Give owners instant notification of approval or requested changes
- Standardise revision cycles so resubmissions go straight back into finance review
Workflow Steps
Steps
- 1Create Budget Request Recordcreate record
Registers the submitted budget request or change as a record.
- 2Set Status: Submittedupdate record
Marks the request as submitted.
- 3Finance Reviewcreate task
Finance reviews the submission for completeness and accuracy before routing for approval.
- 4Persist Finance Review Notes & Statusupdate record
Saves finance's review notes to the record and marks it under review.
- 5Route by Requested Amount
Routes smaller requests to a manager and larger requests to the finance director.
requested_amount: "25000"→Set Status: Under Finance Director ReviewDefault→Set Status: Under Manager Review - 6Set Status: Under Manager Reviewupdate record
Marks the request as under manager review.
- 7Manager Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval
Manager reviews and approves or requests changes to the budget request.
- 8Route Manager Approval Outcome
Branches based on the manager's approval decision.
approval_status: "approved"→Mark Budget Approvedapproval_status: "rejected"→Mark Changes RequestedDefault→End - 9Set Status: Under Finance Director Reviewupdate record
Marks the request as under finance director review.
- 10Finance Director Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval
Finance director reviews and approves or requests changes to the larger budget request.
- 11Route Finance Director Approval Outcome
Branches based on the finance director's approval decision.
approval_status: "approved"→Mark Budget Approvedapproval_status: "rejected"→Mark Changes RequestedDefault→End - 12Mark Budget Approvedupdate record
Records the budget request as approved.
- 13Notify Stakeholders of Approvalsend email
Emails the owner to confirm the budget request has been approved.
- 14Mark Changes Requestedupdate record
Records that changes have been requested on the submission.
- 15Notify Owner: Changes Requestedsend email
Emails the owner asking them to revise and resubmit the budget request.
- 16Owner Revises Budget Requestcreate task
Owner updates the requested amount, purpose, and supporting calculations before resubmission.
- 17Restart Finance Reviewrestart from step
Restarts the workflow from finance review with the revised submission.
Fields
- Owner Name*
- Owner Email*
- Request Type*
- Department*
- Budget Period (e.g. FY2025 Q3)*
- Purpose of Budget / Change*
- +6 more fields
Forms
Budget Request / Change Submission
8 fields
Data Views
All Budget Requests
budget_request_ref, department, budget_period, requested_amount +2 more
Dashboard Widgets
Recommended integrations
Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.
Send email in the workflow
AWS SES
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FAQs
How do I set up this budget approval workflow?
Publish the template in assess.one and it's live immediately. There's no software to install or IT project to run. You then customise the approval thresholds, reviewer roles, and notification settings to match your finance policy.
How long does implementation take?
Publishing takes minutes. Once it's live, your team can start submitting and reviewing budget requests straight away. There's no separate implementation phase or rollout delay.
Can I change the amount thresholds that trigger manager vs finance director review?
Yes. The routing logic is configured directly inside assess.one. Update the amount thresholds at any time without needing developer support.
Who needs access to this workflow?
Department or project owners who submit requests, the finance team who reviews them, and the manager or finance director who approves them all need access. You assign these roles inside assess.one when you publish the template.
What happens if a budget request is sent back for changes?
The owner is notified automatically and can revise the submission directly in the workflow. Once resubmitted, it restarts finance review from the top, so nothing skips the approval chain.
Can I add extra approval steps or approvers?
Yes. Approval logic, roles, and notification steps are all editable inside assess.one. You can add extra sign-off stages or change who reviews at each amount tier without rebuilding the workflow.
How are finance review notes captured?
Finance review notes and status are persisted as part of the request record at each stage. This creates a running record you can refer back to for audits or disputes.
How does notification work when a budget is approved?
Once the request is marked approved, stakeholders are notified automatically through assess.one's built-in notifications. You configure who receives these alerts, whether that's the owner, a department head, or the wider team.
Does this workflow support compliance or audit requirements?
Every status change, review note, and approval decision is logged against the request as it moves through the workflow. This gives you a clear audit trail of who approved what and when.
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