Travel Request and Approval Workflow

What happens if a request is exactly $3,000 — does it go to the manager or finance?

You set the exact threshold logic when you customise the routing step in assess.one, so you decide whether $3,000 counts as 'under' or 'over' the manager limit. Most teams set it so $3,000 and above routes to finance, keeping the boundary unambiguous. You can adjust this cutoff at any time without rebuilding the workflow.

Can this handle trips that need both manager and finance sign-off, like high-cost trips with a policy exception?

Yes — you can customise the approval routing logic to add a second review step for cases like policy exceptions or unusually high costs. This might mean finance reviews after the manager approves, or both review in parallel, depending on how you configure the step in assess.one. The workflow structure supports adding these extra checkpoints without disrupting the standard under-$3,000 path.

What happens if the manager rejects the request?

The workflow captures the manager's rejection reason directly in the record and automatically notifies the traveller with that explanation. The traveller can then adjust the details — dates, cost, purpose — and resubmit through the same request record rather than starting a new one. This keeps the full history of rejections and edits in one place for later reference.

What if we have multiple cost centres or approval chains for different departments?

You can configure department-specific routing rules and approver assignments directly in assess.one, so requests from different cost centres go to the correct manager or finance contact. This is set up in the approval routing step and can be updated any time your org structure changes. No separate workflow is needed per department unless your approval logic differs significantly.

How long does it take to get this workflow running for our team?

Publishing the template takes minutes — there's no implementation project or software installation involved. Once published, your team can start submitting travel requests immediately, and approvers see requests routed to them right away. You can refine steps, notifications, or approval thresholds after go-live without any downtime.

Who needs access to this workflow?

At minimum, employees submitting travel requests, their direct managers, and finance approvers for requests above the threshold need access. You control these permissions inside assess.one, assigning roles so managers only see requests they're responsible for and finance only sees escalated ones. Admins can adjust access as team structures or approval responsibilities change.

Can we customise the travel policy checks the manager or finance reviews against?

Yes — the policy review step is fully editable, so you can add checklist items, cost caps, or documentation requirements specific to your company's travel policy. Managers and finance reviewers see these criteria directly in the record when they review the request. Updates to policy criteria can be made in the platform at any time and apply to future submissions immediately.

What happens if finance rejects a request that the manager already approved?

Finance's rejection reason is captured separately from the manager's decision, and the traveller receives a notification specific to the finance rejection with that explanation. The request status reverts so the traveller can revise the estimated cost or details and resubmit through the same routing logic. The manager approval record stays intact as part of the audit history, even if finance ultimately rejects.

Is there an audit trail for compliance or expense reporting purposes?

Every status change, approval decision, rejection reason, and notification is logged against the travel request record automatically. This gives finance and compliance teams a complete, timestamped history without needing to reconstruct approvals from email threads. Records remain accessible in assess.one for reporting or audit review whenever needed.

Can we add notifications to other stakeholders, like the traveller's team or finance for budget tracking?

Yes — notification steps are configurable, so you can add recipients such as team leads, budget owners, or a shared finance inbox at any decision point. This is set up directly in the notification configuration inside assess.one without needing external integration work. You can adjust who gets notified and at which step as your reporting needs evolve.