How it works
Overview
Smart Approval adds configurable approval and validation logic to Business Central documents (sales, purchase, etc.). Workflows are defined per supported flow; each flow exposes a subform where you enable document types and configure criteria.
Flow structure
Flows are listed on the Smart Approvals page. Drill into a flow (for example, Sales Order) to open the cart/subform where setup is configured. By clicking on Suggest Smart Approval Criteria we, promt page will open where users can describe, in natural language, how they want their approval process to work. On the prompt page,
There are different types of approvals: The different types of approvals are:
- Approval: Requires explicit approval from the assigned approver before the process can continue. The workflow is blocked until approval is granted.
- Warning: Notifies the user about the condition but allows the process to continue without interruption. It’s informational and does not block actions.
- Error: Blocks the process due to a validation failure. The user must resolve the issue before proceeding.
- Notification: Sends an alert or message to the user or approver, but does not block or require approval.
Document vs line-level calculation
- Criteria calculation can use line-level dimensions (department, customer group, item attributes), but approvals are applied at the document level. The system calculates approvers per criteria and then creates document-level approval entries.
Validation and warning behaviors
- Criteria can produce three outcomes: approve-route trigger, warning, or error (validation). Errors block processing; warnings notify the user and allow them to proceed or abort.
Related information: