Approvals

​

Introduction

If you are a manager or designated approver, you can review and act on expense reports directly from the Smartbills mobile app. Push notifications alert you when reports are submitted for your review, and you can approve, reject, or request changes from anywhere.

​

Accessing Pending Approvals

There are several ways to reach your approval queue:

• Push notification: Tap the notification when a new report is submitted for your review
• Home tab: Pending approvals appear in the Action Required section on your dashboard
• Menu tab: Tap Approvals to see all reports awaiting your review

The approvals list shows each report with the submitter’s name, report title, total amount, and the date it was submitted. Reports are sorted by submission date with the most recent at the top.

​

Reviewing a Report

Tap a report from the approvals list to open it and review the details. The report detail screen shows:

• Report summary: Title, description, business purpose, and total amount
• Submitter information: Name and department of the employee who submitted the report
• Expense list: All individual expenses included in the report
• Category breakdown: Total amounts grouped by expense category

​

Reviewing Individual Expenses

Tap any expense in the list to see its full details, including:

• Merchant name, amount, and date
• Category assignment
• Attached receipt image (tap to view full screen and zoom)
• Notes from the submitter

​

Approving a Report

Once you have reviewed all expenses and are satisfied:

1. Tap the Approve button at the bottom of the report screen
2. Optionally add a comment for the submitter
3. Tap Confirm Approval

The submitter receives a push notification that their report has been approved.

​

Quick Approve from Notification

When you receive a push notification for a new approval request, you can approve directly from the notification banner without opening the app:

1. Long press (iOS) or expand (Android) the notification
2. Tap Approve from the notification actions
3. The report is approved and the submitter is notified

​

Rejecting a Report

If a report does not meet your approval criteria:

1. Tap the Reject button at the bottom of the report screen
2. Enter a reason for the rejection (required)
3. Tap Confirm Rejection

The submitter receives a push notification with your rejection reason and can revise and resubmit the report.

​

Requesting Changes

If a report is mostly acceptable but needs minor corrections:

1. Tap Request Changes from the action menu
2. Enter a description of what changes are needed
3. Tap Send Request

The report status changes to Changes Required and the submitter is notified. They can make the requested modifications and resubmit without creating a new report.

​

Approval History

To view reports you have previously approved, rejected, or returned for changes:

1. Go to Menu > Approvals
2. Tap the History tab at the top of the screen
3. Browse your past approval actions with dates and comments

​

Configuring Approval Notifications

To manage which approval notifications you receive:

1. Go to Menu > Settings > Notifications
2. Under Approvals, toggle the notification types:
   • New approval request: When a report is submitted for your review
   • Report recalled: When a submitter recalls a report you were reviewing
   • Report resubmitted: When a previously rejected or returned report is resubmitted

See Notifications for full notification configuration details.

​

What’s Next?