A route with no signature at the end
A request doesn’t have to end in a signature. For an invoice, every step is an approval:
- The person who ordered it confirms it. The goods arrived, or the work was done.
- Finance approves. Any one of the team. Team and above
- The CFO approves, above your limit. Only when the amount calls for it. Business and above
Each approver can approve, reject with a reason, or ask for changes, such as a corrected invoice from the supplier. Add accounts payable as someone who receives a copy, and the approved invoice and its certificate reach them when the last approval is in.
Set it up once
Save the route as a template with the details your accounts team needs: the supplier, the invoice number, the amount, the cost centre. The invoice itself goes in as the document, or as a supporting PDF behind your own approval form. The details are written onto the form and used in the request’s title, such as “Invoice 2291, Bluegum Office Fitouts”, so the requests list reads like your payables.
From your accounts system
On Business and above, your accounts payable system can send each invoice for approval through the REST API as it arrives, with the details filled in. Webhooks tell it when an invoice is approved, rejected or sent back for changes, so it can be paid, or taken up with the supplier, without anyone retyping it.
Where to be careful
Payment redirection scams usually arrive as an invoice that looks right but has new bank details. Approving an invoice doesn’t check the bank details on it, and neither does Refrendo. Confirm any new or changed bank details by phone, on a number you already had, before anyone pays.
Approvals follow the rules you set, not your delegation of authority. Pass an approval only to someone whose delegation covers the amount. Refrendo records the handover; it does not know your delegation limits.