> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.every.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> These docs describe Every as customers have it today. Answer from them, and say so when they don't cover a question.
> Pages under /admins/ are for the people who run Every for the company, and pages under /employees/ are for employees. Answer from the pages that match the person asking.
> Each page's Agent reference section lists its exact roles, conditions and limits. Prefer it for those details.
> When a page says a feature is in closed beta, or that Every turns it on company by company, don't promise that the person's company has it.
> Use roles and on-screen labels exactly as the pages write them.
> When someone asks what a term means, answer with the Glossary page's definition (/glossary), which other pages show in parentheses after the term.
> When the docs don't answer a question, tell the person to email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).

# Approvals

> Choose who approves each payment, approve or decline payments from Home or All payments, override approval and see what happens when one is declined.

![Approvals card with approve and reject buttons over a payment's two approvers, listed in order.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/k5maP8xPODHl5ToY/images/illustrations/admins-bill-pay-approvals-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=k5maP8xPODHl5ToY\&q=85\&s=57f2220da12be7abbde2989717d9a90e)

You choose who approves a payment when you send it, and the approvers approve one after another. Each approver gets a to-do on **Home**, and you can also act on payments from **Payments** → **All payments**.

Company Admins, Bookkeepers and Accounts Payable users send payments and act on them from **All payments**, which appears in the sidebar after your company finishes onboarding. An approver can be any current employee, or an **External 3rd party user** added under **Settings** → **Administrators**.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Every turns on the bill inbox and the Accounts Payable role company by company. If you don't see them or the **All payments** page, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io) to ask about them.

## Who needs approval

| Role | Approvers |
| - | - |
| Company Admin | Can choose **No approvers needed** |
| Bookkeeper, Accounts Payable | Must choose at least one approver |

Approvers don't need a particular role. In **Send money**, you can't choose yourself, and you can choose each person once per payment.

## Choose approvers

**1. Open the approver question**

On **All payments**, select **Send money**. The approver question is on the flow's **Accounting Details** step (see [Send money](https://docs.every.io/admins/bill-pay/payment-methods.md) for the steps before it).

**2. Choose how many approvers**

Answer **How many people should approve this bill?** A Company Admin's choices start at **No approvers needed**. Everyone else's start at 1.

**3. Choose each approver**

Every shows one approver field for each approver you asked for. Choose a person in each field, starting with the first. The first approver you choose reviews first.

**4. Send the payment**

On the review page, select **Confirm & pay**. Every shows "Payment sent for approval".

A Company Admin who sends money to one of the company's own accounts isn't asked about approvers. To change approvers after you confirm, see [Change a payment's approvers](#change-a-payments-approvers).

## What happens next

1. The first approver gets a to-do on **Home**. It starts "Approve the bill & pay" and ends with the vendor's name.
2. When they approve, the next approver gets a to-do. Each approver has to approve unless someone [overrides approval](#override-approval).
3. When the last approver approves, Every sends the payment unless it is scheduled for a later date.

If any approver declines, Every declines the whole payment and marks anyone still waiting **Skipped**. On **All payments**, a declined payment moves to the **Failed** tab with the stage **Declined**.

The **Approvals** list shows each approver's name, status and decision date:

| Status | What it means |
| - | - |
| **Approved** | The approver approved |
| **Currently reviewing** | It's this approver's turn |
| **Next approver** | The approver is waiting for the approvers before them |
| **Rejected** | The approver declined |
| **Skipped** | The payment was approved or declined before this approver decided |

You see the list on **Home**, in a payment's **Bill details** sheet.

On **All payments**, a payment opens either in a sheet that shows the list, or in a drawer that shows who approved it under **Approved by**. On the page titled **All payments**, the drawer also has an **Approvals** card. If **Payments** → **All payments** opens a page titled **Bills & Reimbursements**, the drawer has no approver list.

![Home, with a to-do under Things to do asking the approver to approve two bills.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/qvvudeZxc26V6Klz/images/screens/admins-bill-pay-approvals-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qvvudeZxc26V6Klz\&q=85\&s=73af21a808c449161924729bb3c62fff)

## Approve or decline a payment

### On Home

Select the to-do to open its **Bill details** sheet. Then:

* To approve, select **Approve** (**Approve & next** when another payment is waiting) and confirm.
* To decline, select **Reject**. In the dialog, enter a **Reason**, which is required, and select **Reject**.

![Bill details with the approvers' statuses and the Approve & next and Reject buttons.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/19nP2pdcB7HMtcYU/images/screens/admins-bill-pay-approvals-details-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=19nP2pdcB7HMtcYU\&q=85\&s=cf105c10cab1bd22f34cd154a7e67ae6)

### On All payments

* To approve one row on the page titled **All payments**, hover over it and select **Approve**, then confirm.
* To act on one payment, select its row, then select **Approve**, or **Decline** in its drawer (**Reject** in its sheet). Declining opens **Reason for rejection**: enter a reason and select **Reject**.
* To act in bulk, select rows on the **All** or **Needs approval** tab. To approve them, select the **Approve** button, which shows how many payments it covers and their total. To decline them, select **Actions** → **Decline**, enter a **Reason for rejection** and select **Decline**. Each action covers up to 100 payments.

If a payment's drawer shows **Missing vendor details**, **Approve** doesn't appear until Every has complete bank details for the vendor. Select **Add vendor details**.

## Override approval

A payment waits on you when it's in your to-dos on **Home**. **Approve** on one of those counts as your own approval, and the payment moves to the next approver.

**Approve** on a payment that isn't waiting on you is an override. It approves the whole payment right away, and anyone still waiting is marked **Skipped**. **Decline** always declines the whole payment.

* Only Company Admins can override. A Company Admin can override a payment they sent, but nobody can override a reimbursement paid to them.
* Bookkeepers and Accounts Payable users approve or decline only payments waiting on them.

## Change a payment's approvers

On the page titled **All payments**, select a payment that's waiting for approval. If it opens in a drawer, its **Approvals** card lists the approvers in order, and you can change them there:

* To add an approver, select **Add approver** and choose the person. Company Admins, Bookkeepers and Accounts Payable users can add approvers until the payment has 5, counting those who already approved.
* To replace an approver who hasn't decided yet, select their name and choose someone else. Only Company Admins can.
* To remove an approver who hasn't decided yet, hover over them and select the trash icon. Only Company Admins can, and the payment keeps at least one approver who hasn't decided.

Every saves each change as you make it. A reimbursement's **Approvals** card is read-only, and so is the **Approvals** list on **Home** and in a payment's sheet.

## Other payments

Every asks your company's signatory (A person allowed to sign documents and agreements on a company's behalf) to approve an API payment. The signatory gets a to-do like any other approver. Someone with permission to [override payment approvals](#override-approval) can approve it instead. The payment isn't sent to the bank until it's approved.

Reimbursements go through approval on the same pages, with their approvers chosen differently. See [Reimbursements](https://docs.every.io/admins/bill-pay/reimbursements.md).

## Agent reference

**Where:** Approvers are chosen in **Send money**, on the **Accounting Details** step. Payments waiting on approvers are on **Payments** → **All payments**, on the **Needs approval** tab (**Need approval** on the **Bills & Reimbursements** page). An approver's to-do is on **Home**.

**Who:** Company Admins, Bookkeepers and Accounts Payable users can open **All payments**, which appears in the sidebar after the company finishes onboarding. A person who holds none of those three roles can't open it. An approver can be any current employee, or an **External 3rd party user** added under **Settings** → **Administrators**. If **All payments** is missing, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io) to ask about it. Every turns on the bill inbox and the Accounts Payable role company by company. The bill inbox also follows the **Bill Pay** setting under **Settings** → **Accounting**.

### Facts

* The question **How many people should approve this bill?** is on the **Accounting Details** step of **Send money**.
* A Company Admin's choices for **How many people should approve this bill?** include **No approvers needed**. Approvers are optional only for a Company Admin.
* For a Bookkeeper or an Accounts Payable user, the choices for **How many people should approve this bill?** on **Send money** start at 1, and **Send money** won't continue without a number. The message reads "Number of approvers is required".
* The role description of Accounts Payable says an approver must be selected before a bill can be submitted.
* Each payment sent by someone without the Company Admin role needs approval. A payment sent with approvers is held until they approve it or someone with permission overrides approval.
* On the **Accounting Details** step of **Send money**, each approver is chosen under a label that reads "Select the 1st Approver", then "Select the 2nd Approver", "Select the 3rd Approver", and so on with a number and "th".
* A payment's approver can be any current employee of the company or one of its external users, such as an **External 3rd party user** added under **Settings** → **Administrators**. No particular role is needed.
* The approver picker on **Send money** leaves out the person sending the payment and anyone already chosen in another slot. People who have left the company aren't offered.
* Approvers chosen in **Send money** approve in order: only the first approver gets a to-do at the start, and the next approver gets a to-do after each approval.
* Unless someone with permission overrides approval, each approver in a payment's chain has to approve. One rejection declines the payment.
* When a payment is approved or declined, every approver still pending becomes **Skipped**, and their pending to-dos are cleared.
* When a payment is approved, by its last approver or by an override, Every sends it unless it is scheduled for a later date. A declined payment isn't sent.
* After **Send money** with approvers, the review page says "Payment sent for approval".
* The **Accounting Details** step doesn't ask a Company Admin about approvers when the payment is a transfer: the recipient is marked **No, this is my bank account** on its vendor sheet, or the Company Admin chose **No, this is a transfer. I'm not paying a vendor**. A Bookkeeper still sees the question for a transfer.
* A declined payment has the stage **Declined**, the status **Called off**, and sits on the **Failed** tab of **Payments** → **All payments**.
* On **Home**, the bill to-do reads "Approve 1 bill to pay", or the same with the count, such as "Approve 3 bills to pay", and each bill is a line reading "Approve the bill & pay" followed by the vendor. The count shows 10+ when more than 10 bills wait.
* Selecting a bill to-do on **Home** opens a sheet titled **Bill details**, with **Approve** (**Approve & next** when another is waiting) and **Reject**.
* The **Home** reject dialog asks for a **Reason**, and the **Reject** button needs one: the message reads "Reason for rejection is required".
* The **Home** toasts read "Request approved successfully" and "Request rejected".
* The **Approvals** list has the columns **Name**, **Status** and **Date**. **Date** shows a date only for an approver who approved or rejected.
* The statuses in the **Approvals** list are **Approved**, **Currently reviewing**, **Next approver**, **Rejected** and **Skipped**. **Currently reviewing** is the first approver still pending, and the other pending approvers read **Next approver**.
* The **Approvals** list shows on the **Home** sheet **Bill details**. On **Payments** → **All payments**, whether the page is titled **All payments** or **Bills & Reimbursements**, selecting a payment row opens either the payment's sheet, which shows the **Approvals** list, or the payment's drawer, which shows **Approved by** and, on the page titled **All payments**, an **Approvals** card instead of the list.
* A payment's drawer on **Payments** → **All payments** shows who approved the payment as **Approved by**. On the page titled **All payments**, the drawer of a payment or a reimbursement also has an **Approvals** card that lists each approver in order, as "1st approver", "2nd approver" and so on. On the page titled **Bills & Reimbursements**, the drawer has no approver list.
* While a payment waits for approval, the **Approvals** card in its drawer on **Payments** → **All payments**, on the page titled **All payments**, lets Company Admins, Bookkeepers and Accounts Payable users add approvers with **Add approver** until the payment has 5, counting those who already approved. Only Company Admins can replace or remove an approver who hasn't decided yet, and the payment keeps at least one waiting approver. Each change saves as it's made.
* In the **Approvals** card of a payment's drawer on **Payments** → **All payments**, only a Company Admin can add themselves, and the person who sent the payment can be added only if they're a Company Admin. A reimbursement's **Approvals** card there is read-only.
* A payment's drawer on **Payments** → **All payments** has the buttons **Approve** (**Approve & next** when another is waiting) and **Decline**. A payment's sheet there has **Approve** (**Approve & next**) and **Reject**.
* Declining from a payment's drawer or sheet on **Payments** → **All payments** opens **Reason for rejection**. Its **Reject** button needs a reason of at least 2 characters: "Reason must be at least 2 characters."
* Approving from a payment's drawer or sheet on **Payments** → **All payments** opens a confirmation whose button is **Approve** (**Approve & next** when another is waiting).
* On **Payments** → **All payments**, when the page is titled **All payments**, hovering over a row on any tab shows **Open**, and **Approve** before it on a payment waiting for approval that the person can approve.
* On **Payments** → **All payments**, hover **Approve** asks "Approve this payment?" and says "This will approve and schedule the payment." Its toast reads "Payment approved".
* On **Payments** → **All payments**, a payment row has no hover **Decline**. A payment is declined from its drawer or sheet, or in bulk.
* The bulk bar on the **All** and **Needs approval** tabs says how many are selected, such as "3 selected", and has an **Approve** button that shows the number of payments and their total, and an **Actions** menu with **Decline**. Each bulk action covers at most 100 payments.
* Bulk **Decline** on **Payments** → **All payments** asks with the count, such as "Decline 3 payments?", says "This cannot be undone for bills already in an approval chain." and needs a **Reason for rejection** of at least 2 characters. Its button is **Decline**.
* On **Payments** → **All payments**, selecting more than 100 payments for bulk approval shows "Select at most 100 payments to approve at a time". Selecting more than 100 for bulk decline shows "Select at most 100 invoices to decline at a time".
* A payment's drawer on **Payments** → **All payments** hides **Approve** until Every has complete bank details for the vendor. The drawer then shows **Missing vendor details**, a message saying Every needs complete bank details for the vendor before the payment can be approved, and the button **Add vendor details**.
* Only a Company Admin can approve or decline any payment on **Payments** → **All payments**, whether the page is titled **All payments** or **Bills & Reimbursements**. Bookkeepers and Accounts Payable users approve or decline there only payments in their **Home** to-dos.
* When a payment is in a person's **Home** to-dos, **Approve** from **All payments** counts as their own approval and the payment moves to the next approver.
* A Company Admin's **Approve** from **Payments** → **All payments** on a payment that isn't in their **Home** to-dos approves the whole payment, and their name shows under **Approved by** and in the **Approved By** column. Each approver still pending becomes **Skipped**.
* **Decline** from **All payments** declines the whole payment, marks every approver still pending **Skipped** and clears the approvers' to-dos.
* Only Company Admins can override approval. Nobody can override a reimbursement paid to them, and a Company Admin can override a payment they sent.
* An approver acting on their own approval isn't an override.
* The **Approved By** column lists who approved so far on the payment tabs of **All payments**, and starts hidden on the **All** tab. The payment tabs have an **Approved by** filter.
* The **Need approval** tab on the **Bills & Reimbursements** page has an **Approvers** column.
* Every assigns an API payment to the company's signatory for approval, and the signatory gets a to-do for it. Someone with permission to override payment approvals can approve it instead. The payment isn't sent to the bank until it's approved.
* A reimbursement's approver list is limited to Company Admins and, when the company requires manager approval for reimbursements, the employee's managers. A reimbursement has its own **Home** to-do that starts "Approve" and gives the amount and the employee, and shows on **All payments** with the type **Reimbursement**.
* The **Approvals** list in **Bill details** on **Home** and in a payment's sheet on **Payments** → **All payments** is read-only: it has no controls to add, remove or change an approver.

### Questions people ask

* **Who approves a payment?** The approvers its sender chose on the **Accounting Details** step of **Send money**, one after another. A Company Admin can send with **No approvers needed**.
* **Do I need an approver as a Bookkeeper?** Yes. A Bookkeeper must choose at least one approver, and so must an Accounts Payable user.
* **Can a Company Admin skip approvers?** Yes, by choosing **No approvers needed** on the **Accounting Details** step.
* **Can I approve my own payment?** Only as a Company Admin, by overriding approval. The **Send money** picker leaves out the person sending the payment, and Bookkeepers and Accounts Payable users can't override.
* **Who can be an approver?** Any current employee, and any external user your company has added, such as an **External 3rd party user** added under **Settings** → **Administrators**. The approver needs no particular role.
* **Does an approver need a role such as Company Admin?** No. Approvers need no particular role.
* **Where does an approver approve?** On **Home**, from the to-do "Approve the bill & pay" followed by the vendor.
* **In what order do approvers approve?** In the order the sender chose them. The first approver gets a to-do first, and the next approver gets one after each approval.
* **Do all approvers have to approve?** Yes, unless someone with permission overrides approval. An override approves the whole payment and marks the remaining approvers **Skipped**.
* **What happens if one approver declines?** Every declines the whole payment and marks anyone still waiting **Skipped**.
* **Where do I find a declined payment?** On the **Failed** tab of **Payments** → **All payments**, with the stage **Declined** and the status **Called off**.
* **Does declining need a reason?** On **Home**, yes: the **Reject** dialog needs a **Reason**. On **All payments**, yes, in a payment's drawer or sheet and in bulk: **Reason for rejection** needs at least 2 characters.
* **How do I approve several payments at once?** On the **All** or **Needs approval** tab of **All payments**, select the rows and select the **Approve** button that shows the count and total. Each action covers at most 100 payments.
* **Why is there no Approve button on a payment?** On **Payments** → **All payments**, a payment's drawer that shows **Missing vendor details** hides **Approve** until Every has complete bank details for the vendor. Select **Add vendor details** in the drawer. A payment on **Payments** → **All payments** that you can't approve or decline shows neither **Approve** nor **Decline**: it isn't waiting on you, and either you aren't a Company Admin or it's a reimbursement paid to you.
* **Can a Bookkeeper approve a payment that isn't waiting on them?** No. Only a Company Admin can override approval.
* **What does Skipped mean?** The payment was approved or declined before that approver decided, so their approval wasn't needed.
* **What happens to the remaining approvers when a Company Admin approves a payment that isn't waiting on them?** Every approves the whole payment right away and marks the approvers still waiting **Skipped**.
* **Where do I see a payment's full list of approvers?** In the **Approvals** list on **Home**, in **Bill details**, and in a payment's sheet on **Payments** → **All payments**. On the page titled **All payments**, a payment's drawer has an **Approvals** card. On the page titled **Bills & Reimbursements**, the drawer shows **Approved by** only.
* **Who approves a payment created through the API?** Every asks the company's signatory to approve it. Someone with permission to override payment approvals can approve it instead. The payment isn't sent to the bank until it's approved.
* **Where do I find reimbursement approvals?** They are on the same pages, **Home** and **All payments**, with approvers chosen differently. See [Reimbursements](https://docs.every.io/admins/bill-pay/reimbursements.md).
* **Can I add or change an approver after sending?** Yes, while the payment waits for approval, on **Payments** → **All payments** when the page is titled **All payments** and the payment opens in a drawer. In the drawer's **Approvals** card, Company Admins, Bookkeepers and Accounts Payable users can select **Add approver**. Only Company Admins can replace or remove an approver who hasn't decided yet. A reimbursement's **Approvals** card on **Payments** → **All payments** is read-only, and so is the **Approvals** list in **Bill details** on **Home** and in a payment's sheet on **Payments** → **All payments**.

### Not covered here

* How many approvers **Send money** allows at most. The hint in **How many people should approve this bill?** reads "Up to 5 approvers". To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Whether the person who sent a declined payment is told the reason, and where the reason shows. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Whether your company can set company-wide approval rules or amount limits for bills. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Whether an **External 3rd party user** can approve from **Home**. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).


## Related topics

- [Accounting settings](https://docs.every.io/admins/settings/accounting.md)
- [Timesheets](https://docs.every.io/admins/time/overview.md)
- [FAQ](https://docs.every.io/admins/getting-started/faq.md)
- [Reimbursements](https://docs.every.io/admins/bill-pay/reimbursements.md)
- [Submit a reimbursement](https://docs.every.io/employees/reimbursements.md)


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