Bookings that need approval are reviewed by an approver. Previously, this was configured separately inside each group. With Global Approval Workflows, approval rules are now set up once, in one place, and apply across every group in your company.
What's changing
- Approval rules used to live inside each group's Approvals tab. They now live in one company-wide screen: Settings → Approval Workflows.
- A rule you create here applies to every group at once — you no longer need to recreate the same rule five times for five groups.
- Two new conditions are available that weren't possible before: Group and Department. These let you scope a global rule to specific groups or departments when you still need that level of control.
- Group-level approval settings still exist, but they now serve as a fallback only — used only when no global rule matches a booking.
- Rule logic itself hasn't changed: conditions, approvers, and double-approval all work the same way as before.
Migration: your existing group-level rules are migrated automatically as part of this change. The default approver(s) currently set in each group's Approvals tab carry over unchanged and become that group's fallback approver — used only when no global rule matches a booking. No action is needed on your part for the migration itself.
Getting started (setting up approval rules)
- Go to Settings → Approval Workflows.
- Click + Add Rule.
- Select the criteria that define when a booking needs a different approver (or multiple approvers).
- Select the right approver(s) for the rule. Note that bookings are always processed on a first-approval basis — if you set two approvers, the first approver always reviews the booking first.
That's it — once saved, an active rule applies to every group (if applicable) in your company immediately.
The different approval rules explained
When creating a rule, you'll select 1) the approver(s), and 2) the conditions that trigger the rule.
Rule priority (replaces booking-type hierarchy)
Previously, a specific booking type rule (e.g. Flights) automatically took priority over a generic "any booking" rule. Under Global Approval Workflows, priority is no longer implicit — it's explicit and visible:
- All rules are listed in numbered priority order on the Approval Workflows page.
- Rules are checked top-down. The first rule whose conditions all match wins, and it's used for that booking.
- You can reorder rules at any time by dragging them up or down.
- If no rule matches a booking at all, it falls back to the traveller's group default approver
Example — a flight rule (Cost > SGD 1000) is priority 1, and an "any booking" rule (Cost > SGD 500) is priority 2:
- A flight booking priced at SGD 1000 is still approved by the flight rule's approver — because it's checked first.
- A hotel booking priced at SGD 800 would use the "any booking" rule, since the flight rule doesn't apply to hotels.
The booking criteria
When creating a rule, you can combine any of the following conditions. All conditions on a rule must be true for it to apply (AND logic). Leaving conditions empty creates a catch-all rule that matches every booking.
| Field | Operators | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Booking type | = | Flights, Hotels, Trains, Other, or Any |
| Cost per traveller | > | Minimum price that triggers the rule |
| Invoice profile | =, ≠ | Route by business entity/country |
| Travel distance | = | International / Regional / Domestic, based on the local region of the invoice profile |
| Booking window | > | Days before travel — useful for flagging last-minute bookings |
| Cabin class | = | Flights only, Economy, Business, etc. |
| Group | =, ≠ | New — scope a rule to a specific group or exclude one |
| Department | = | New — scope a rule to a specific department |
| Traveller | = | Target a specific traveller |
| Custom field | =, ≠ | Match against a custom field on the booking |
Multi approvals (double approval flows)
Global Approval Workflows makes double approvals easier for companies that need a second layer of sign-off — for example, most companies require a second approval for business class travel: the direct manager approves first, then it's routed to a country director, HR, or CFO.
Previously, this meant setting the same rule inside every group. Now, you set it once:
- Set 1st Approver to the direct manager (or the relevant approver for the matched conditions).
- Set 2nd Approver to the country director, HR, or CFO.
- The booking goes to the 1st approver first; once approved, it automatically forwards to the 2nd approver for final sign-off.
This applies company-wide the moment the rule is saved — no need to repeat it per group.
Common scenarios and examples
The scenarios below work the same way as before — the only change is where you set them up: Settings → Approval Workflows, instead of each group's Approvals page.
1. Require higher management approval for expensive bookings (e.g. over $5,000)
Scenario: Any flight, hotel, or travel booking over $5,000 should be approved by a senior manager instead of the default approver.
How to set it up:
- Go to Settings → Approval Workflows and click + Add Rule.
- Set Booking Type to Any (or set it individually for Flights, Hotels, etc.).
- Under Conditions, choose Cost per traveller.
- Set the threshold to 5000 (in your currency).
- Under Approver(s), select the senior manager.
- Save the rule.
Now, any booking above $5,000, across every group, routes to the senior manager.
2. Route all international travel to a different approver
Scenario: All international travel should be approved by someone other than the default approver.
How to set it up:
- Go to Settings → Approval Workflows and click + Add Rule.
- Set Booking Type to Flights (or Any, if it applies to all travel).
- Under Conditions, choose Travel distance = International.
- Under Approver(s), assign the approver responsible for international travel.
- Save the rule.
Now, any international trip across the company is routed to the designated approver.
3. Assign a different approver for travel from a specific business entity (e.g. Japan office)
Scenario: All bookings made under your Japanese business entity should be approved by a specific local manager.
How to set it up:
- Go to Settings → Approval Workflows and click + Add Rule.
- Set Booking Type to Any.
- Under Conditions, choose Invoice profile = the Japanese invoice profile.
- Under Approver(s), assign the relevant Japanese manager.
- Save the rule.
4. Require a second approval for Business and First Class flights (new: company-wide double approval)
Scenario: Business and First Class flight bookings need a second sign-off from a country director, HR, or CFO, on top of the direct manager's approval — for every group in the company.
How to set it up:
- Go to Settings → Approval Workflows and click + Add Rule.
- Set Booking Type to Flights.
- Under Conditions, choose Cabin class = Business, First.
- Under 1st Approver, keep (or set) the direct manager.
- Under 2nd Approver, assign the country director, HR, or CFO.
- Save the rule.
Now, any Business or First Class flight booking, in any group, is routed to the direct manager first and then forwarded automatically to the 2nd approver. Previously this required repeating the same setup in every group — now it's one rule.
5. Require extra approval for last-minute bookings
Scenario: Any travel booked less than 3 days before departure should be reviewed by a different approver.
How to set it up:
- Go to Settings → Approval Workflows and click + Add Rule.
- Set Booking Type to Any (or a specific type).
- Under Conditions, choose Booking window ≤ 3 days.
- Under Approver(s), select the manager who should approve urgent bookings.
- Save the rule.
What happens to my existing group-level rules?
Your current group-level default approvers aren't removed. In each group's Approvals tab:
- Default approver fields are now used as fallback if there are no applicable global approval rules
- A link to the Approval Workflows page is included for quick access.