Five Signs Your Approval Workflow Needs an Upgrade
by The Ottimate Editorial Team
Let’s be honest: most finance teams don’t think much about the invoice approval process. At least, not until something breaks.
An invoice sits in someone’s inbox for weeks. Month-end turns into a scramble. A vendor emails (again) asking where their payment is.
Outdated approval workflows have a way of creating chaos behind the scenes. They slow down payments, pile on extra work, and add stress for everyone involved.
But how do you know it’s time to make a change?
In this post, we’ll walk through five telltale signs your approval process needs an upgrade and how modern AP automation tools can help you move from manual bottlenecks to seamless, trackable workflows.
Sign #1: Invoices get stuck in inboxes
If you rely on email for invoice approvals, you probably know this pain all too well. An invoice lands in an approver’s mailbox, quickly gets buried among other emails, and sits there for days (or weeks) before it gets attention – usually after a reminder or two from the finance team.
Some studies suggest the average professional receives more than 120 business emails per day, so it’s easy to see why invoices slip through the cracks. When they do, payments are delayed, vendors get frustrated, and late fees become a recurring headache.
The people aren’t the problem here; it’s the process. Email wasn’t designed to manage the complexity of invoice approvals. It offers no visibility, no tracking, and no easy way to move things along.
Modern AP workflows fix that by providing a single, centralized hub for all approvals. Everyone can see the status of each invoice, who needs to take action, and what’s holding things up. The result? Faster payments, less stress, and happier vendors.
Sign #2: No clear approval rules
If your team isn’t sure who should approve which invoices, you’re not alone. Many finance teams rely on informal “rules” that vary by department or manager. That might work for a small business, but as the company grows, it quickly turns into confusion and delays.
Without clear rules on who approves what based on amount, vendor, or department, invoices can bounce around aimlessly. Some get reviewed twice, while others get skipped entirely. And finance teams end up wasting time just trying to keep everything moving.
Clear, role-based approval policies remove that guesswork. When everyone knows exactly which invoices they’re responsible for, decisions happen faster and with fewer mistakes.
Modern AI-powered AP automation takes it a step further. Invoices are routed automatically based on your rules, whether it’s spend limits, departments, or vendor types. The right people see the right invoices at the right time, which means everything stays on track and vendors get paid on time, every time.
Sign #3: Month-end close always gets delayed
For many businesses, month-end close is downright chaotic. You’re trying to reconcile accounts and finalize reports, but half the invoices you need are still sitting in someone’s inbox. Missing approvals means chasing down managers, sending reminders, and piecing together last-minute updates just to close the books.
When approvals lag, the impact is felt throughout the business. Reports get delayed, staff burns out, and leaders end up making decisions based on incomplete or unreliable data.
An upgraded approval workflow keeps things moving before crunch time. With automated routing and real-time visibility, finance teams always know which invoices are pending and who needs to take action. Everything gets approved on schedule, which means month-end close becomes a predictable process instead of a last minute scramble.
Sign #4: Exceptions create bottlenecks
Even a seemingly organized approval process can crack when an invoice comes through that doesn’t fit the norm. For example, there may be a price mismatch, a missing PO, or an amount that’s higher than usual. In those instances, what should have been a quick approval comes to a screeching halt.
When every exception requires manual review, the AP team wastes valuable time chasing down details, with little to no time to dedicate to more strategic work. It’s frustrating, tedious, and a major drain on efficiency.
With smarter approval workflows in place, unusual invoices are flagged and automatically routed to the right person for review. That means exceptions stop being roadblocks and can start moving through the process with the rest of your invoices.
Sign #5: You have no visibility into status
When an invoice enters the approval process, it can feel like a black hole. AP teams spend time chasing down updates, managers ask for status updates, and everyone ends up frustrated when they don’t get any answers.
Without visibility, it’s nearly impossible to spot bottlenecks or hold anyone accountable. Payments get missed, vendors grow impatient, and the AP team is left scrambling to put out fires.
Modern AP automation tools solve this with a centralized dashboard that gives each invoice a clear path forward. You can see who has it, how long it’s been there, and where it needs to go next. With that level of visibility, approvals stay on track, vendors aren’t left in the dark, and your team gains back both time and control.
The cost of sticking with broken workflows
Each of the five issues we’ve covered in this post might seem like a manageable inconvenience on its own. But companies process thousands of invoices each month, and together, these issues create a ripple effect that slows down the entire business.
Manual approval workflows waste valuable time, delay payments, strain vendor relationships, and make it nearly impossible to manage cash flow with confidence. They also open up the door to serious risks like duplicate payments or fraud slipping through unnoticed.
Modern AP leaders need a better way to manage approvals. Upgrading to a smarter, automated workflow helps teams scale operations, reduce risk, and spend less time chasing approvals – and more time driving strategic results..
Ready for a better invoice approval workflow?
Inefficient approval processes could be holding your business back. If that’s the case, you’re not alone. Lost invoices, unclear rules, delayed month-end closes, exception bottlenecks, and a lack of visibility are common – and they all chip away at efficiency, accuracy, and vendor trust.
The good news is that you don’t have to live with the chaos. Modern AP automation makes it possible to build workflows that are consistent, efficient, and scalable – no matter how many invoices you process each month.
That’s exactly what Ottimate helps finance teams do: create smarter approval workflows that keep invoices moving and protect cash flow.
If you’ve noticed any of the five signs we covered in this post, it’s time to give your approval workflow a serious upgrade. Book a live demo today to learn how Ottimate can help your team streamline approvals and start closing the books with confidence.