Introduction

At the end of a Contracting process, many Scout customers require Approvals from multiple groups and individuals around their companies. Procurement teams may need to get Approvals from their Finance or Legal teams before a Contract can be signed and they may need to determine which groups should be involved based on a set of predetermined rules. The Contract Approvals feature allows users to manage this Approval process in Scout. Contract Approvals lets users set up Approval Groups and rules, send and monitor Approval requests, and record Approval details before closing out a Contract.

In this article, we will cover:

• How to Define Approval Groups and Rules
• The Contract Approval Section
• Contract Approval Workflow

How to Define Approval Groups and Rules

Contract Approval Groups are created in Settings by company Administrators. This includes Approval Order and Approval Conditions. Setting Approval Groups is the first step of utilizing the Contract Approvals feature for new Scout users. Approval Groups define the order of Approvers for a Contract.

Within the company Settings, scroll to the Approvals Section:

Create an Approval Group by setting a Title, adding Approvers, and setting Approval Options. Approval Options include: "Any (1) Approver Can Approve" or "All Approvers Must Approve." With this latter option, an Approval Order can be set, so that certain users will need to approve in sequential order. After you're satisfied with your changes, click the “Save” button:

Please click here for a more in depth look at Creating Approval Groups!

Users may select Default or Custom Fields to define Approval Rules. Approval Rules define the order of Approval Groups:

First, create a new rule:

Next, edit your Approval Rules (this is completely customizable based on company needs, criteria, and Custom Fields for approval) and add the appropriate Approval Groups for the Rule(s):

Note: Scout Approval Groups has the functionality to set an order of Approval Groups as well as order of Approvers depending on the complexity of a company's Approval process. Also, if the first rule is not met, Scout will move along to the next rule to see if any criteria is encountered.

The Contract Approval Section

Each Contract now has an Approval section:

This section tracks the Approval Groups, Individual Approvers, and the state of the Approval for a Contract:

Approvers will receive email notifications as well as a notification banner within the Contract to let them know that they have Contracts to Approve. Users are able to Approve or Reject Contracts, include notes based on the decision, and upload attachments to the response:

In the image below, you can see that any comments or attachments that come with an Approvers response will be displayed in this section. Also, users can remind Approvers that they have an Approval Pending:

 
Note: Sending a reminder will trigger an email notification to the selected Approver(s).

Contract Approval Workflow

Step 1: When a Contract is ready for Approval, the User will change the Status of the Contract from "In Progress" to "Send for Approval." The Status of the Contract will then be "Out for Approval." 

Once a Contract is "Out for Approval," it can be found in the new Approvals section of the Contracts Workbench:

Step 2: Scout will evaluate the established Approval Rules. If criteria are met, email(s) will be sent to Approval Group members with information about the Contract and a link to start the Approval.

Step 3: Approvers will be able to review the Contract and submit their response.

Depending on the decisions and conditions of Approval Groups, the Contract will then be considered "Approved" or "Rejected." If the Contract has been Approved by all required Groups, the Contract Status will change to "Approved." If a Contract is rejected by a group, it will return to "In Progress."

Note: If needed, it is possible to retract an Approval request. Change the status of the Contract back to “In Progress." A pop-up window will warn you that this is a retraction and ask you to confirm.

Conclusion

You are now ready to leverage your Contract Approvals knowledge. You can set Approval Groups and Rules and also manage the entire Contract Approval process! Happy Scouting!

For more information on Contracts, please view the Contracts Section in our Knowledge Base.