How to finish invoice coding after a client approves the purchase
Yes. The client or manager confirms the purchase and amount; the bookkeeper checks account codes, tax and tracking. Enable Keep documents editable for the workflow and leave automatic export after approval off when finance must finish the review before export.
Use this order when the client knows the purchase
Two responsibilities can proceed around the same invoice. The client or manager knows whether the purchase belongs to the business, whether the goods or work were agreed, and whether the amount is right. The accountant or bookkeeper knows how to record it.
| Responsibility | Person | What they check |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase sign-off | Client, site manager or project lead | The purchase, business context and invoice amount |
| Accounting review | Accountant, bookkeeper or finance team | Supplier, account codes, tax treatment and supported tracking fields |
| Final export | Assigned finance or bookkeeping owner | Required approval completed, totals checked and coding ready |
A client’s sign-off does not finish the bookkeeping. Finance can prepare coding before or during the purchase decision and complete it afterwards, using the workflow and role settings below. Export follows the final check.
Set up the workflow for this handover
- Choose the folder that owns the invoice and connect it to the intended accounting organisation. A folder can be a company, site or project, and several folders can connect to the same accounting organisation.
- Configure the approval path and assign the client or manager. Choose Any when one assigned member can complete a stage, or All when everyone must sign.
- Give finance the appropriate Admin or User folder role. An Approver-only role does not provide editing after approval.
- Enable Keep documents editable for the workflow when finance needs to finish coding after purchase sign-off.
- Leave automatic export after approval off so the invoice waits for the accounting review. Finance then exports it after the final check.
Stage edit permissions can allow All locked, the whole document or selected fields. Available selected fields depend on the accounting integration. Keep documents editable overrides stage edit permissions and Lock mode for Admins and Users. Approver-only users still follow their assigned stage permissions and can edit only while awaiting their approval, not after the document is Approved.
If you need the accounting review inside a locked approval sequence, use a final finance stage with its required edit permission instead of keeping documents editable after approval. In an All stage, after one person signs, editing locks for the remaining approvers in that stage so they sign the same version; reset approval if another edit is needed.
The editing documentation explains the controls and their interaction. Choose and test one configuration that matches your responsibilities.
Separate familiar coding from a changed purchase
Consider a supplier invoice with £900 for an annual software licence and £300 for setup support, plus the invoice’s tax. The client confirms both charges belong to the business and the amount is agreed. Finance assigns the licence and setup charges to their appropriate accounts, reviews tax and sets any supported tracking fields.
Saved line coding can prepare the recurring descriptions; keyword rules can cover changing references. A new kind of charge still needs a reviewed decision.
Keeping a document editable is not a field-by-field edit history. Coding edits made while it stays editable are not tracked in the approval audit trail. Give finance responsibility for checking post-approval changes; a changed commercial amount or scope should return to the person who approved the purchase through your agreed process.
For Xero folders with the Approval Audit Trail PDF enabled, export attaches invoice details, the completed approval round and the coding overview. It is a final record, not a record of every intermediate coding change.
Test the handover
Run one routine invoice through the workflow with the people who will use it. Confirm the client can see and approve their assigned invoice, finance can complete the required fields, and automatic export does not send it before that work is done.
Check the totals and exported accounting record. Test a rejection and identify who resolves it. For Xero, choose Draft, Awaiting Approval or Awaiting Payment according to the intended next step. If purchase approval is complete in Datamolino, Awaiting Payment can avoid a second invoice-approval step in Xero. Payment still follows your banking process.
Keep the final handover visible
When the purchase is approved but coding remains, assign the unfinished step: “Client approval complete. Finance to confirm tax treatment before export.” The document should not look ready for the accounts until both responsibilities are complete.
Use approvals only in folders that need sign-off. They are included in Datamolino, and capture and coding can operate without them. For site or project teams, see the multi-site workflow. If you currently pay for a separate approval service, compare the workflow and plan a switch from ApprovalMax.
