02. Set Up Line-Level Approval (Advanced feature)

EzzyBills allows you to configure custom approval workflows that route invoices based on specific line-item criteria, such as Supplier, Account Code, and Tracking. This guide walks you through setting up Line-Item Approvals using a custom workflow and an approver CSV file.

When to Use It

This is especially useful in the following scenarios:

• Employee expense claims: Combines all receipts within a batch period (such as 1 day or a business trip period) into a single bill to export to your accounting software by EzzyBills. (See How to batch receipts)
• Supplier bills: Consolidates multiple bills from the same supplier into a single bill. If you receive a high volume of invoices from one vendor (e.g., 30 per month) and only make payments once a month, this feature is ideal. (See How to batch invoices) .
• Line-item approvals: When different rows on the same invoice require approval by different people or teams.
• Criteria-based routing: When approvals must be routed by supplier, project tracking code, or GL code.
• Centralized control: When you need to manage line-level routing rules centrally using a simple CSV file.

Overview: What You Need

To implement line-item approvals, you will need:

• Custom Workflows (configured in EzzyBills)
• A CSV File containing your approvers and triggering criteria (See an example CSV file below)

Step 1: Enable “Smart Line Approver Routing” Solution

We have created the “Smart Line Approver Routing” solution so you can easily deploy a custom workflow for line-level approval.

This solution assigns approvers to individual invoice lines by comparing each invoice row against rules defined in a CSV file, routing each line to the designated person or workflow. It supports per-supplier rules, project tracking codes, GL codes, and an exclusive supplier mode.

How to Activate It

1. Go to Solutions on your EzzyBills dashboard.
2. Find Smart Line Approver Routing and click Merge Solution.
3. You will now see the APPROVE_PER_LINE workflow added to your workflow list.

Step 2: Prepare the Approver List (CSV File)

Create a CSV file using these exact column headers (all lowercase):

supplier,tracking,glcode,approver,exclusive_supplier

• supplier: Supplier name used on invoices.
• tracking: Tracking or project code.
• glcode: General Ledger / Account code (optional matching field).
• approver: Exact name of the EzzyBills workflow to route to.
• exclusive_supplier: Enter 1 to force supplier-only matching, or 0 otherwise.

Example CSV Data

Note: Leave the supplier or tracking field empty when you want to match strictly on the other criteria.

Step 3: Upload the CSV & Configure Settings

1. Upload your CSV file into EzzyBills and record the generated Document ID.
2. Configure the setting for the task “line-item approval setter mapproj” to reference this Document ID (See Screenshot. Note: Replace "44858120" with your actual uploaded Document ID).

Step 4: Create Approval Workflows for Each Approver

Create a custom workflow for every person referenced in your CSV file.

• Workflow Name: Must match the approver column value in the CSV exactly.
• Default Approver Email: Must be set in each workflow so EzzyBills can deliver approval requests.

Workflow and Default Approver Examples

Workflow Name	Default Approver Email
Jane Doe	jane.doe@example.com
Mark Lee	mark.lee@example.com
Sara Kim	sara.kim@example.com

How Line-Level Matching Works

Priority Matching Rules

For each invoice line, EzzyBills evaluates the CSV rules in the following sequence:

1. Exclusive Supplier Match: If exclusive_supplier = 1 and the supplier matches, it assigns the approver by supplier only—ignoring tracking codes.
2. Combined Match: Matches by both supplier AND tracking.
3. Tracking Match: Matches by tracking only.
4. Fallback: If no criteria match, it assigns the approver value "unknown".

After assignment, each line item routes to its designated approver workflow.

Example Scenario

An invoice contains three lines with distinct suppliers and project tracking codes:

In this example, Line 2 matched a rule where exclusive_supplier = 1 for Gamma Services (see the screenshot of the uploaded CSV file below), overriding the tracking code lookup.

Example: Line Approval Routing View

Invoice 10034
Status: Partially Pending

  [Line 1] – Jane Doe   – Waiting for approval
  [Line 2] – Sara Kim   – Waiting for approval
  [Line 3] – Unknown    – Review required

Routing Summary:
- 3 Lines Total
- 2 Active Approvers

Note: If lines default to "Unknown", check your CSV rules or add a wildcard/catch-all row for unmapped codes or suppliers.

Benefits

• Accurate Routing: Ensures the correct manager approves every individual cost or project charge.
• Flexible Rules: Map items by supplier, tracking code, GL code, or exclusive supplier rules.
• Scalable Setup: Manage dozens of approvers effortlessly via a central CSV file.
• Clear Audit Trail: Provides detailed line-by-line compliance and reporting history.