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Approval Delegations
Approval Delegations
This page allows administrators to manage temporary approval authority delegations. When a user who normally acts as an approver is unavailable (e.g., on leave or travel), their approval authority can be delegated to another user for a specified period.
How Delegation Works
- When User A delegates to User B, any pending drafts that would normally require User A's approval are instead routed to User B.
- The delegate (User B) receives notifications and can approve or reject on behalf of User A.
- Delegations can be scoped to a specific transaction type or apply to all types.
- Delegations can have an end date or be indefinite (open-ended).
- The system supports delegation chains — if User A delegates to User B, and User B has also delegated to User C, the system resolves the full chain and routes to User C (the final delegate).
- Circular delegation is prevented — the system detects and blocks chains that would loop back (e.g., A→B→C→A).
- Deactivating a delegation does not remove it from the audit trail; it is soft-deleted (marked inactive) for record-keeping.
Existing Delegations Table
The top of the page displays a list of all delegations:
| Column | Description |
| From User | The user who is delegating their authority |
| To User | The user receiving the delegated authority |
| Transaction Type | The specific type this delegation covers, or All Types if it applies globally |
| From Date | Start date of the delegation period |
| To Date | End date of the delegation period, or Indefinite if no end date is set |
| Reason | Text reason for the delegation (e.g., "Annual leave 15–30 Jun") |
| Active | Whether the delegation is currently active (Yes/No) |
| Edit | Button to load the delegation into the edit form |
| Delete | Button to deactivate the delegation (soft-delete) |
Show Inactive Checkbox
By default, only active delegations are displayed. Check Show Inactive to also see deactivated (expired or manually removed) delegations.
Add/Edit Form
Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
| Delegate From | Yes | Dropdown of all active users. Select the user whose authority is being delegated. |
| Delegate To | Yes | Dropdown of all active users. Select the user who will receive the authority. Cannot be the same as Delegate From. |
| Transaction Type | No | Dropdown: All Transaction Types (default) or a specific type. If a specific type is selected, the delegation only applies to that type. |
| From Date | Yes | The date the delegation becomes effective. Uses the system date picker. |
| To Date | No | The date the delegation expires. Leave blank for an indefinite delegation that remains active until manually deactivated. If provided, must be on or after the From Date. |
| Reason | No | Free-text field (max 255 characters) explaining the reason for the delegation. |
Buttons
- Add / Update — save the delegation
- Clear — reset the form
Validation Rules
- Delegate From is required
- Delegate To is required
- Delegate From and Delegate To cannot be the same user
- From Date is required
- To Date cannot be earlier than From Date (if provided)
- Circular delegation check — the system traces the full delegation chain from the Delegate To user and ensures it does not eventually loop back to the Delegate From user
Processing Behaviour
- Adding a delegation creates a new active record in the system.
- Updating a delegation deactivates the old record and creates a new one with the updated values. This preserves a complete audit trail of all delegation changes.
- Deleting (deactivating) a delegation does not physically remove it — it is soft-deleted by marking it inactive. The record remains visible when Show Inactive is checked.
Tips
- Create delegations before the approver goes on leave so that no drafts are left unattended.
- Use indefinite delegations for long-term shared authority (e.g., a deputy who can always approve on behalf of the department head).
- If you need to delegate for only certain types of transactions, select the specific type rather than All Transaction Types to maintain tighter control.
- Review active delegations periodically and deactivate any that are no longer needed.