2543238 - Approval Process for Expense Reports and How To Change it

You changed the Approval Process for Expense Reports in the system and you noticed that the changes you did are not properly working.

SAP Business ByDesign.

1. Go to the Application and User Management Work Center.
2. Go to Approval Process view.
3. The multi-step approval option is visible.

Due to technical reasons, the multi-step approval option is also visible in the approval process for expense reports under Application and User Management.

If you change the default Approval Process in the UI to multi-step approval it will lead to inconsistencies in the system. SAP does not support such inconsistencies caused by changes in the Approval Process made by the user.

If you want to change the Approver Determination mechanism for Expense Report, you need to create an incident.

But first you need to make sure that the Approval Process in the UI is the Default process:

• Only One Step.
• The work distribution is "Approver of Highest Cost" or "Line Manager of Employee".
• The condition has to be "Expense Report Approval Configuration Equal to Yes".

 If you were using multi-step approval and now want to change it to the Default one, please follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Application and User Management Work Center.
2. Go to the Approval Process view.
3. Select the Approval Process for Expense Report which you are currently using.
4. Press Copy (To define a new Approval Process, you have to copy an existing one).
5. This Approval Process needs to have one step only.
6. The work Distribution must be Approver of Highest Cost or Line Manager of Employee.
7. The Expense Report Approval configuration must be Equal to Yes.
8. Save.

After the new process is created, you need to change the validity of the same, as follows:

1. Select the new process.
2. Click Edit Validity button.
3. You will get the existing Active process and newly created process.
4. In the Old process, remove the Unlimited Validity checkbox and update Validity To Date.
5. In the new Process Update the Valid From Date. (Similar to the Validity To Date of old process).
6. Select Unlimited Validity for the New Process.

Currently, there are five possible options for Expense Report Approver Determination:

• System Standard: The approver is cost center manager, project manager or sales order responsible depending on the major cost object (cost assignment of receipt items) of expense report.
• Reporting line manager: the approver is claimer's reporting line manager no matter how the cost is allocated.
• Standard with exception for cost center managers: approver determination is like standard, but if the employee of the expense report is also the cost center manager of the cost center covering the largest part of the expenses, then the line manager of the cost center manager is the approver instead.
• Standard with exception for project managers: approver determination is like standard, but if the employee of the expense report is also the project manager of the project covering the largest part of the expenses, then the line manager of the project manager is the approver instead.
• Standard with exception for both cost center and project managers: this is the combination of item 3 & 4. Neither cost center managers nor project managers can self-approve expense reports claimed by themselves. Their line managers have to approve the expense report instead.

After maintain the Approval Process in the UI as the Default, you need to report an incident with the authorization for backend change and with the specification of which approval mechanism you would like to use.

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