Approval workflow errors are usually caused by configuration changes made while a document is already in the workflow, or a mismatch between your workflow type and the conditions set on the invoice. You can resolve most of these errors without contacting support.
Conditional approval does not trigger
Conditional approval by value is only available in the Double Approval workflow. If tasks are not being sent to approvers automatically, one of the following conditions is likely the cause.
Steps to resolve:
Confirm your approval workflow is set to Double Approval in Company Settings > Invoice Approval Workflow. Conditional approval by value is not available in Single or Executive workflows.
Check that the invoice value meets the threshold you have configured. Values are calculated inclusive of tax.
In Company Settings > Invoice Approval Workflow, check the Auto trigger approval by value in the Review tab setting. If this is turned off, approval tasks are not sent automatically; click Send for Approval in the Review tab to trigger them manually.
If your condition is set to Instead Of, confirm the invoice amount falls within the threshold range that should bypass the default approver. If it is set to As Well As, confirm all required approvers are still active users in Lightyear.
š Note: If you change your conditional approval rules while invoices are already in the Review tab, those invoices will not automatically pick up the new rules. Return them to the Approval tab and re-send to Review to apply the updated conditions.
Sign-off button is greyed out
A greyed-out sign-off button usually means the document's approval conditions no longer match what Lightyear expects, most commonly because approval rules were changed while the document was already in the Review tab.
Steps to resolve:
Check the Activity Log for the error message: 'Number of conditional tasks for document is not consistent with the predicted number of conditional tasks'. If you see this, the conditional approval rules were modified after this document entered Review.
Return the document to the Approval tab using the return option on the document.
Locate the document in the Approval tab and re-send it to Review. The updated conditions will now apply correctly.
ā ļø Important: Do not modify approval rules while invoices are in the Review tab. Always return invoices to Approval first, update your rules, then re-send to Review.
Invoice does not advance through approval
If an invoice is sitting in the Approval tab or Review tab without advancing, it is waiting for a required action that has not been completed.
Steps to resolve:
Check the approval task on the document to see which approvers have responded and which have not. In an Executive workflow, all required executive approvals must be received before the document can move to Signed Off.
If the document is in the Review tab and the Send for Approval button is visible, the Auto trigger approval by value in the Review tab setting is turned off. Click Send for Approval to trigger the approval tasks manually.
If an approver is unavailable, check whether your workflow allows a different user to approve on their behalf. This depends on your user permission configuration in Company Settings > Users and Permissions.
If you need to change the required approvers, update the approval configuration in Company Settings > Invoice Approval Workflow. Return any in-progress documents to the Approval tab and re-send them to pick up the new configuration.