What needs approval, and why

Each role can approve up to its own limits. Anything bigger waits in Approvals for someone whose limit covers it, never the person who asked.

Steps differ for professional firms, couriers, transport and hire businesses and butcheries.

Every role in Kila can do its job up to a limit: a cashier can give 5% off, a branch manager 15%. Anything bigger waits for a second person whose limit covers it, so a big discount, refund or stock write-off is always seen by two people, and the decision is on record.

Ask. The screen says the action is above your limit, and you send it for approval. The money and the stock do not move yet.
Wait. The request waits in Approvals for the people who can decide it, in Kila and by email.
Decide. Someone whose role and limit cover it approves or rejects it, with a note. “Approvers never decide their own requests, and each decision is kept in the audit log.”
Carry on. The person who asked sees the answer. A till goes on by itself.

What waits for approval

Approvals names each kind of request. These are the ones a shop sees most, and the limit that decides each:

Kind of request	Who can decide it
Discount above the limit	Someone whose Discounts up to covers it
Refund	Someone whose Refunds up to covers it
Stock adjustment	Someone whose Stock adjustments up to covers it
Expense	Someone whose Expenses up to covers it
Purchase order	Someone whose Purchase orders up to covers it
Credit agreement	Someone whose Credit agreements up to covers it
Requisition, Transfer, Shift review	Someone whose role does that work, such as a branch manager for a shift review

Approvals for James Mwangi, owner of Mwangi Hardware: the tab Waiting for a decision (1) and the tab Waiting for review (2), open on Payments not confirmed yet and Returned goods to inspect, each with Open all.

The limits each role starts with

The owner approves any amount: “Owners can do everything, including billing, and approve any amount.” Kila’s other standard roles start with these limits. A limit of KES 0, or none at all, means every one of those actions waits for someone else.

Role	Approves on their own, up to
Administrator	Refunds KES 500,000, discounts 50%, stock adjustments KES 500,000, credit agreements KES 1,000,000, purchase orders KES 5,000,000, expenses KES 500,000, payment runs KES 500,000
General manager	Refunds KES 200,000, discounts 30%, stock adjustments KES 200,000, credit agreements KES 500,000, purchase orders KES 2,000,000, expenses KES 200,000, payment runs KES 200,000
Branch manager	Refunds KES 20,000, discounts 15%, stock adjustments KES 20,000, credit agreements KES 100,000, expenses KES 20,000, purchase orders KES 0
Cashier	Discounts 5%. Refunds, stock adjustments and credit KES 0
Sales representative	Discounts 10%
Inventory manager	Stock adjustments KES 100,000
Storekeeper	Stock adjustments KES 0
Procurement officer	Purchase orders KES 150,000
Accountant	Refunds KES 50,000, expenses KES 300,000
Credit officer	Credit agreements KES 250,000

On Users and roles › Roles and permissions, each role’s card sums up its limits, such as “Approves refunds KES 20,000, discounts 15%, adjustments KES 20,000 and 2 more”. The owner changes them there: see Set approval limits for a role.

Which actions wait

The owner chooses which actions wait for someone else under Settings › Approvals (3): Stock adjustments, Purchase orders, Expenses and Refunds. “Which actions wait for someone else. Limits per role are set in Users and roles.” All four are on at Mwangi Hardware.

Settings, Approvals at Mwangi Hardware (3): Stock adjustments, Purchase orders, Expenses and Refunds are switched on, and Approvers never decide their own requests, and each decision is kept in the audit log.

Waiting for review

The second tab in Approvals, Waiting for review, holds what needs a look rather than a yes or no. At Mwangi Hardware that is Payments not confirmed yet, Returned goods to inspect, Supplier invoices to approve, Reconciliation exceptions and Closed shifts to confirm. Open all takes you to where each is done.

Good to know

A person sees only what their role can act on, at their own branches. A branch manager at Westlands does not see a refund asked for at Moi Avenue.

For your business

For professional firms

With “A partner approves each bill before it is invoiced (not the person who drafted it)” on, draft bills wait on Practice › Billing, Draft bills, and whoever drafted a bill cannot approve it: see Run the month-end billing.

For couriers, transport and hire businesses

A vehicle’s running costs are expenses, approved like any other: see Record a vehicle’s running cost. Cash on delivery owed to merchants is paid out in remittances that a second person approves: see COD cashier.

For butcheries

A carcass breakdown whose loss is above the cutting spec goes to Approvals: see Break down a carcass.

Steps differ for professional firms, couriers, transport and hire businesses and butcheries. Nothing here differs for your business, .

Approve or reject a request: on a computer or your phone.
Set approval limits for a role: change what a role approves on its own.
How shifts and cash-ups work: when a shift goes for review.
Branch manager and Cashier: what each decides, and what they ask for.
Approve leave: leave goes to a manager.
Approve and pay a payment run: a second person approves each payment run.
Adjust stock: stock adjustments above your limit.
Make a purchase order: purchase orders above the limit.