This article explains what travel approval processes are in Perk, what types exist, when to use each, how approvers are determined, and how Perk decides which process and which rule apply to a trip. Use it to choose the right setup and to align approvers and travelers.

What is a travel approval process?

Travel approval processes in Perk give your company control over spending and make sure the right person checks trips before they are booked. When a booking needs approval, Perk sends the trip to the traveler's approvers for review. The trip is only booked once approval is complete according to the applicable rule.

Travel approval processes are available to all customers. The number of active processes you can have depends on your plan:

• Starter: 1 active travel approval process
• Premium: 10 active travel approval processes
• Pro: Unlimited travel approval processes

Only active processes count toward your limit. You can have as many archived approval processes as you like.

Approval process basics

There are three key elements to an approval process:

• Audience: who the approval process applies to
• Process type: what the process does overall
• Rules: you use rules to determine the action Perk takes:
  • notification: sends information about the trip
    • whether it applies to out-of-policy trips, in-policy, or all trips.
    • person to receive the notification
    • when the person selects a specific cost object
  • approval: requests approval before booking the trip
    • whether it applies to out-of-policy trips, in-policy, or all trips.
    • person to approve
    • when the person selects a specific cost object
    • how should Perk handle approval for already booked trips

Each approval process is assigned to specific travelers or groups (or "Entire account" as a default approval process). That assignment determines whether the process applies at all.

To create a new travel process, see Set up a travel approval process.

Approval process types

There are two types of approval process:

• No approval needed — Trips can be booked (and optionally, changes made) without approval; you can still send notifications. Use it when certain travelers should not need approval (e.g. senior executives).
• Approval needed — Certain types of trips (by policy, cost object, traveler group, and so on) need approval before booking. Use it when you want to require approval for specific travelers or trip types (e.g. out-of-policy or specific cost objects).

Note: You can set up a default approval process that applies at account level to all employees. Use it as a catch-all for all employees. However bear in mind if they have other approval processes assigned, those processes will be applied, not this one.

Notification rules

You can choose to send automatic notifications to people about trip bookings in specific scenarios. They receive trip information without having impact on the booking. For example, you can set up a notification rule that sends an email to a line manager when a traveler books an out-of-policy trip.

Choose when to send notifications:

• Out-of-policy trips: Sends a notification when a person books a trip that doesn't comply with their travel policy.
• In-policy trips: Sends a notification when a person books a trip even though the trip complies with their travel policy.
• All trips: Sends a notification in all cases.

Notification rules are separate from approval rules, meaning you can set them up even if no approval is needed when booking a trip.

Approval rules

Inside an approval needed process, you define one or more approval rules. For each approval rule, you choose:

• who approves:
  • Specific people — Named users.
  • Line manager — The traveler's line manager (needs correct account setup). For more information, see Assign a line manager as a travel approver.
  • Cost object approver — The person assigned to the cost object selected for the trip (Settings > Cost management > Cost objects). See Assign a cost object approver to a travel approval process
• whether it applies to:
  • out-of-policy trips
  • in-policy trips
  • all trips
• specific conditions:
  • whether it only applies when the cost object selected in the trip is a specific one
  • changes to booked trips. See Manage approvals for changes to booked trips.

By choosing the type of trip it applies to, you can set up separate approval flows for out-of-policy trips compared to in-policy. For example, you may want line managers to approve in-policy trips, but choose your travel manager to approve trips that are out of policy.

In all cases, account admins can approve any trip as required.

Tip: You can set up delegates so someone else acts as approver when the primary approver is away. For more information, see Turn on out-of-office approvals.

Advanced rule setup

If you want to use advanced rule setup, contact your Account Manager.

You can choose to set up an advanced rule configuration involving two-step approval. In other words, two people must approve. You can use this setup when one person shouldn't be the only one signing off (e.g. segregation of duties, or adding oversight for high-cost trips).

Two-step approval rules can be:

• Sequential (and then): The first approver must approve, then the second. The second approver does not receive the request until the first has approved. Use when different people should approve purpose vs cost and the order matters (e.g. line manager then finance).
• Parallel (and also): Both approvers receive the request at the same time and can approve in any order. The trip is approved only after both have approved. Use when two sign-offs are required but the order doesn't matter (e.g. line manager and cost object approver).

In the approval setup, you link the two approvers with and then (sequential) or and also (parallel). You can use specific people, the traveler's line manager, or the cost object approver as either the first or the second approver.

For example, you set up a rule with two approvers: Marina and her line manager Craig. With sequential approval ("Request approval from Marina followed by Craig"), Marina receives the request first and must approve; only then does Craig receive it and approve. The trip is booked after both have approved. With parallel approval rules ("Request approval from Marina and also Craig"), both receive the request at the same time and can approve in any order; the trip is booked once both have approved.

Two-step approval rules let different people approve the purpose of a trip (e.g. "this trip is necessary") and the cost (e.g. "we have the budget for this cost object"), and you can choose which approval matters first—trip necessity or budget. Since two people must act, the process is slower; fares and availability can change or options can sell out while the request is pending.

Perk recommends you use one-step rules (i.e. only one person) to make sure your trips are booked quickly, but you can use two-step rules where it adds real control (e.g. out-of-policy or high-value travel).

Note: If an admin is also included as an approver in a two-step rule, the two-step rule takes precedence for that person.

For more examples (line manager and finance, cost object and line manager, multiple travelers, out of office, mixed rules), see Two-step approval scenarios and examples.

Caution: If Perk makes a booking on your behalf for a traveler who is subject to a two-step sequential rule, approval is sent to both approvers simultaneously as if it were a parallel approval process. Approval from any of the approvers will book the trip.

Warning: Approvals for changes to booked trips do not support 2-step approvals. The approval request is sent to ALL approvers linked to the trip, and any of them can book the trip. For more information, see Manage approvals for changes to booked trips.

Note: Two-step approvals are supported on mobile starting with version 5.7.0+

How Perk determines which process applies to a trip

Perk first determines the process that applies to a traveler:

• If no approval process is assigned to the person, no approval is needed to book or change trips.
• If one process is assigned, that process applies.
• If multiple processes are assigned the following hierarchy will take place: first any manually created processes (people manually assigned to the approval process), then automated, then the default approval process.

How Perk determines which rule applies when multiple rules match

Your company can have several approval processes and multiple rules (e.g. for out-of-policy trips, specific cost objects, or traveler groups).

More than one rule can match the same trip, for example in a multi-traveler trip. When that happens, any rule can book the trip. That logic can produce complex situations. For details and recommendations, see How multiple approval rules apply to a trip.

What happens when someone declines

If there is only a single approver and the approver declines, the request is rejected immediately and the requester gets a notification.

If there are multiple approvers (i.e. advanced rule setup):

• Two-step sequential: If the first approver declines, the request is rejected immediately; the requester gets a notification and the second approver never receives the request. If the second approver declines (after the first has approved), the request is also rejected; the requester and the first approver get a notification.
• Two-step parallel: If either approver declines, the request is rejected immediately; the requester gets a notification. If the other approver had already approved, they get a notification that the request was declined and can no longer take action.

In all cases, the trip is not booked. The requester can send a new request with different options or after addressing feedback.