How QuickBooks Bill Pay keeps AP moving when the approver is out

You set up the approval workflow carefully, assigning roles and configuring thresholds so everything is in order … then the client's main approver takes two weeks off without naming a backup. Bills come in, but no one moves them forward. Soon, you get a message asking what happened.

This isn’t an emergency; it’s a design gap. When a workflow depends on one person, it works fine until that person is away, then everything stops until they return. Most AP approval setups have this issue, but most businesses only notice it when there’s a stop-gap in paying a bill.

With QuickBooks Bill Pay approval groups, you can assign several people to the same workflow stage. Any of them can move a bill forward. Here’s how to set up a workflow that includes backup from the beginning.

The coverage question your approval design needs to answer

Most approval workflows are built for business-as-usual situations: someone submits a bill, the right person approves it, and it moves forward. This works well when everyone is available, responds to notifications, and knows what needs their attention.​

The coverage question is different, so what happens if the approver is at a conference, on vacation, or in meetings all day? For many of your clients, everything just waits. The firm sends follow-up messages, the client asks why their vendor hasn’t been paid, and the accountant deals with problems that could have been avoided with better workflow design.

What a parallel approval group actually does

When a bill reaches an approval group stage, everyone in the group gets notified at the same time and sees it in their queue. The first person to approve moves the workflow forward. After that, the bill disappears from everyone else’s queue. No one needs to confirm, dismiss, or take any extra steps.​

With QuickBooks Bill Pay, you can add up to 7 people to an approval group. For the approval threshold, you have three choices: Any one person can approve, two people must approve (2 out of 7), or everyone in the group must approve. The best option depends on the client. For example, a small business with a controller may only need one approver, while a larger client with compliance needs might require 2 out of 5.

When sequential chains are right, and when they reintroduce the problem

Some clients really do need approvals in a set order. For example, the department manager reviews first followed by the controller, and then the CFO releases the payment. Sequential chains handle this: The bill goes to the first person, then moves to the next only after the first has acted, keeping the order in place.

Coverage risk comes back if anyone in the chain is unavailable. If the first approver is out, the bill doesn’t move to the next step; it just waits and so does everything else. The fix is the same as with single approvers: Use a parallel group at the stage most likely to stall. For example, a group of three at step 1 (anyone can approve) can feed into a sequential payment release by the CFO. This gives you backup at the start and keeps the order at the end.

What to do when an approver still hasn't acted

Even with a group, sometimes payments need to move faster than the usual notification process allows. QuickBooks Bill Pay offers a practical solution. From the Bill Payments page, you can copy a direct link to the pending approval, and send it yourself by text, email, or any way you contact the client.

The approver gets the link, opens it on their phone or computer, reviews the bill, and approves without logging in or searching. This is especially helpful when you know someone in the group is available but may have missed the notification.

What the approval trail shows

The bill page displays the full approval trail all in one place. If a client asks why a payment was made, you can show them the complete trail right there. Every action at every stage is recorded on the bill page as it happens, including who was in the group, who approved the bill, and when it was approved. You never have to piece together information from emails or memory.

​For firms with multiple clients, a firm-level audit report that gives you a single view of approval status across all your clients on Bill Pay. You can see every client in one place, without clicking through accounts one by one.

One approval structure, one system

Approval group settings, individual actions, and workflow histories are all stored in QuickBooks Online. You don’t need to check another approval tool or piece together email threads. When a client asks why a payment was made on a certain day, you can find the full answer on the bill page.

​When approvals move smoothly, payment commitments are recorded in QuickBooks Online as they happen. Accountants can see all of the approved and scheduled outgoing payments for each client, providing a real-time view of what each client has agreed to pay and when. This level of visibility is only possible when the workflow is built into QuickBooks Online.

FAQs about QuickBooks Bill Pay

What is a parallel approval workflow in QuickBooks Bill Pay?

A parallel approval workflow sends a bill to multiple approvers simultaneously. All group members get notified at the same time, and the first person to approve moves the bill to the next stage. Approval groups in QuickBooks Bill Pay can include up to 7 people, with flexible thresholds: any one, a set number, or all members must approve.

How do I decide how many people to put in an approval group?

Start by asking how many people at this client could actually approve a bill on any given day? If it’s usually just one, you should have at least two in the group. If your client has a team of five who share approval duties, a group of three with an any-one threshold gives you coverage without too many notifications. The best group size is the smallest number that keeps AP moving, even if one or two people are away.

What if no one in the approval group responds?

You can copy a direct approval link from the Bill Payments page, and send it to any group member by text or email. The approver can review and approve right from the link, without going through the whole system. All group members also get a notification and email when the bill reaches their stage, so most approvals happen without extra reminders.

What is the difference between parallel and sequential approvals in QuickBooks Bill Pay?

Parallel approvals send a bill to all group members at once. Any single approval or a set number moves the bill forward. Sequential approvals send the bill to one person at a time in a set order. Use parallel groups when availability is more important than order. Use sequential chains when the client’s process needs a specific sign-off order.