data.day
workflow / approvals / governance / efficiency

Two Rules for Approval Chains: Faster Payments, Less Risk

If your CEO has to approve a €50 software tool, your process is broken. We define the two strict rules that clear bottlenecks and keep auditors happy.

Klara Budget Klara Budget

Your CEO is the Most Expensive Blocker

Time is money. Speed is currency.

If an invoice for €100 sits in an inbox for three weeks because the CEO is on vacation, you have a leak. You are leaking vendor trust. You are leaking late fees. You are leaking operational momentum.

I audit stacks where the approval workflow is a “Reply All” email chain.

  • “Can we pay this?”
  • “I think so?”
  • “Okay, go ahead.”

This is not a process. This is a chat room. It is unsearchable, slow, and fragile.

The Leak: The “Rubber Stamp” Effect

When you force senior leaders to approve low-value items, you create Approval Fatigue. The CEO gets 50 emails a week asking to approve Uber receipts and Slack subscriptions. They stop checking. They just click “Approve” to get back to work.

Then, a phishing invoice for €5,000 slides in. They approve that too.

By trying to control everything, you control nothing.

The Plug: Two Rules for Flow

We fix this by removing the human element from the decision tree. The software must enforce the rules.

Rule 1: The “Financial Gravity” Threshold Set strict tiers based on Euro value.

  • < €100: Auto-approve (if within budget).
  • €100 - €1,000: Department Lead (Head of Marketing, Head of Eng).
  • > €1,000: CFO / Founder.

If a Junior Developer buys a €20 book, I do not want to know about it until the monthly review. If they buy a €2,000 laptop, I want to know instantly.

Rule 2: The “Substitute” Clause People get sick. People go on holiday. Every approver must have a designated “Substitute” in the system.

  • If Head of Marketing is out, the approval routes to the CFO automatically after 24 hours.
  • The pipe must never block.

Conclusion

Approvals should be boring. They should be fast.

If you have to chase someone to pay a bill, your system is broken. Set the thresholds. Trust the machine. Get out of the way.

FAQs

But the CEO wants to see everything!

The CEO is wrong. Show them a weekly report of 'Money Spent'. Do not ask them to click a button for a toner cartridge.

What is a good threshold for autonomy?

It depends on size. For a small agency, maybe €250. Trust your team to buy lunch without a permit.

Does this satisfy the auditors?

Yes. Auditors love 'Delegation of Authority' matrices. They hate chaos. Document the rules, and you are safe.