Approval chains
Two kinds of approval run through the approval chains of SmartMy POS. Counter approvals are decided on the spot by a supervisor or POS manager at the cashier's screen. Promotions can wait for one or several approvers before they run. Each Entity has its own chain of each kind, and every decision is kept with who made it.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A cashier gives a large discount or a refund and nobody senior ever knew.
- The supervisor's password is shared at the counter so the line keeps moving.
- A branch starts a deep promotion that head office never agreed to.
- Nobody can list who approved what, and how often.
How it works
- Open Point of Sale > Configuration > General > Approval Chains. Each kind has one chain per Entity, made the first time it is needed.
- Counter approval starts with one level: the supervisors, or the POS managers where the register's limits ask for a manager. Keep it at one level.
- When a cashier needs an approval, the screen says "A supervisor approves" or "A POS manager approves" and what for. The approver types their login and password, or on a shared counter picks their name and types their PIN.
- The request is made and decided in one step on the cashier's screen. It works once, for that action, within 5 minutes.
- Promotion starts as Approved at Once. Untick it and set the levels to make new promotions wait; at each level any one approver decides.
- Every counter approval is listed under Point of Sale > Reports > Counter Approvals; a promotion shows its Approval Levels and Approved By.
Everything it does
Counter approval: what goes through it
- A refund (every plan)
- A receipt copy, where the register has Reprints Need a Supervisor (every plan)
- A discount above the cashier's limit or a lowered price: a supervisor up to Discount With a Supervisor (%), a POS manager above (Growth)
- An item or a bill on the house (Growth)
- A cash move above Cash Move Without Approval and a cash difference above Cash Difference Without Approval (Growth)
- A deposit paid back: a supervisor, a POS manager above Pay Back Above Needs a Manager (Scale)
Promotion (Scale)
- New promotions, and those put Back to Draft, wait in the chain when it is not Approved at Once
- Starts with the POS managers; several levels possible
- Draft until the last level approves; a refused promotion becomes Closed without having run
- A cashier cannot approve: "A POS manager approves promotions."
Rules
- Requester May Approve: on for both chains, so a POS manager who creates a promotion may approve it at a level they hold
- A cashier who is a supervisor is not asked for what their role may approve
- A counter chain with a second level refuses the action with "needs one more approval"
- Five wrong PINs lock that PIN for 5 minutes; a PIN approves only on a shared counter
- Who may approve can be named people or a group instead of the usual approvers
Record
- Counter Approvals: date, kind (Sale: discount / on the house, Refund, Cash in / out, Cash difference, Reprint, Other), what for, order and session. Also amount, Supervisor or Manager, asked by and decided by
- Lines cannot be changed or deleted
- Orders, cash moves and deposit pay backs show who approved them
Who uses it
SupervisorApproves at the cashier's screen with login or PIN.
POS managerApproves higher discounts, larger items on the house and pay backs, and promotions.
POS AdministratorSets the chains, levels and approvers per Entity.
Where you use it
- Web: Point of Sale > Configuration > General > Approval Chains. Point of Sale > Configuration > Products and Offers > Promotions with the filter To Approve; Point of Sale > Reports > Counter Approvals
- The SmartMy POS app: Supervisor PIN, Manager PIN or Login and password at the counter. Managers decide promotions in the app's Approvals. It is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not built: approvals that wait for a supervisor elsewhere; counter approvals are only given at the counter
What you control
Settings
- Counter approval: one level, the counter supervisors
- Promotion: Approved at Once
- Discount Without Approval (%): 10 per register
Notifications
- Request Waits for Your Approval: to the approvers of the level a promotion waits at. It goes as a phone notification, else by email, and always in the app
Works with
SmartMy HRMS and other SmartMy productsThe same approval engine runs their approvals, so one Approvals list holds what waits for a manager.
Questions
Does a refund need a supervisor on the Starter plan?
Yes. Every refund is approved at the counter by a supervisor.Can the supervisor approve from their own phone?
No. A counter approval is given on the cashier's screen, by login and password or by PIN.Can head office approve branch promotions?
Yes. Untick Approved at Once on the branch's Promotion chain and set head office people as a level.Can we see who approves most?
Yes. Group Counter Approvals by Decided By or by Kind.Can we add a second level to counter approvals?
No. Keep it at one level; with two, the action is refused at the counter.Related features
SELLINGRefunds and discounts with a supervisor PINRefund the lines and quantities that come back, with a reason, found by receipt number or customer. Give line or bill discounts with a reason up to the cashier's limit. A supervisor approves each refund on the cashier's screen with a password or a PIN that works once.SELLINGHigher discounts, price changes and items on the houseEach register sets three discount bands: what a cashier gives alone, what a supervisor approves and what only a POS manager approves. Items or whole bills given on the house need a reason and an approval, and their value is reported apart from discounts.SESSIONS AND CASHSupervisor for cash moves and differences above a limitEach register has two cash limits. A cash in or out above the first, and a closing difference above the second, need a supervisor's approval at the counter. Below them a reason is enough.LOYALTY, PROMOTIONS AND DEPOSITSPromotions, happy hours and coupon codesSet up an offer once and the counter applies it by itself when the cart fits. It can be a % off, an amount off each unit, buy X get Y free, or another product free or cheaper. Or mix and match, a bundle price or a bill over an amount. Limit it to dates, weekdays, hours, registers, products, customer tags or a coupon code. A branch can have promotions approved through an approval chain first.PAYINGReceipt copies marked duplicateEvery receipt printed again is a copy: counted, written on the sale with who printed it, and printed as DUPLICATE COPY with its number. A register can also ask for a reason and a supervisor.ACROSS SMARTMY POSNotificationsSmartMy POS sends few messages, by design: counter approvals happen at the counter. The cashier can send a paid sale's receipt to the customer by WhatsApp or email from the selling screen. The approvers of a promotion are told when it waits for them. Every message is kept in the Delivery Log.
See a day at your counter, start to close.
Tell us what you sell and how many counters you run. We will show you the opening count, a sale without internet, a refund and the closing report.