Approval chains
A request for a vehicle goes to the right people in the right order before the transport office assigns a vehicle and a driver. You set the levels without code, from no approval to several named people, and every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Staff book the school van by calling the driver, and the office learns of the trip when the vehicle is gone.
- A department head should approve trips for their team, but the request reaches the transport office first.
- Long trips need the principal's or the admin head's sign-off, and nobody can show who gave it.
- The person asking for the vehicle approves their own request.
How it works
- Someone asks for a vehicle: purpose, time out and back, passengers. The request is To Approve.
- It follows the Vehicle booking chain of its Entity. To start with, one level: the transport office.
- The approvers of the level are told. They find it in Transport > Operations > Bookings (To Approve), in Approvals > To Approve, or in the Rider app.
- Each level approves or rejects with a reason. With two levels, each is approved by itself, even when the same person is on both.
- When the last level approves, the requester and passengers are told. The transport office is told to assign a vehicle and a driver.
Everything it does
What goes through approval in SmartMy Transit
- Vehicle bookings: the only Transit request on an approval chain
- Route runs, not riding, fees and route plans need no approval
Who approves a level
- The usual approvers: the transport office of the Entity, never the person who asked
- Named users, such as the admin head
- A group, such as everyone with a role
- A person found from a field of the booking, by clicking through its fields
- Any one approver of a level decides; for two signatures, add two levels
- The transport office may always approve a level on an approver's behalf
Rules
- If a level has nobody: the request cannot be sent (the default when you add a level), or the level is skipped. Or the usual approvers decide
- Requester May Approve: on to start with, so whoever raised a request may decide it at a level they approve. Turn it off so someone else always decides
- Only For: a chain for some bookings only, for example bookings with more passengers than a number; chains are tried from the top
- Approved at Once: no approval; the booking goes straight to the transport office to assign
- A reason is needed to reject
Record
- An Approvals tab on the booking: level, approver, status, who decided, when and the reason
- Approved By on the booking lists everyone who approved a level
- Changes to the chains are recorded
- A new Entity copies the chains of its parent
Who uses it
Staff member or parentAsks for a vehicle on the web page or in the Rider app and follows the decision.
Transport officeApproves bookings at the first level, then assigns the vehicle and driver.
Admin head or principalApproves large trips at a second level, when named on the chain.
Transport administratorSets the levels and conditions under Transport > Configuration > General > Approval Chains.
Where you use it
- Web: Transport > Operations > Bookings (To Approve) and Approvals > To Approve and My Requests
- Web: Transport > Configuration > General > Approval Chains, for transport administrators
- Portal: the vehicle booking page, and the Approvals page for named approvers without a back office login
- The SmartMy Transit Rider app: ask for a vehicle and approve what waits for you (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
What you control
Settings
- Levels and their approvers, per Entity: the transport office to start with
- If a level has nobody: cannot submit, skip, or usual approvers
- Requester May Approve (on to start with), Only For conditions, Approved at Once
Notifications
- Booking to Approve: to the approvers of the level that is next, as a phone notification and in the app. Plus the first that works of WhatsApp, SMS and email, and a to-do
- Booking Approved and Booking Rejected: to the requester and the passengers
- Booking to Assign: to the transport office once approved
Questions
Can we skip approval for bookings?
Yes. Turn on Approved at Once on the Vehicle booking chain. Requests go straight to the transport office to assign.Can large trips need the principal's approval?
Yes. Add a chain with Only For, such as bookings with more than 20 passengers, with a second level naming the principal. Other bookings use the general chain.Can someone approve their own booking?
Only if they are also one of the transport office's approvers: Requester May Approve is on to start with. Turn it off for the chain so someone else always decides.Are approvers reminded if they do not act?
Not in SmartMy Transit today. Approvers are told when a booking reaches them and keep a to-do until they decide.Do route runs or not riding need approval?
No. Only vehicle bookings go through approval in Transit.Related features
VEHICLE BOOKINGVehicle booking with approvalAnyone with a login asks for a vehicle from the back office, a web page or the Rider app. The request goes through your approval chain, the office assigns a free vehicle and driver, and the trip records the odometer.ACROSS SMARTMY TRANSITNotificationsSmartMy Transit tells parents when the bus starts, nears the stop and their child boards. It tells the office about SOS alerts and riders not riding, and keeps people asking for a vehicle informed. Each event has its own recipients and channels: phone notification, in-app, WhatsApp, SMS or email.PEOPLE AND ACCESSSeparate access for each roleThe transport administrator, the transport office, drivers and helpers, riders and parents each get their own access. Each person sees only the Entities they work in and the records that are theirs.WITH SMARTMY HRMSDrivers from SmartMy HRMS, trips as attendanceWith SmartMy HRMS, employees become riders in one pick. A run whose driver or helper is on approved leave is flagged, with a to-do for the transport office. Starting and ending a run or a booking trip counts as the crew's attendance.
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