Bill approval means a bill is checked and signed off by the right person before it is paid. A setup says who approves what. What is segregation of duties?
Before you start
- Accounts Payable subscription
- Business user with admin privileges
- Approve Bills: List permission (plus a Bill approval level for value rules)
The Sage Intacct way
Where to find it: Accounts Payable > Setup > Configuration > Bill approval settings
- Give approvers the Approve Bills: List permission. For value rules also give an AP Bill approval level (Level 1 and up).
- At the top level go to Accounts Payable > Setup > Configuration and under Bill approval settings select Enable bill approval.
- Optionally tick Email notifications and pick an Unrestricted user who can override the cycle.
- Select Manage for approval policies and add rule types: Vendor-based Approval, Value Approval, Value Approval - Transaction Department or User Level.
- Save. Users then select Submit instead of Post on bills.
Limits in Sage Intacct
- Only bills created in Accounts Payable use bill approvals. Purchasing documents use Purchasing approvals.
- Enabling must be done at the top level and affects all entities.
- Approvers cannot be restricted to entities or departments. Value approval has a maximum of 6 levels.
- A bill under the Level 1 minimum posts without approval.
Good to know in Sage Intacct
- Approval is part of AP and also exists for purchasing documents.
The Pulsify way
- Connect Sage Intacct to Pulsify. We set up the connection for you where needed.
- Open Approvals. Every company starts with a default rule: any Admin or Approver can approve.
- Add steps for amounts, suppliers or accounts. Choose a person, a role or a team as approver at each step.
- Add a review step if someone should check coding before approval.
- Use Try an invoice to test the rule on a real bill.
- Add auto-approve rules for small or trusted bills if you want.
Pulsify connects to Sage Intacct. We set up the connection for you.
What Pulsify does not do here
- Pulsify does not reassign an approval to someone else.
- Pulsify does not send approval reminders.
Common mistakes
- Giving approvers the Approve Bills permission but no Bill approval level, so value rules do not reach them.
- Expecting to restrict approvers to one entity or department, which is not supported.
More help
- How to set up purchase invoice approval in Business Central
- How to set up bill approval in MYOB Acumatica
- How to set up purchase invoice approval in Sage 200
- How to keep an audit trail for bill records in Sage Intacct
- How to approve bill records in bulk in Sage Intacct
- How to route bill records by amount, vendor or project in Sage Intacct
- All Sage Intacct how-to guides
- Pulsify setup guides
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-19. Confidence: confirmed.
- www.intacct.com/ia/docs/en_US/help_action/Accounts_Payable/Approvals/Bill_approvals/Setup/bill-approval-setup-workflow.htm
- www.intacct.com/ia/docs/en_US/help_action/Accounts_Payable/Approvals/Bill_approvals/about-bill-approvals.htm
- www.intacct.com/ia/docs/en_US/help_action/Accounts_Payable/Approvals/Bill_approvals/Setup/bill-approval-fbf.htm
Also confirmed by
Common questions
Do I have to set approvals up at the top level?
Yes. Bill approval is enabled at the top level under Accounts Payable > Setup > Configuration and it affects all entities.
Which approval rule types are there?
Vendor-based Approval, Value Approval, Value Approval - Transaction Department and User Level. Each rule type can be used once per policy.
Does a small bill need approval?
A bill under the Level 1 minimum posts without approval. Approvers need the Approve Bills: List permission and value rules need a Bill approval level.
Does Pulsify support multi-step approvals?
Yes. You can set steps by amount, supplier or account. Approvers can be people, roles or teams. A review step is available.
Pulsify setup guides
Want this done for you?
Book a call to see how Pulsify handles supplier bills in Sage Intacct.