Invoice approvals for S/4HANA

Invoice approval is the check that the right person agrees a supplier bill is correct before it is paid.

What S/4HANA does on its own

Flexible workflow for supplier invoices (blocked invoice and parked as complete) with start conditions and steps, plus release strategies for POs.

• Needs configuration, often by a partner.

What you need in S/4HANA

• Configuration expert role
• Flexible workflow set up for the Workflow for Blocked Invoice or Parked Invoice as Complete scenario
• Approver access to My Inbox

Setting it up in S/4HANA

Where to find it: Manage Workflows for Supplier Invoices (F2873); approve in My Inbox (F0862); Release Blocked Invoices (MRBR)

1. Open Manage Workflows for Supplier Invoices and choose the scenario.
2. Add a workflow with a name and validity period.
3. In Start Conditions set what must be true, such as company code, account assignment category, blocking reason or invoice amount.
4. In Step Sequence add steps and recipients. A recipient can be a named user or a role such as the person responsible for the cost centres.
5. Activate the workflow. An active workflow can be copied or deactivated but not edited.
6. Use Define Order to set which workflow is checked first and keep a fallback workflow last.

Good to know in S/4HANA

• Only one workflow starts for an invoice. It is the first one whose conditions match.
• Start conditions allow one company code per workflow.
• Routing by supplier needs custom conditions through a BAdI in Custom Logic.

How to do it in S/4HANA

How to set up supplier invoice approval in S/4HANA

In S/4HANA, set up approval workflow: choose who can approve and their limits, then test it with a real supplier invoice before you rely on it.

How to approve supplier invoice records in bulk in S/4HANA

The S/4HANA help does not say My Inbox approves several supplier invoices at once. Approvers act on each work item. Release Blocked Invoices (MRBR) can release many blocked invoices together.

How to route supplier invoice records by amount, supplier or WBS element in S/4HANA

In S/4HANA, set approval workflow rules by amount, supplier or WBS element. Put specific rules first, then a default for everything else and test with a real supplier invoice.

What Pulsify adds

1. Every company starts with a default rule: any Admin or Approver can approve.
2. With the Approval Workflows Add-on, add ordered steps that route by supplier, amount, account and tracking such as job.
3. Each step asks a role, a person or a team. A step can need any one of them or everyone.
4. Add a review step before approval if someone should check coding first.
5. Use Try an invoice to see which path a sample bill would take.
6. Approvers approve, reject or send back from a phone or laptop, one bill or many at once.

Pulsify connects to S/4HANA. We set up the connection for you. More about invoice approvals in Pulsify.

What Pulsify does not do

• Pulsify does not reassign an approval to someone else.
• Pulsify does not send approval reminders.
• Pulsify never moves money. Payment runs stay in S/4HANA or your bank.

More help

• Invoice approvals for Dynamics 365 Finance
• Invoice approvals for Kinetic
• Invoice approvals for IFS Cloud
• Invoice capture for S/4HANA
• Supplier credit notes for S/4HANA
• Duplicate invoice checks for S/4HANA
• All S/4HANA how-to guides

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-19.

• help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_CLOUD/0e602d466b99490187fcbb30d1dc897c/9bd9a6b4124446a5b31ddfecbff07508.html
• help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_CLOUD/0e602d466b99490187fcbb30d1dc897c/81da6d475c614991aade9bfcdb864846.html
• help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_CLOUD/0e602d466b99490187fcbb30d1dc897c/f25bbe08e3374885a96b485b30251bf0.html
• help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_CLOUD/0e602d466b99490187fcbb30d1dc897c/ea000f40b88b4ff6b75e630aa2cf0e39.html