Table of Contents

Linc Approval Workflows

Introduction

Welcome to the documentation for Linc Approval Workflows, an extension app for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central developed by Linc Communications (Pty) Ltd. This app extends the standard Workflows and Approvals functionality by adding approval workflows for journal types, master data records, and document operations that are not covered out-of-the-box.

Key Features at a Glance

Feature Area Description
Journal Approval Workflows Approval workflows for Item Journals, Job Journals, Physical Inventory Journals, and Fixed Asset G/L Journals (batch and line level)
Master Data Approval Workflows Approval workflows for changes to G/L Accounts, Fixed Assets, Bank Accounts, Vendor Bank Accounts, and Customer Bank Accounts
Document Deletion Approvals Require approval before Sales or Purchase documents can be deleted
Overdue Customer Checks Conditional workflow logic that routes sales documents for approval when the customer has overdue ledger entries
Purchase Approval Tolerance Configurable tolerance limits (amount and percentage) to control changes on released purchase documents
Vendor Change Tracking Save, revert, apply, or discard field-level changes on Vendor records via workflow responses
Record Restrictions Automatic record usage restrictions on journal lines and batches that are pending approval
Approval Entries Factbox Approval status visibility added to General Journals, Sales documents, Purchase documents, and other list pages
Workflow Templates Pre-built workflow templates installed automatically so you can enable workflows without building them from scratch

Feature Details

1. Journal Approval Workflows

Adds Send for Approval / Cancel Approval Request actions and Workflow Status factboxes to the following journals:

  • Item Journal — line level approvals
  • Job Journal — batch and line level approvals
  • Physical Inventory Journal — line level approvals
  • Fixed Asset G/L Journal — batch and line level approvals (uses standard General Journal batch workflow)

When a workflow is enabled, journal lines and batches are automatically restricted from posting until approval is granted.

2. Master Data Approval Workflows

Approval workflows for changes to the following master data records:

  • G/L Account Card — approve, reject, delegate, and comment actions
  • Fixed Asset Card — approve, reject, delegate, and comment actions
  • Bank Account Card — approve, reject, delegate, and comment actions
  • Vendor Bank Account Card — approve, reject, delegate, and comment actions
  • Customer Bank Account Card — approve, reject, delegate, and comment actions

Each card page displays approval actions only when an open approval entry exists for the current user.

3. Document Deletion Approvals

Prevents unauthorized deletion of Sales and Purchase documents by requiring workflow approval before a document can be deleted. This includes:

  • Sales Invoices, Sales Credit Memos, Sales Quotes, Sales Orders
  • Purchase Invoices, Purchase Credit Memos, Purchase Quotes, Purchase Orders

Once approved, the document is deleted automatically via a custom workflow response.

4. Overdue Customer Approval Check

A conditional workflow event that checks whether the customer on a Sales document has overdue invoices. When configured:

  • If the customer is overdue — the document is routed for manual approval
  • If the customer is not overdue — the document can be automatically approved and released

This is controlled via the Prevent shipment if overdue Customer ledger entry invoices exist setting on the Sales & Receivables Setup page.

5. Purchase Approval Tolerance

Configurable tolerance limits that control how much a released (or previously approved) purchase document amount may change before requiring re-approval:

  • Max. Approval Tolerance Amount — the maximum absolute LCY difference allowed
  • Max. Approval Tolerance % — the maximum percentage difference allowed

These settings are found on the Purchases & Payables Setup page under the Approval group.

6. Vendor Change Tracking

Custom workflow responses for Vendor record changes:

  • Revert values — undo all field changes and restore the original values
  • Apply new values — accept all pending field changes
  • Discard new values — reject all pending field changes

The app tracks field-level changes using the Workflow Record Change table and can revert or apply them based on the approval outcome.

7. Record Restrictions

Journal lines and batches that have an active approval workflow are automatically restricted from being posted. Restrictions are lifted once all approval entries are resolved. This applies to:

  • Item Journal lines
  • Job Journal lines and batches
  • Physical Inventory Journal lines

8. Workflow Templates

Pre-built workflow templates are installed automatically on app installation and can be refreshed via the Refresh Custom Workflows action on the Workflows page. Templates are provided for:

  • Item Journal Line approval
  • Job Journal Batch/Line approval
  • Physical Inventory Journal Line approval
  • Bank Account approval
  • Fixed Asset approval
  • Vendor Bank Account approval
  • Customer Bank Account approval
  • Sales/Purchase document deletion approval

Getting Started

  1. Install the app from AppSource or deploy it to your Business Central environment.
  2. Navigate to Workflows and enable the workflow templates relevant to your business.
  3. Configure Approval User Setup to define approvers and approval limits.
  4. Optionally configure tolerance settings on Purchases & Payables Setup.
  5. Use the Refresh Custom Workflows action if templates need to be reinstalled after an upgrade.