Submitting and approving changes
Some contract changes must first be approved by a responsible person before they can be applied (Four eyes principle). The application manager can configure the approval process. For more information, see Configuring the approval process.
Once the approval process has been set up, users interact with approvals in two roles:
• Requestor: the user who makes the change and submits it for approval.
• Approver: the responsible person who reviews and approves or rejects the change.
Steps for the requestor
1. Go to the relevant selection level and make the required change(s).
◦ For changes that require approval, Planon automatically creates an approval with the In preparation status.
◦ The changes you have made are not immediately visible; they will only be implemented after approval.
2. On the action panel, click Show approval overview.
◦ An overview of your changes is displayed. You can check the changes before sending them for approval (see step 3).
◦ To ensure transparency, the overview may also include changes to system fields. This gives approvers the full context they need to make a decision.
◦ The information in the approval overview is displayed either as a field showing the old and new values or, in the case of the discount rate for remeasurement of a lease line based on an option, as part of a warning message.
3. On the action panel, click Send for approval to send your change(s) for approval.
The Send for approval and Cancel approval actions can also be performed via Action on selection.
4. In the Enter values dialog box, enter relevant information in the Comments by requestor field. You can add a short note explaining what was changed and why. This helps the approver understand the reason behind the update.
◦ The approval's status now changes from In preparation to Pending.
◦ The record is now blocked for further changes until the approval process is completed.
◦ In the Approvals TSI, the approver can now review and approve or reject the changes submitted for approval (see steps 5, 6 and 7).
Steps for the approver
5. Go to Approvals and check the changes that are waiting for approval.
6. Select the required approval.
7. On the Status transitions action panel, click the required status (Approved, Canceled or Disapproved).
As an approver, you can either approve or reject the requested change. In the Comments by approver field, you can provide a reason or justification for your decision. Your feedback makes the decision transparent and helps the requestor understand the outcome.
Once an approval request is processed, the reason for approval or rejection is immediately visible to the requestor in the Approval comments field on Contracts. This field shows:
• The current approval status (approved, rejected, etc.)
• Comments by the approver explaining their decision
• Comments by the requestor who submitted the change
You can view the three most recent approval comments, and if you hover your mouse over an approver’s comment, a small pop-up will show more details.
 | It is recommended to complete all approvals before upgrading Planon. |
Approval statuses:
Status | Description |
|---|---|
In preparation | In this status, you can still apply changes to the approval (up to a maximum of 10 per approval). |
Pending | In this status, the changed record is blocked and you cannot make any changes to it. |
Canceled | In this status, an approval is aborted, you must enter a comment in the Enter values dialog box. (Typically, this is done by the approval requestor after making a mistake). |
Approved | In this status, the approval is affirmed and will be applied. |
Applied | The approval is implemented. |
Disapproved | In this status, an approval is rejected, the changes will not be implemented and the record will be available again for new changes. |
Error when applying | This status is automatically assigned if an approval cannot be applied (for example because a business object is Under construction). You can fix the issue that is blocking the approval (for example, set the business object that was Under construction back to Completed) and reapply the changes. If this does not work, you can set the approval to Terminated. You can then proceed to submit a new approval. |
Terminated | The approval is closed following an Error when applying. |