An approval matrix that keeps up when people move

What is an approval matrix?

An approval matrix is a simple record of who can approve what, and up to what limit. For each type of decision, it names the role that approves, the limit, who covers during an absence and where a bigger request goes. It names roles, not people. So when someone is promoted, goes on leave or resigns, you change who holds the role, not the rules. When the team changes, update the matrix from a set date. Decide what happens to requests already waiting. Give any temporary cover an end date, and change application permissions to match. Then test it with a routine request, an exception and one raised before the change.

Describe the authority behind the name

“Send it to the operations manager” is a starting point. The business also needs to establish what that role can approve, within which limits and under what conditions. The named person then occupies a defined responsibility.

For example, approving a routine purchase within an agreed budget may be different from approving a new supplier or committing to recurring expenditure. Treat those as separate decisions where the business requires separate authority.

What goes into a small-business approval matrix?

You don’t need a thick delegation of authority document to begin. You need a current approval matrix that people can find and actually use.

Use enough detail to settle an ordinary request without relying on memory. Keep confidential financial or personnel information accessible only to those who need it.

For a small business, a first version might look like this:

• Routine purchase within budget: the operations manager approves up to an agreed monthly limit; above that, the owner or a director.
• New supplier: the owner or a director approves, once accounts has checked the bank details.
• Releasing a payment: accounts plus a second approver, up to an agreed limit per payment; above that, the owner or a director.
• New hire or salary change: the owner or a director, within the approved headcount plan.
• Customer refund or credit note: the operations manager, up to an agreed limit per case; above that, the owner or a director.
• Access to a business application: the role’s manager approves and the administrator sets it up; administrator access needs the owner.

This is an example, not a client arrangement. Set the roles and limits that fit your business.

Handle open work explicitly

When a role changes, decide what happens to requests already in progress. Some may move to the new role holder; others may need a fresh review because the circumstances have changed. Record the reassignment and preserve the earlier decision history.

A transition date matters. Staff should be able to tell which arrangement applied when a commitment was made. Updating a live routing rule should not obscure who approved something last month.

Give temporary arrangements an ending

An absence may justify limited delegation. Record its scope and duration, who authorised it and how the return to normal authority will be confirmed. Clarify whether the person providing cover can also approve work they initiated.

Repeated exceptions deserve a review. They may indicate an unrealistic approval limit, a missing deputy or a route that does not fit the work. Leaving each exception in a separate message makes that pattern difficult to see.

Align the applications after the decision

Approval authority and application access are separate matters. A person may be able to click an approval button without having the required business authority. Another may hold the authority but lack access to complete the task.

Once the appointment or delegation is authorised, update the relevant applications, shared records and instructions. Confirm both the new permissions and the removal of access that is no longer appropriate.

Does the role sign for the bank account, contracts or statutory filings? Then the change may also need a revised bank mandate and, in a company, a board resolution naming the new signatories. Check what is needed with your bank and your company secretary or legal adviser.

Test it with three requests

Before calling the change complete, trace a routine request, an exception and a request raised before the effective date. Ask a colleague who was not involved in designing the arrangement to explain where each goes. Any uncertainty is useful evidence that the instructions need attention.

Our role-change example follows one appointment through approvals, waiting requests, temporary cover and application access.

Common questions

Does a small firm really need an approval matrix?

Yes, as soon as more than one person can commit the business to spending, hiring or a customer promise. A one-page list is enough. It tells everyone who decides, up to what limit, and where a request goes when that person is away.

Approval matrix or RACI chart: what’s the difference?

A RACI chart says who does a task, who approves it, who is consulted and who is kept informed. An approval matrix says who has authority to commit the business, and up to what limit. Many small businesses need the second one first.

Who approves when the owner is away?

Whoever the matrix names as delegate, for a stated period and purpose. The cover should end on a set date. And the delegate should never approve their own requests.

Need to clarify who can decide?

Send us one approval that stalled recently and the roles involved. We can trace where it waited and who could have decided it.

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