FAQ: What is Delegation of Authority (DOA)? How are DOA datasets managed?
Delegation of Authority (DOA) is a common approval routing method used by organisations to define who can approve financial commitments (like Purchase Orders or Invoices) based on specific criteria, most commonly the transaction amount and coding dimensions (like Department, Cost Centre, GL Account).
How DOA Works in Zudello:
- Purpose: To automate complex approval matrix rules without needing hundreds of individual Sentences.
- Mechanism: Uses a special type of Dataset called "DOA Approval".
- Dataset Structure: A DOA Dataset is essentially a table configured in Settings > Datasets. Each row defines:
- Dimension Values: Specific codes for dimensions like Department, Cost Centre, Account Code, etc. (Blank values often act as wildcards).
- Limit: A monetary threshold.
- Approver: The User or User Group responsible for approvals up to that limit for that dimension combination.
- Sentence Action: An Automation Sentence uses the Get approval from DOA action, specifying which DOA Dataset to use and how to evaluate it (e.g., start from submitter's limit, start from bottom, check against total amount).
- Evaluation: When the Sentence runs for a transaction:
- Zudello finds rows in the DOA Dataset that match the transaction's coding dimensions.
- It compares the transaction's amount against the limits defined in the matching rows.
- Based on the "Start From" logic and limits, it determines the sequence of approvers required and creates the necessary approval milestones and steps.
Managing DOA Datasets:
- Creation/Editing: Administrators with appropriate permissions create and manage DOA Datasets in Settings > Datasets.
- Click Create Dataset, choose Type "DOA Approval".
- Define the Dimensions to be used as columns (e.g., Department, Account Code).
- Add rows, selecting dimension values, entering the Limit, and assigning the Approver (User or User Group) for each rule.
- Save the Dataset.
- Maintenance: Keeping the DOA Dataset accurate is crucial. Updates are needed when:
- Approval limits change.
- Staff change roles (requiring updates to User/Group assignments on dataset rows).
- New departments, accounts, etc., are added that require specific approval paths.
DOA provides a powerful, data-driven way to manage complex approval matrices based on financial limits and organisational structure.
Detailed Guide: Managing Delegation of Authority Datasets Troubleshooting: Issues with DOA/Management Tree Approvals
title: What is Delegation of Authority (DOA)? How are DOA datasets managed? description: Explanation of Delegation of Authority (DOA) approvals and DOA Datasets in Zudello. slug: /faq/approvals/what-is-doa sidebar_label: What is DOA? How are Datasets managed?
FAQ: What is Delegation of Authority (DOA)? How are DOA datasets managed?
Delegation of Authority (DOA) is a common approval routing method used by organisations to define who can approve financial commitments (like Purchase Orders or Invoices) based on specific criteria, most commonly the transaction amount and coding dimensions (like Department, Cost Centre, GL Account).
How DOA Works in Zudello:
- Purpose: To automate complex approval matrix rules without needing hundreds of individual Sentences.
- Mechanism: Uses a special type of Dataset called "DOA Approval".
- Dataset Structure: A DOA Dataset is essentially a table configured in Settings > Datasets. Each row defines:
- Dimension Values: Specific codes for dimensions like Department, Cost Centre, Account Code, etc. (Blank values often act as wildcards).
- Limit: A monetary threshold.
- Approver: The User or User Group responsible for approvals up to that limit for that dimension combination.
- Sentence Action: An Automation Sentence uses the Get approval from DOA action, specifying which DOA Dataset to use and how to evaluate it (e.g., start from submitter's limit, start from bottom, check against total amount).
- Evaluation: When the Sentence runs for a transaction:
- Zudello finds rows in the DOA Dataset that match the transaction's coding dimensions.
- It compares the transaction's amount against the limits defined in the matching rows.
- Based on the "Start From" logic and limits, it determines the sequence of approvers required and creates the necessary approval milestones and steps.
Managing DOA Datasets:
- Creation/Editing: Administrators with appropriate permissions create and manage DOA Datasets in Settings > Datasets.
- Click Create Dataset, choose Type "DOA Approval".
- Define the Dimensions to be used as columns (e.g., Department, Account Code).
- Add rows, selecting dimension values, entering the Limit, and assigning the Approver (User or User Group) for each rule.
- Save the Dataset.
- Maintenance: Keeping the DOA Dataset accurate is crucial. Updates are needed when:
- Approval limits change.
- Staff change roles (requiring updates to User/Group assignments on dataset rows).
- New departments, accounts, etc., are added that require specific approval paths.
DOA provides a powerful, data-driven way to manage complex approval matrices based on financial limits and organisational structure.
Detailed Guide: Managing Delegation of Authority Datasets Troubleshooting: Issues with DOA/Management Tree Approvals