01Guide · Check the approval matrix
AICTIONBOT™ · Guide
Check your approval matrix: who approves although they left long ago?
Your approval matrix knows people who left a year ago, deputies who have left themselves, and limits with gaps in between. As long as no invoice lands there, nobody notices. The Approval Matrix Checker puts matrix and staff list side by side and finds the places where the next approval runs into nothing.
Free, no account, no AI and no daily limit. Your tables stay in your browser, nothing is uploaded or stored.
02Check now · matrix, staff, open approvals
AICTIONBOT™ Workbench · no AI · in the browser
Approval Matrix Checker
Result: findings per row, the matrix with a traffic light, a clean-up list and the rerouting list, to copy or as CSV. With “Load sample data” you see the result straight away, without your own file.
Approval matrix Required
Staff and roles Required
Open approvals optional · linked
Findings in the matrix
Rerouting list Linked to open approvals
Each open approval is checked against the matrix and the staff list. Is it waiting with someone who has left, is absent, has no system role or is above their limit?
| Document | Area | Amount | Waiting with | Open for | Result | Problem | Reroute to |
|---|
The matrix, line by line
| Area | Level | System | Approver | From | To | Deputy | Result |
|---|
03What the checker finds
What it checks in every row of the matrix.
Every level runs against the staff list and against the neighbouring levels. Stop means the approval runs into nothing. Check means a gap or a risk.
- Approver has leftIf the staff list shows a leaving date in the past, every approval at this level lands with nobody. Stop, replace the approver.
- Deputy has left or is unknownThe deputy has left, is not in the staff list or is the approver themselves. Then there is none when it counts.
- Absent without a deputyApprover absent until a date after the reference date, no deputy entered. The level stands still for that period.
- Approver without a system roleThe person is in the matrix but has no role in the system. The approval never reaches them.
- Limit gap and overlapping limitsA range of amounts is missing between two levels, or two levels apply to the same amount. Then chance decides who approves.
- One person on several levelsWhoever approves the order on level 1 and level 2 checks themselves. Set a different person for the higher level.
- Different limits per systemThe same area has different limits in two systems. Define one source of truth and maintain all systems from it.
- One head for many thingsOne person carries many areas. If they are away, a lot stops at once. Secure deputies for this person in particular.
04In the chain · inputs
Four checkers, one chain.
If you add the open approvals from your system, the checker checks each one: is it waiting with someone who has left, is absent, has no role or is above their limit? This becomes the rerouting list with the name the approval now belongs to. The Discount Radar reads this list unchanged as open issues.
- Delivers clean-up listVendor Master X-rayWhich supplier is duplicated, incomplete or suspicious?
- Delivers query sheet per documentDocument MatchDo requisition, order, confirmation, goods receipt and invoice fit together?
- HereApproval Matrix CheckerWho may approve, and are they still here?
- Delivers payment run and follow-upDiscount RadarWhich discount expires, and who saves it?
| Input | Required | Columns |
|---|---|---|
| Approval matrix | required | area, level, approver, limit_from, limit_to, deputy, system |
| Staff and roles | required | person, status, leaving_date, absent_until, system_role |
| Open approvals | optional | document, area, amount, waiting_with, since, system |
CSV with semicolon, comma or tab, or Excel. Common alternative column names are recognised, in English and German.
From the archive, anonymised and rounded: 28 findings on approvals and decision rights. One approver without access blocked around 70 requesters, approvals took around 45 days, one supplier chased three times in eight days.
05Questions and answers
What businesses ask us most.
Where do I get the approval matrix?
From your ERP or approval workflow as an export, or from the Excel file in which the matrix is maintained. The checker reads CSV with semicolon, comma or tab, and Excel. It also recognises common alternative column names, German and English.
Are my tables uploaded?
No. The checker calculates entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server or stored. You do not need an account.
Does the checker need AI?
No. It works on fixed rules and always gives the same result for the same data. That is why there is no daily limit.
Does the checker change anything in my system?
No. The result is a check sheet. You reroute approvals and clean up the matrix in your system, according to your internal rules.
What does the checker cost?
Nothing. The Approval Matrix Checker is free, with no account and no daily limit.
Check now
Check first, then let it run.
Free, no account, no AI and no daily limit. Your tables stay in your browser, nothing is uploaded or stored.
Check the matrix nowPart of the AICTIONBOT™ Workbench
More tools for your purchasing.
Check price increases against official figures, match invoices against order and delivery note, check contracts for clauses and deadlines, screen suppliers against sanctions lists. Free in the browser, as a Windows app, as a Mac app and on the iPhone.
Guide by Dario Kulić, KULIC Advisory, Cologne. Twenty years of purchasing in large companies. Not legal or tax advice. Last updated: October 2026.