Workflow Rules (Advanced Line Level Approvals) in Gorilla Expense are an additional feature that can be configured only when Line-Level approval (Project-Based) is enabled in the application. When a company requires its expense approvals to follow a specific process—different from the default approval flow—these additional rules can be configured to support that logic. These rules allow each expense line to be routed to different approvers based on specific conditions, such as the associated customer, project or expense type. This feature adds an extra layer of flexibility to the approval process by allowing conditional, line-specific routing within the existing approval framework.
Only users with administrative privileges have the authority to view, create, edit, or delete these rules. Once implemented, the rules are automatically evaluated during the report submission process, and if the specified conditions are met, the system redirects the report according to the defined logic.
Creating a Workflow Rule:
To create a new workflow rule, first navigate to Masters → Workflow Rules.
Then click on "Create New" to open the rule builder interface.
Begin by entering a clear and descriptive name in the Workflow Rule Name field. For example, a rule meant to handle approvals for accounting reports could be named "Accounting Approval – HR."
Once the rule name is set, begin configuring the logic for Group 1 by creating condition rows. Each row is structured using a logical operator (such as AND, OR, or THEN), a field, an operator for comparison, and a corresponding value.
Fields available for selection include: Account Number, Approver, Billing Code, Business Activity, Business Unit, Company, Cost Centre, Cost Type, Customer, Expense Type, Manager, Other Reference, Policy Limit, Project, Project Manager, Project Task, Reference, Staff-Member, Status, and User.
Once the field is selected, the user must choose an operator that is appropriate for the type of value being set. Supported operators include:
Operator | Description | Function |
= | Equals | Checks if a field matches exactly with a predefined value |
<> | Not equals | Excludes records with a specific value |
< | Less than | Filters values below a specific threshold |
<= | Less than or equal to | Includes values up to and including a certain number |
> | Greater than | Targets high-value amounts |
>= | Greater than or equal to | Includes all values equal to or greater than a defined limit |
Contains | The field includes the value | Checks if a field includes a keyword or phrase. |
Does Not Contain | Field excludes the value | Filters out entries that contain a specific word or phrase |
Starts With | Begins with the value | Checks if a field begins with a certain prefix |
Ends With | Ends with the value | Checks if a field ends with a certain suffix |
Based on the selected field, the value dropdown will dynamically populate with available options. For example, selecting Customer will present all available customers in the dropdown.
After the first condition row is complete, additional rows can be added using the (+) icon. Each new row should begin with a logical operator to define how it interacts with the previous row.
Use AND when all conditions must be true, OR when at least one condition must be true, and THEN to define what action to take if the conditions are satisfied.
If the logic requires more complexity, you can click on "Add New Group" to create a separate block of conditions.
Once all the groups and rows are configured, click Save to activate the rule. The rule will now be applied automatically to any submitted expense report that matches the defined conditions.
Example: Configuring a Workflow Rule for Conditional Routing
To illustrate how Workflow Rules operate within Gorilla Expense, consider the following use case.
Logical Operator | Field | Operator | Value | Purpose |
- | Customer | = | Axinora Technologies | Applies to reports for a specific customer |
AND | Project | = | Compliance Sigma Policy | Further narrows to a specific project |
AND | Expense Type | = | Computer Services | Ensures the report includes this expense category |
AND | User | = | Sofia Garcia | Applies only to reports submitted by this user |
THEN | Manager | = | Andrew Garfield | Final action: route to this manager for approval |
So, a user creates an expense report that includes an expense matching the defined conditions, such as Customer, Project, Expense Type, and User, and attaches it to an expense report and submits the expense report, the system evaluates it against the active workflow rules.
If all the configured conditions are satisfied, the expense report is automatically directed to the appropriate manager as defined in the workflow rule.
This rule ensures that if an expense report is submitted by Sofia Garcia and includes an expense that matches the selected fields (Customer, Project, and Expense Type), the report will automatically be routed to Andrew Garfield for approval.
It is important to note that the THEN condition must always be placed at the end of a condition group, as it defines the system action to be executed once the criteria are met.
Managing Workflow Rules
Once a workflow rule is created, it will appear in the Workflow Rules list, where users can manage existing rules. Each rule entry includes action icons on the right side that allow administrators to either edit or delete the rule.
Clicking the edit icon opens the rule in the configuration screen, where administrators can update existing conditions or actions, add or remove condition rows or groups, or change field selections, operators, or values.
The delete icon (?️) permanently removes the rule from the system. This ensures that administrators have full control over rule maintenance and can make adjustments as organisational workflows evolve.
Workflow Rules in Gorilla Expense offer a powerful, no-code way for administrators to enforce approval policies, streamline expense handling, and reduce manual routing errors. By setting clear conditions and actions, companies can ensure every report follows the correct path automatically.
For a detailed tutorial on how a line level approval feature works, please refer to the link below.