Term
What is invoice approval (fiatteren)? Meaning and explanation
Invoice approval (fiatteren) is the formal approval of a purchase invoice by an authorised person, such as a budget holder or director, before the invoice is finally booked or paid.
Definition
Invoice approval (fiatteren) is the formal approval of a purchase invoice by an authorised person, such as a budget holder or director, before the invoice is finally booked or paid.
Also known as: Fiatteren, Fiattering, Factuurgoedkeuring, Invoice approval, Accorderen, Goedkeuringsflow
In invoice approval, someone with the authority to do so confirms that an invoice is correct: the goods or services were ordered and delivered, the price is right and the costs belong to their budget. In larger organisations an invoice often passes several steps, for example first the department manager and then the finance team, with higher amounts also going to the management. Who may approve what is set out in a delegation of authority.
For a firm, invoice approval mainly matters for clients who want to stay involved or who have departments. Without a fixed route, approval happens through loose emails or a signature on paper, which causes delays and is hard to trace afterwards. A good approval flow records who approved or rejected, when and with what comment, and lets routine invoices through automatically so approvers do not have to see everything.
Autoboeker has approval before and after booking. Per administration you set steps in a fixed order, where per step one approver is enough or all approvers must agree. Rules on booking type, supplier and amount determine what is processed automatically and what requires approval. Approvers see the document and, with approval after processing, also the GL account, VAT code and cost centre. Every approval and rejection is recorded in the audit log, for Exact Online, Twinfield, SnelStart and e-Boekhouden.
Example
A client wants purchases up to 100 euros processed automatically, invoices above that approved by the department manager, and invoices above 5,000 euros then also approved by the management.
FAQ
Questions about invoice approval (fiatteren).
With approval before booking, the invoice is only booked once approved. With approval after booking, it is booked first and the approver then reviews the entry, including GL account and VAT code.
No. With rules you can let certain invoices, such as small amounts or regular suppliers up to a limit, be processed automatically and send only the rest to the approvers.
Further reading
Related in the knowledge base.
Guides
Processing purchase invoices: a complete guide for firms
How a firm processes purchase invoices: from intake and recognition to coding, checks, approval, booking and reconciliation. Manual, scanning or with AI.
12 min readRead the guideWorkflowsSetting a confidence threshold: how much should AI book?
How to set a confidence threshold for automatic booking: score and threshold explained, the three automation levels and a phased approach per administration.
8 min readRead the guide
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