Who Has to Approve Payments, Banks and Payouts?

Most money steps take two people: one prepares and a different person approves. If no one else in your workspace can approve, you can approve your own work after confirming your password and a code. Permissions are set in Roles, and how many approvers you need is set in Approval Rules.

The Three Permissions

These are the defaults. Owners can change the Finance Preparer and Finance Approver roles or build custom roles.

• Connect bank accounts and change payment instructions: Owners, Admins and Finance Preparers.
• Prepare payments and payouts: Owners, Admins and Finance Preparers.
• Approve payments and payouts (Finance Approver permission): Owners, Admins and Finance Approvers.

Steps That Always Need a Different Approver

• Payment In: one person records it, and a different person clicks Approve Payment. Someone who didn't prepare it records settlement. For a payment made from an investor's notice, the person who approved it can't also confirm receipt.
• Payouts: one person prepares the payout, and a different person approves it. The same goes for each ACH batch, wire batch and check run.
• Confirming a wire or check: not the person who prepared the payout or the batch.
• Replacing a failed ACH payout: not the person who prepared the batch.
• Bank details investors send money to: see Set Up Funding Instructions.
• Investor payout bank changes: see Review a Bank Instruction Change.
• Accounting: bank matches, period closes, corrections and other Accounting requests.
• Voiding a released NACHA file: not the person who created it.

Steps That Need a Second Person Only With a Rule

• Moov account: approved automatically unless you have a rule for Review a Provider Account.
• Settlement bank account: approved automatically unless you have a rule for Approve a Payment Bank Account.
• NACHA file release: with any approval rules adopted, a different approver must release a file before it can be downloaded. Without them, the person who creates it downloads it right away.

If You're the Only Approver

Syndelo checks whether any other active team member has Finance Approver permission. If no one does, you can approve your own work. You see a note saying so, and you confirm with your password and an emailed code. The approval is marked as approved alone in the history, and any rule asking for more approvers or an owner is set aside for that approval. Inviting a teammate with that permission turns the second check back on.

Why You Might Not See a Button

• You prepared it, and someone else in the workspace can approve it. Ask them.
• Your role lacks the permission. Bank Files (NACHA), Approve Payment and Record Settlement need Finance Approver permission. Record Payment In, Disburse and Export Payment List need permission to prepare payments and payouts.
• You're using an API key or AI assistant. Sending money needs your own browser session. So does any approval under approval rules, and approving your own work.
• Approving under rules, or alone, needs two-factor authentication turned on. See Why Does an Approval Ask for My Password and a Code?