Accounting approvals and financial controls

The workflow, start to finish

1. Define roles and workspace access
2. Set approval thresholds and responsibilities
3. Add optional branches, departments or projects
4. Review privileged actions and exceptions
5. Lock reviewed periods and retain evidence

Every stage has a visible status. People can see what is ready, what is waiting and what needs correction instead of relying on a private spreadsheet or an email thread.

Information that carries forward

User identity, role, approval stage, comments, source record and event time remain linked across controlled workflows.

That continuity reduces duplicate entry and also makes correction safer: the team can follow the result back through its posting, approval and source instead of changing an unexplained total.

Controls and exceptions

Permission checks, MFA for high-risk actions, sequential approvals, rejection reasons, protected periods and audit exports support clear accountability.

Plain separates drafting from privileged actions. An exception remains reviewable, with a useful explanation, rather than being silently forced through merely to complete a workflow.

A realistic example

A staff member submits an expense, a manager approves the business purpose, finance confirms coding and only an authorised owner includes it in payment preparation.

The live demo uses sample business data and simulated external actions so visitors can test the internal workflow without sending a message, moving money, connecting a bank or lodging with an authority.

Connected to the rest of Plain

The same controls govern invoices, bills, purchasing, payroll, banking, settings and connected-product launches.

Once authorised activity posts to the ledger, the same result is available to account activity, financial statements, budgets, audit history and month-end review according to the user’s role.

What to confirm before relying on it

Plain supports configurable controls but does not replace the customer’s responsibility to design suitable delegations, review access and meet local governance obligations.

During setup, confirm the workspace country, accounting basis, tax treatment, financial year, account mappings, approval rules and user access. Plain provides the controlled workflow; the customer remains responsible for its business decisions and professional advice.