Escalation Rules for Invoice Approvals: Keep AP Moving Without Chasing

Invoice approvals don’t always fail because someone says no. More often, they fail because someone says nothing. A manager is traveling, a director is buried in email, an approver forgets the invoice is sitting in their queue. Meanwhile, your AP team is left chasing reminders while suppliers wait.

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Centime’s new invoice escalation rules eliminate that dead time. Instead of relying on follow-ups, invoices can automatically move to the next level of approval once a set number of business days pass.

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What Escalation Actually Looks Like

When setting up approval policies in Centime, users can now toggle Auto Escalate and define the threshold in days. The key detail: escalation is calculated in business days, not calendar days.

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Here’s how that plays out:

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An invoice is sent for approval on a Friday with a 2-day escalation rule.
Saturday and Sunday are ignored.
Monday counts as Day 1.
Tuesday counts as Day 2.
By early Wednesday morning, the invoice is automatically sent to the next approver in line.

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No reminders. No Slack nudges. No risk of invoices getting buried in inboxes.

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Why It Matters for Finance Teams

Approval delays don’t just slow down AP. They ripple into late fees, strained supplier relationships, and end-of-month crunches where invoices stack up all at once.

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Escalation rules provide a safety net: if someone doesn’t act, the process keeps moving anyway. That means:

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High-volume workflows don’t stall.
Suppliers are paid on time.
Controllers aren’t stuck firefighting at month-end.

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It’s one of those small workflow guardrails that prevents big headaches.

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Flexibility Built In

Not every approval should move at the same pace — and Centime doesn’t force you into a one-size-fits-all rule. Escalation can be set at the policy level:

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Routine, low-risk invoices can escalate after just two days.
Larger or more strategic invoices can carry longer thresholds.

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This balance gives teams control while still guaranteeing progress.

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A Practical Example

Imagine a $12,000 marketing invoice that requires three approvals. The first approver is on PTO and misses the notification. With escalation enabled, the invoice won’t stall — it moves to the second approver after the defined window, ensuring payment stays on schedule and your month-end close isn’t disrupted.

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Escalation as a Quiet Efficiency Win

Some product updates grab attention with flashy dashboards. Others quietly make your day-to-day workflow less painful. Escalation rules fall firmly into that second category.

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By embedding resilience into the approval process, Centime takes one more bottleneck off the AP team’s shoulders. It’s the kind of automation that doesn’t just save clicks — it protects your team’s time, your suppliers’ trust, and the accuracy of your books.

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Ready to keep your AP automation moving without chasing? Book a demo today.

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**Deposit placement through ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in the applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network banks appears at https://www.intrafi.com/network-banks. The depositor may exclude banks from eligibility to receive its funds. IntraFi and ICS are registered service marks, and IntraFi Cash Service is a service mark, of IntraFi Network LLC.

^††2.75% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) as of 09/24/25. Deposit rate may adjust to current market rate and may change daily. Fees may reduce earnings.

*Centime is not a bank and is not authorized by any federal or state agency to engage directly in core banking activities.
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*All banking products and services available through Centime are provided by FNBO and are governed by the applicable agreements and related disclosures provided to you by FNBO. Member FDIC.
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‍*While Centime facilitates traditional banking activities (such as the acceptance of deposits or extensions of credit), these services are actually provided by our banking partner, FNBO.
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*Centime may provide support services to FNBO, as permitted by applicable law, to facilitate the delivery of its bank products and services.

**Deposit placement through ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in the applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network bank

Escalation Rules for Invoice Approvals: Keep AP Moving Without Chasing

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