ANTE User Manual

Set Up Backup Approvers

Make sure a filing never stalls because an approver is away: give a supervisor personal backups, add a backup to one level of a chain, check the result in Who approves?, and see what the backup sees.

Before You Start

  • The employees exist and each filer has an immediate superior (or a chain applies) — see Employee Records and Approval Configuration.
  • You can open Manpower → HR Setup → Approval Configuration and have the Filing Approval update permission.
  • Leave is set up, because Only while on leave switches on when an approved leave covers today — see File and Approve a Leave Request.
The examples used throughout

Supervisor Juan Dela Cruz approves for Ana Lim (Juan is her immediate superior). Juan's backups are Maria Santos and Pedro Reyes. Juan is on approved leave 10 – 14 November. The chain has two levels: Supervisor (Recommend) and Manager (Approve).

Give the Supervisor Two Backups

  1. Open the Backup approvers tab

    Go to Manpower → HR Setup → Approval Configuration and open the Backup approvers tab. Choose Juan Dela Cruz as the approver.

  2. Add Pedro as an Anytime backup
    Backup*
    Pedro Reyes. Up to five backups per approver; a person who has left the company is refused.
    When*
    Anytime: Pedro may act whenever Juan is the approver, leave or not.
    Filing types
    All filing types (the default), or select only some, for example Overtime.
  3. Add Maria as an Only while on leave backup
    Backup*
    Maria Santos.
    When*
    Only while Juan is on leave: active only when an approved leave covers today, and from the moment the leave is approved. The other choice is Between dates (a start and end date).
    Filing types
    All filing types.
Status of each backup on the list
BackupWhenToday is 8 Nov (leave starts 10 Nov)Today is 11 Nov
Pedro ReyesAnytimeCovering nowCovering now
Maria SantosOnly while Juan is on leaveStanding byCovering now
Covering now means the backup can act today; Standing by means the condition has not been met yet.
Warning

Backups are alternates: any one of them may act and the first decision settles the level. They do not chain, so a backup's own backups are not used. Nobody approves their own filing, and an employee's own backups never approve that employee's filings.

Check the Result in Who Approves?

  1. Open the Who approves? tab
    Employee*
    Ana Lim — the person who files.
    Filing type*
    Overtime.
  2. Click Preview and read the result

    For each level you see its approvers, who is on leave today, and every backup with whether it is active today and, if not, why not. Run it on a day inside the leave and on a day outside it.

Level 1, Supervisor: who can approve Ana's overtime
PersonRole on this levelToday is 12 NovToday is 20 Nov
Juan Dela CruzApprover (immediate superior)On leave: cannot actCan act
Pedro ReyesJuan's backup, AnytimeActiveActive
Maria SantosJuan's backup, Only while on leaveActiveNot active: Juan is not on leave
The level is resolved in this order: approvers, then each approver's personal backups, then level backups, then Escalate or Hold.
Tip

If the preview says Would be held, the level has nobody who can act. Fix the employee's superior or add a backup, then preview again.

Add a Level Backup to a Chain

Personal backups follow Juan wherever he approves. A level backup instead covers one level of one chain, for everybody the chain governs.

  1. Edit the chain

    On the Approval flow tab click Edit on the chain, then open the Manager level.

  2. Add the level backup
    Level backups*
    Choose Liza Ramos (HR manager). Up to five people.
    When*
    Anytime, Only while on leave (every approver of the level is away), or Between dates. Here: Between dates, 1 – 30 November.
    Also allow each approver's personal backups
    On by default. Leave it on so the manager's own personal backups can act too.
    If no one is available
    Escalate up the reporting line, or Hold for HR. Choose Hold for HR for a final approval that must not skip.
  3. Save the chain

    Only filings submitted afterwards use the new setup; filings already in progress keep the levels they were submitted with.

Who can act on the Manager level on 12 Nov
Level approverDepartment manager (on leave)
Approver's personal backups+none set
Level backup, Between dates 1 – 30 Nov+Liza Ramos (active)
Can approve=Liza Ramos
After 30 Nov Liza stops being active; with nobody else available the level then follows Escalate or Hold for HR.

What the Backup Sees

Maria and Pedro see Ana's overtime in their normal approval list — the header bell, the Manpower Dashboard and the mobile app — with an As backup for Juan badge. They approve or reject exactly as Juan would. The approval trail then reads Approved by Maria Santos (backup for Juan). When Juan returns, Maria's access stops by itself, because Only while on leave is no longer met.

Info

If a backup is on leave herself or has left the company she is skipped. If the level has no one available at all, the filing escalates or waits on the Manpower Dashboard under Needs attention, as the level says.

Where It Goes Next

← Previous
File and Approve a Request
Next →
Set Up Shifts and Schedules