Approval messages reference

When approvals stop you doing something, SKU.io says why: in a tooltip on a greyed-out button, in an amber line on the Approval card, or in a message at the top of the screen after you click. This page lists those messages word for word, grouped by where you meet them, with what each one means and what you can do about it.

In the messages, names stands for up to three people who can act, # for a document number and amount for an amount with its currency. The examples use Priya Shah (purchasing manager and administrator, approves purchase orders up to $10,000), Dana Reyes (the buyer who raises purchase orders, deposits and bill payments) and Sam Turner (the owner and an administrator, the only approver above $10,000).

Why Approve is unavailable

When a request is waiting and you can't approve it, the Approval card still shows Approve and Reject, greyed out. The reason shows in amber above the buttons and when you hover over them. The same reason appears when a bulk approve skips a request.

Message	What it means	What to do
Over your approval limit — the "tier" tier needs names.	You approve lower amounts, but this request is in a higher tier you're not on. Priya sees Over your approval limit — the "Over $10,000" tier needs Sam Turner. on PO-0065.	Leave it for the people named. If it's urgent, click Send reminder, or ask an administrator.
You can't approve your own request — waiting on names.	You raised this request, and the policy's Self-approval rule doesn't let the requester approve while someone else can.	Leave it for the people named.
You've already decided this step — waiting on names.	The step needs approval from more than one person, and you've already approved it.	Nothing more from you. The step moves on when enough others approve.
This step needs every listed approver — waiting on names. An administrator can override it.	The step requires All, and you're not listed on it. You approve a higher tier, but on an All step only the people listed, or their delegates, can approve.	Leave it for the people named, or ask an administrator to use Override approve.
You're not an approver for this request — waiting on names.	Nothing on the policy lets you approve this request, and nobody has delegated it to you.	Nothing. It's waiting on the people named.

When nobody can approve the request, names reads an administrator (no eligible approver), and the card's headline reads No one can approve this with No eligible approver — ask an admin to re-route or override. Before a request is raised, the same situation shows as No eligible approver followed by — an admin will be alerted to re-route or override. Administrators and anyone with Approval Policies → Override & re-route fix it as described in Override or re-route a stuck request.

Approving a draft purchase order directly

When you approve a draft purchase order that has no request yet, from its page or the list's bulk Approve, SKU.io checks whether you can cover the whole amount:

Message	What it means	What to do
Over your approval limit — this PO (amount) requires: names	The amount is above every tier you're on.	Click Request Approval to send it to the people named.
Your approval policy doesn't let you approve a purchase order you raised — this PO (amount) requires: names	The policy's Self-approval rule is Never, and you raised this purchase order.	Click Request Approval.
You don't have permission to approve purchase orders.	The amount falls in an Auto-approve tier, which nobody is listed on, and your role has neither Purchase Orders → Edit nor Purchase Orders → Approve.	Ask someone who can edit purchase orders to approve it.
Purchase order # needs approval under your approval policy — approve it within your limit or request approval.	Something tried to open the draft without going through the policy.	Approve it if it's within your limit, or click Request Approval.

Purchase orders that can't be sent or take deposits

A purchase order the policy hasn't approved can't go to the supplier and can't take new vendor deposits. Receiving stock and recording bills against it are still allowed.

On the purchase order

The Submit button is greyed out with the reason as its tooltip. In the purchase order's menu, Record Proforma Invoice / Request Payment is greyed out and its description line shows the reason instead. On the purchase order's Deposits tab, Record PI / Add Deposit and each milestone's Create Deposit are greyed out with the same reason as their tooltip.

Where	Message	What to do
Submit	Re-approval needed — re-sending to the supplier is blocked until the changes are approved.	Wait for the re-approval, or click Send reminder on the Approval card.
Submit	The changes since approval weren't approved — revert them or request approval again before re-sending.	Change the purchase order back to what was approved, which unblocks it as soon as you save, or click Request Approval.
Submit	The re-approval was withdrawn — revert the changes or request approval again before re-sending.	Change the purchase order back to what was approved, or click Request Approval.
Submit	This purchase order was never approved — request approval before reopening or sending it.	Click Request Approval.
Record Proforma Invoice / Request Payment	# must be approved before a deposit can be requested.	Get the purchase order approved first.
Record Proforma Invoice / Request Payment	Re-approval needed — new deposits are blocked until the changes are approved.	Wait for the re-approval.
Record Proforma Invoice / Request Payment	The changes since approval weren't approved — new deposits are blocked until they are.	Revert the changes, or request approval again.
Record Proforma Invoice / Request Payment	The re-approval was withdrawn — new deposits are blocked until the changes are approved.	Revert the changes, or request approval again.

When an open purchase order's re-approval ends without approval, a banner in its header says so: The changes since approval were rejected by name — revert them or request approval again. in red, or Re-approval withdrawn by name — revert the changes or request approval again. in amber.

An approved purchase order that's waiting on re-approval also shows a banner that starts Re-approval needed., says what changed, and ends Re-sending to the supplier and new deposits are blocked until it's re-approved. Receiving is still allowed. See How re-approval works.

Messages after you click

Message	What to do
Purchase order # is awaiting approval — it can't be sent to the supplier until it's approved.	Wait for the approval.
Purchase order # needs approval under your approval policy before it can be sent to the supplier.	Approve it within your limit, or request approval.
Purchase order # is awaiting approval — it can't have a vendor deposit created against it until it's approved.	Wait for the approval, then create the deposit.
Purchase order # needs approval under your approval policy before it can have a vendor deposit created against it.	Get the purchase order approved first.
Changes to purchase order # since it was approved are awaiting re-approval — it can't be re-sent to the supplier until they're approved.	Wait for the re-approval. The same message ends …it can't take new vendor deposits until they're approved. for a deposit.
Changes to purchase order # since it was approved were rejected — revert them or request approval again before it can be re-sent to the supplier.	Revert the changes, or request approval again. For a deposit, it ends …before it can take new vendor deposits.
Changes to purchase order # since it was approved need re-approval — it can't be re-sent to the supplier until they're approved.	The changes saved before their re-approval request started. Request approval again.
Purchase order # was never approved under your approval policy — it can't be re-sent to the supplier.	It closed without ever being approved, for example a dropship purchase order that was fully billed. Request approval. For a deposit, it ends …it can't take new vendor deposits.
Purchase order # was never approved — it can't be reopened until it is approved under your approval policy.	Request approval, then reopen it.

Under a policy, sending an approved purchase order needs Purchase Orders → Edit. Purchase Orders → Approve alone isn't enough, because approving comes from the policy. See Approval permissions reference.

Dropship sales orders

When a sales order is fulfilled through a dropship purchase order that the policy holds:

Message	What to do
Dropship purchase order # is awaiting approval under your approval policy — it can be fulfilled once it is approved.	Wait for the purchase order's approval, then fulfill.
Dropship purchase order # needs approval under your approval policy before it can be fulfilled — request approval on the purchase order.	Open the purchase order and click Request Approval.

Vendor deposits

Message	What it means	What to do
# is awaiting approval — the payment can be recorded once it is approved.	You tried to record a payment on a deposit still waiting for approval.	Wait for the approval.
# must be approved before a payment can be recorded — submit a payment request first.	The deposit is still a draft.	Submit it for approval first.
Your deposit approval policy requires this deposit to be approved before a payment can be recorded. Click "Request Payment" to request approval first. (tooltip on the greyed-out Record Payment)	The deposit is a draft. The button named is the one on the deposit, Request Payment or Approve Deposit.	Click that button, and record the payment once it's approved.
Bank details can't be changed while a payment request is pending — withdraw the request first, then edit and resubmit.	You're editing a deposit that's waiting for approval.	Withdraw the request, change the bank details, and send it again.
Approved your step — waiting on Step N (step name). The payment can be recorded once the deposit is fully approved.	You approved your step, but a later step still has to approve.	Nothing more from you.
Bank details differ from the supplier profile and must be verified out-of-band before this deposit can be approved.	The deposit's bank details don't match the supplier's. Nobody can approve it until they're checked.	Confirm the bank details with the supplier by phone or another channel you trust, then approve.
Bank details differ from the supplier profile and must be verified out-of-band before requesting payment.	The same check, when you submit the deposit.	Confirm the bank details first.
Approvals for this deposit are governed by the approval policy — approve or reject it from its approval card.	You used an older approval control while the deposit policy is on.	Use Approve or Reject on the deposit's Approval card.

Bill payments

Message	What it means	What to do
The bill needs an approved payment request before it can be paid.	Nobody has requested payment approval for this bill.	Submit the bill's payment for approval.
The payment request is still awaiting approval — the bill can be paid once it is approved.	The request is waiting on an approver.	Wait for the approval, or send a reminder.
Payment of amount exceeds the approved amount — request approval for the difference.	You're paying more than was approved.	Pay up to the approved amount, or request approval for the rest.
The bill's supplier or currency changed since its payment was approved — it needs approving again before it can be paid.	The earlier approval no longer applies.	Request payment approval again.
Payments on this bill must be in the bill's currency (currency) while its payment needs approval.	Approved amounts are in the bill's currency, so a payment in another currency can't be checked against them.	Record the payment in the bill's currency.
This payment was not recorded — N bills are not approved for the amount allocated: followed by each bill's reason	A supplier payment includes bills that aren't approved for their share.	Fix each bill listed, then record the payment again.
Max amount approved (under an amount in the Pay supplier dialog)	You entered more than the bill is approved to pay.	Lower the amount, or request approval for the rest from the bill.
N bills are not approved for their full balance; open them to request payment approval. (warning in the Pay supplier dialog)	Some of the supplier's bills can't be paid in full yet.	Pay what's approved, and request approval for the rest from each bill.
Approved your step — waiting on Step N (step name). The payment can be recorded once the request is fully approved.	You approved your step; a later step still has to approve.	Nothing more from you.
This bill already has a payment request in progress.	A request is already waiting.	Wait for it, or withdraw it first.
This bill has no outstanding balance to request payment for.	The bill is fully paid.	Nothing.
Payment of this bill is already approved for its outstanding balance.	Nothing more needs approving.	Record the payment.
This bill has no payment request awaiting approval.	The request was already decided or withdrawn.	Refresh the page.
This payment request has already been partly approved and can no longer be withdrawn.	Someone has already approved a step.	Ask an administrator to re-route it.
You can't approve this bill payment — it needs approval from names. Request payment approval instead.	You tried to approve a bill nobody has requested payment for, and you aren't an approver on its first step.	Click Submit for Approval to send it to the people named.

Lowering an existing payment is never blocked. A payment synced from your accounting system is never blocked either. It shows a Paid outside approval chip instead, and alerts the bill payment approvers. See Approval alerts reference.

Someone acted first, or the document changed

Only the first decision on a step counts. When someone else got there first, you see a warning and the card refreshes.

Message	What it means
Already approved by name time ago — refreshed. For example Already approved by Sam Turner 2 seconds ago — refreshed.	Someone approved it while you were looking.
Already rejected by name — refreshed.	Someone rejected it first.
This approval request was withdrawn.	The requester or an administrator withdrew it, or the document went back to draft.
The document changed and needs a new approval — review the new request.	A newer request replaced this one.
# changed after this approval was requested — it needs a new approval.	The document changed enough to need a fresh request.
# no longer exists — its approval request can't be acted on.	The document was deleted. A bulk approve skips it and carries on.
An approval request is already pending for #.	A document can have only one request waiting at a time.
This approval request has no step waiting for a decision. or This approval request is no longer pending.	The request has already finished. Refresh the page.

Withdraw, remind, override and re-route

Message	What it means
Only the requester or an administrator can withdraw this request.	Only the person who raised it can withdraw it, along with administrators and anyone with Approval Policies → Override & re-route.
This request already has approvals and can no longer be withdrawn — an administrator can re-route it.	Withdrawing is only possible before anyone approves.
Only the requester (name) or an admin can send reminders. (tooltip) or Only the requester or an administrator can send a reminder.	You didn't raise the request.
A reminder went out recently — you can send another in a few hours. (tooltip) or A reminder was sent recently — try again in a few hours.	One reminder can go out every 4 hours.
Only administrators can override an approval. / Only administrators can re-route an approval.	Only administrators and anyone with Approval Policies → Override & re-route can do these.
The approval policy for this document is turned off.	You can't re-route to a policy that's off. Turn the policy on, or withdraw the request.
A rejection reason is required so the requester knows what to fix.	Rejecting always needs a reason, up to 1,000 characters.
Explain why you are overriding this approval. / Give a reason of at least 10 characters.	An override needs a reason of at least 10 characters.

Delegations

Message	What it means
Only administrators can set up a delegation for someone else.	Only administrators and anyone with Approval Policies → Override & re-route can. Everyone else can hand off only their own approvals.
Only the person who delegated, or an administrator, can revoke this delegation.	Ask the person who set it up.
Choose someone other than the person delegating.	You can't delegate to yourself.
The end must be after the start.	Check the dates.
A delegation can last at most 90 days.	Set an end date within 90 days.
This overlaps an existing delegation for the same documents — revoke it first.	Revoke the earlier delegation, or pick dates that don't overlap.

Access and settings

Message	Where	What it means
You do not have access to this document's approvals.	Approval card	You aren't involved in the request and can't open that kind of document. See who can see a document's approval history.
You can view these rules. Ask an admin to change them.	Approval Policies	You have View rules but not Edit rules.
You need permission to manage approval policies to change this.	Email switch on the policy page	Same as above.
Add an email address to this user first.	Email switch on the policy page	The approver has no email address, so approval emails can't reach them.
Couldn't update approval emails.	Approver email notifications card	The change didn't save. Try again.

Related

• Approval status reference
• Approval permissions reference
• Approve or reject a request
• Override or re-route a stuck request
• Troubleshoot approvals
• How re-approval works