Approval workflows in event agencies: who can approve what?

A supplier is waiting for a deposit. A project manager needs a cash advance before heading onsite. A client requests an additional service at the last minute. Finance wants to know which amount was agreed before processing an invoice.

Event agencies make these decisions every day. Sometimes on a call, sometimes in a WhatsApp group, sometimes with a quick “go ahead” on the way out of a meeting.

The work moves forward. But a few weeks later, the details can be difficult to reconstruct: What amount was approved? Did it change? Which project was it for? Will the client be charged? Can the payment go ahead?

A well-designed approval workflow makes it clear which decisions people can make themselves and when they need someone else's approval. Daily work can keep moving while the agency maintains financial control.

What happens when every decision goes to the owner?

In many agencies, control depends on the owner knowing about everything. They review proposals, check budgets, look at payments and approve cash advances.

As the number of projects grows, that arrangement becomes harder to sustain. A small payment waits while the owner is in a client meeting. The team sends several reminders about the same request. Urgent matters interrupt the day, and some decisions are made without enough information.

Over time, the team develops one of two habits: waiting for approval on even the smallest decision, or going ahead independently to keep the work moving.

In both cases, the limits of their authority are unclear.

With a clear approval structure, project managers know which expenses they can authorise. Finance can see which checks a request has already passed. The owner can focus on decisions that affect the budget, profitability or client relationship.

Start by identifying what needs approval

Payments may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about approvals. But an agency's financial commitments often begin well before any money leaves the account.

A proposal sent to a client, an order placed with a supplier or an additional service agreed onsite can all create a commitment. Looking only at outgoing payments can mean missing the point when that commitment was made.

Consider the following types of approval in your agency:

• Project budgets and client proposals: What costs, price and expected profit are you committing to?
• Budget revisions: Has the scope, cost or price changed since the client gave approval?
• Expense and cash advance requests: Who needs to spend money, on which project and for what purpose?
• Supplier and payment requests: Which service is the payment for, and what terms apply?
• Credit card spending: Who is authorised to spend, and how will supporting documents be checked afterwards?
• Supplier invoices: Does the invoice match the service received and the agreed amount?
• Client invoice requests: Which services should be billed, and at what amount?

Use a few recently completed projects to build this list. Which decisions kept coming back to you? Where was there uncertainty? Which additional costs only became visible when an invoice arrived?

Those real examples should be the starting point for your approval workflows.

Define authority using more than the amount

Spending limits are necessary. But the value of a request does not always tell you enough.

A supplier payment already included in an approved budget may need a different review from an additional service that was never budgeted for. Even a smaller expense can affect project profit if it cannot be charged to the client.

When defining approval authority, consider these questions together:

• Is the request within the approved budget?
• Is there enough remaining in the relevant budget line?
• Does it match the terms already agreed with the client or supplier?
• Will the additional cost be charged to the client?
• Does it change the project's expected profitability?

For example, a project manager might be authorised to approve certain expenses within an agreed budget. An unbudgeted request may need further review even if the amount is relatively small.

The limits of someone's authority should also explain the conditions under which they can make a decision.

Give each approval stage a clear purpose

Sending a request through several people does not automatically create strong control. If everyone checks the same thing, or assumes someone else has already checked it, the process takes longer while responsibility remains unclear.

Project managers, department heads, finance and agency owners each answer different questions:

Not every transaction needs approval from all of these people. Build the workflow around the type of request and the responsibilities involved.

There is also a distinction worth making explicit: approving an expense and releasing a payment are separate stages. A service may have been approved, while payment still depends on checking the invoice, confirming delivery or meeting the agreed payment terms.

When that distinction is clear, the team and finance share the same understanding of what “approved” means.

Put the information needed for a decision on the request

“Can you approve this payment?” often leads to another round of questions.

Which project? Which supplier? What is it for? Is it in the budget? How much have we paid already? When is it due?

If the approver has to collect those details from several people, even a straightforward request can stall.

A request should include the basic information needed to make the decision:

• The relevant project and budget line
• A description of the request and why it is needed
• The amount and currency
• The relevant client or supplier
• The requested action or payment date
• Supporting quotations, invoices or other documents
• Any budget change and the amount to be charged to the client

For example, “Additional payment for the sound system” should explain what extra equipment or service is needed, what it costs and whether the client has agreed to it.

That context helps the approver make a decision faster. It also gives the project team and finance the same information to work from.

In eventIQ, each request carries its project, budget line and documents.

Agree on an urgent approval process before going onsite

On event day, not every need can wait for a lengthy approval chain. An additional transfer may be required, equipment may need replacing, attendance may increase or an unexpected requirement may arise.

The team should know in advance how to handle these situations:

• What can the onsite lead authorise independently?
• When is additional approval required?
• Who can step in if the usual approver is unavailable?
• How and when should an urgent decision be recorded?
• If the client needs to approve an additional cost, who obtains that approval?

Trying to answer these questions during the event adds pressure to an already busy team.

Clear authority gives the onsite lead room to act. When a request exceeds that authority, they know whom to contact and what information to provide.

Revisit the decision when the approved request changes

Approving a request once does not mean approving every subsequent change.

A supplier's price may increase. The scope may expand. Payment terms may change. An additional cost expected to be charged to the client may end up being absorbed by the agency.

The approval record should make the agreed amount and conditions clear. The team should also know which changes require a fresh review.

This is particularly important when budgets are revised after client approval. While the team arranges the additional service, responsibility for its cost also needs to be settled.

Keep approval records useful throughout the project

The value of an approval process continues after a request has been accepted.

Finance needs the record when preparing a payment. The project manager needs it when reviewing the remaining budget. The client may need an explanation of an additional invoice.

A useful record answers these questions:

• Who created the request?
• What amount and conditions were approved?
• Who made the decision, and when?
• Which explanations and documents informed the decision?
• Was the request changed later?
• What happened after approval?

That means the history of decisions does not have to be reconstructed at project close. Pending requests are visible too, so the team can see where each one is waiting.

eventIQ records who approved what, at which stage.

Manage approvals alongside the rest of the project in eventIQ

Approvals and workflows within eventIQ's Business Engine bring different processes into a shared structure: project budgets, expense requests, cash advances, payments, supplier and client invoices, and department-specific internal requests.

You can configure workflows by transaction type, department and amount, and define the approvers and approval limits at each stage.

With approvals connected to project, budget and financial records, the team can see a request's current stage, managers can see which decisions are pending, and finance can understand the context behind each transaction.

For the agency owner, control becomes less dependent on keeping up with messages throughout the day. Authority is defined, decisions are recorded and requests needing attention are visible.

Start with your last few projects

You do not need a complex process covering every possible scenario from day one.

Choose the most frequent requests from your last few projects. For each one, define who creates the request, who checks what, when additional approval is needed and where the decision will be recorded.

After using the process on a project or two, look at where requests get held up. Remove unnecessary stages, adjust approval limits and clarify any missing information.

The aim is a working structure in which the team can make everyday decisions confidently and agency management can see the financial impact in time to act.

Let's explore how your agency's budget, expense and payment approvals could work in eventIQ.