Add or Work as a Delegate

Emburse Enterprise offers three types of delegation that allow users with appropriate permissions to create or approve expense reports for another user.

• Delegate: A delegate can create expense reports and pre-approvals for another user. A delegate can also access the user’s Settings menu, Home screen, and Inquiry Reports. Delegates receive copies of email notifications for rejected or adjusted reports they created for the user. Delegates cannot approve expenses, pre-approvals, or invoices routed to the user.
• Super Delegate: A super delegate has the same access as a delegate, but can work as a delegate for any user in the organization without being authorized by each user.
• Approval Delegate: An approval delegate can temporarily approve expenses, pre-approvals, or invoices for another user, such as when the user is on vacation or leave. Approval delegates approve by email and cannot access the user’s Approval screen.

Work as a Another User's Delegate

When other users authorize you to work as their delegate, their names appear under your name when you select it in the upper-right corner.

Next to each user’s name, Emburse Enterprise displays the number of unused expense transactions for that user. This count includes credit cards, receipts, cash advances, travel data, and approved pre-approvals. This number does not appear next to your own name.

Select the user’s name to work as their delegate. The selected user’s name appears in the upper-right corner of the app.

To return to your own account, select the user name in the upper-right corner, then select your name.

Super Delegates

If you are a super delegate, the Select Another User option appears in the user menu. Use this option to search or scroll through a list of users in your organization.

A Departed label next to a user’s name indicates that the user has left the organization but still has outstanding tasks that must be completed by delegates.

Select the user’s name to work as a delegate for that user. The selected user’s name appears in the upper-right corner of the app.

To return to your own account, select the user name in the upper-right corner, then select your name.

Authorize a Delegate

1. Select your name in the upper-right corner.

2. Select Account Settings.

3. Select Delegate Settings.
4. Select Add New Delegates.

5. Scroll through the list of available delegates, or enter the user’s name to search the list.

6. Select the user.

The selected user can now select you from their delegation list and create expenses on your behalf.

Remove a Delegate

To revoke a user’s ability to act as your delegate, select X next to the user’s name in the My Delegates list.

Understand Approval Delegation

Approval Delegation allows you to assign another user to approve expenses on your behalf for a defined period, e.g., during vacation or leave.

Approval delegation follows standard routing rules, with a few important limitations.

Delegation Applies Only to New Approvals

Approval delegation is not retroactive. It only applies to approvals that are generated after the delegation is created.

• Reports already waiting for approval remain with the original approver.
• If you remove a delegate, reports already assigned to that delegate are not reassigned.

Delegation Does Not Allow Self-Approval

Delegates cannot approve their own expense reports. If the expense owner is also the designated delegate, the system ignores the delegation and routes the report to the original approver.

Routing Rules May Override Delegation

Some expense routing rules are configured to ignore approval delegation. For example, a rule may require the expense owner to approve reports submitted on their behalf, regardless of any delegation in place.

Add an Approval Delegate

Approval delegation allows you to have another user temporarily approve expenses on your behalf—for example, when you are on vacation.

1. Select your name in the upper-right corner.
2. Select Account Settings.

3. Select the Delegate Settings tab.
4. Under My Approval Delegate, select Add Approval Delegate.

5. Select a delegate from the searchable list.

6. Enter the start date and end date for the authorization.

The delegate’s name appears with the date range during which they can approve on your behalf.

Emburse Enterprise sends an email notification to the delegate that describes the routing change. Applicable items are routed to the delegate during the selected period.

When the approval delegate matches the report creator, approval is implied and no approval email is sent.

Use Multiple Approval Delegates

If your organization has activated Enable Multiple Approval Delegates through authorize user rules, you can designate up to two approval delegates. Only one approval delegate can work for you at a time.

If you schedule a second delegate for a period that overlaps with another approval delegate, Emburse Enterprise displays an error message.

Understand Approval Delegation Routing

Approval delegation routing applies between the start date and end date assigned to the approval delegate.

During this period, applicable reports and pre-approvals route from you to your approval delegate. These routing steps are recorded in the tracking center as a no-action assignment (NOAC), and reports are tagged with a label before they move to the delegate’s approval queue.

The approval delegate can approve or return items according to normal approval rules.

Remove an Approval Delegate

At the end of the selected period, Emburse Enterprise automatically deauthorizes the approval delegate, and the approval process returns to the default routing behavior.

Reports and pre-approvals routed during the delegation period remain in the approval delegate’s queue for action.

To revoke approval delegate access before the selected end date, select X next to the delegate’s name.

Work for a Deleted User

If your organization has activated the Get Departed capability through business rules, super delegates with appropriate permissions can work for departed users. 

For example, if a user leaves the organization before submitting or approving expense reports, a super delegate can work as that user to move the reports through the approval process.

To include departed users in search results, check Include Departed in search before searching for the user in the Select Another User window.