REQUISITION APPROVAL &

VACATION RULES
Parnassus Financials User Guide

Content
Overview/Objective 1 Create Vacation Rule 3-5
Approval Hierarchy 1 Update/Delete Vacation Rule 5&6
Approval Process 2 Additional Option for Vacation Rule 6
Timeout Process 2

Overview
Requisitions for Purchase Orders (PO) over $500 go through an approval process in
Parnassus. The amount of the Requisition determines the number and level of
approvers needed. If an approver does not respond to the notification within three days,
a timeout notification process begins in an attempt to move the requisition forward.

Approvers should create a Vacation Rule when they will not be available to approve
requisitions. The vacation rule re-routes the notifications to a pre-determined temporary
approver. Vacation rules are necessary for the timely processing of requisitions that
require additional approval.

Objective
This guide describes the approval hierarchy, approval process, and the timeout process
regarding requisitions for purchase orders and setting up a vacation rule. Approvers will
be able to create a vacation rule, update specific details of their rule or delete a rule.

Requisition Approval Hierarchy

An approval hierarchy is set up in Parnassus for each department according to
guidelines established by position level and dollar amount. When a requisition for a
purchase order is submitted, the dollar amount of the requisition and the position of the
requisitioner will determine if one or more approvers are required and the name(s) of
the approver(s). Once the requisition completes the approval process it will continue on
to the Purchasing department for a PO to be issued.

Requisition Approval & Vacation Rule User Guide

Financial Services 14th Floor West Tower
Requisition Approval Process
When a Requisition for Purchase Order is submitted, the dollar amount of the
Requisition determines the required approvers based on the requisition hierarchy.
Approvers have the option to approve Requisitions using email or their
Workflow/Worklist in Parnassus.

 Approval Process
 Open Email Notification or through Workflow/Worklist in Parnassus
 Click appropriate Approval Action
o Approve – approves and sends requisition to next approver, if any. Once all approvals
have been received, the requisition goes to Purchasing to create PO
o Reject – returns requisition to the creator who can then cancel or resubmit the requisition

Use the following options with Purchasing department’s knowledge so further problems do not
develop.
o Approve & Forward – approves and forwards requisition to another approver not
currently in the approval hierarchy
o Forward – sends the requisition to another approver not currently in the approval
hierarchy for approval. The requisition status will be “Pre-Approved”
o Reassign – reassigns an approver’s authority to another approver for that requisition
only
o Request Information – is a message feature in Parnassus which allows an approver to
request more information about the requisition before approving. Since this option can
delay the process it is suggested that you use email instead.

Timeout Process
When a requisition for a purchase order is submitted and where approvers are required,
a timeout process in Parnassus will track the approval process. This timeout feature
begins when an approver does not respond within three days of the requisition approval
notification. The timeout process is outlined below.

 Timeout Process – additional notifications begin when approver does not respond to first
approval notification within 3 days (consecutive).

 Requisition for PO submitted

st
 1 Approval Notification sent to approver in Approval Hierarchy
nd
o Day 3: 2 notification sent with FYI to Requestor indicating Requisition unapproved
rd
o Day 5: 3 notification sent with FYI to Requestor indicating Requisition still unapproved
o Day 7: Requisition moves on to next approver, repeating the same notifications and
timeout process.
• If there are no further approvers required then the Requisition will be returned to the
requestor to resubmit through the approval process.

Since the Timeout Process can be very involved and delays the processing of the
requisition, it is very important for approvers to create a vacation rule.

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Requisition Approvals & Vacation Rule User Guide
November 2011
Create Vacation Rules
The following process describes how to create vacation rules when approvers are
unavailable to respond to financial approval notifications. Financial temporary
approvers are required to be at a higher level than you in your organizational chart.
Approvers may choose to delegate all approvals (both Financial and HR approvals)
which is the preferred option, or you may delegate a specific task. Both options are
described below.

 Option 1 (preferred set up): Create Vacation Rule for All Approvals
 Log into Parnassus

 Select Vacation Rules via Workflow/Worklist (see Figure 1)

 Click Create Rule

 Vacation Rule: Item Type (see Figure 2)

o Item Type - Choose ALL to create one rule for all approval types

 Click Step 1 of 3-Next (Step 2 will be omitted)

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Requisition Approvals & Vacation Rule User Guide
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  Vacation Rule: Response (see Figure 3)

o Enter Start/End Dates and Times for rule

o Type Message to Reassigned Approver (optional)
o Reassign
• Type last name of individual to temporarily reassign approval (choose individual
higher than yourself in your organizational chart)
• Click Flashlight
• Select name
o ONLY choose Delegate your response

 Click Step 3 of 3-Apply

 Option 2: Create Different Vacation Rules for Financial and HR

Responsibilities

 Log into Parnassus

 Select Vacation Rules via Workflow/Worklist (see Figure 1)

 Click Create Rule

 Vacation Rule: Item Type (see Figure 2)

o Item Type – Select approval to create a rule specific to that approval type

 Click Step 1 of 3-Next

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Requisition Approvals & Vacation Rule User Guide
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  Vacation Rule: Notification (see Figure 4)
o Click down arrow in Notification box
o Choose ALL

 Click Step 2 of 3-Next

 Vacation Rule: Response (see Figure 3)

o Enter Start/End Dates and Times for rule

o Type Message to Reassigned Approver (optional)
o Reassign
• Type last name of temporary approver (choose individual higher than yourself in
your organizational chart)
• Click Flashlight
• Select name
o ONLY choose Delegate your response

 Click Step 3 of 3-Apply

NOTE: The system cannot currently reassign IC Credit Card transaction notifications.
Contact Ann Martin in Accounts Payable for questions.

Update or Delete Vacation Rule

Once a vacation rule has been created you can view or edit your vacation rule by
logging into Parnassus and selecting “Vacation Rules” (see Figure 1).

An inactive status means the rule has been created but is currently not active because
of the Start/End Dates/Times you applied. The following describes how Approvers can
quickly access their vacation rule to update the Start/End Dates/Times, delete a
vacation rule, add or change the message to a reassigned approver, or update
temporary approvers (see Figure 5).

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Requisition Approvals & Vacation Rule User Guide
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 Update Vacation Rule

 Log in to Parnassus

 Select Vacation Rules through Workflow/Worklist

 Click on pencil icon under “Update” column (see Figure 5)

o Click in Start or End Dates and Times fields to update
o Click in Message box to update (optional)
o Enter last name and click flashlight to update “Reassign to” name

 Click Apply

 Delete Vacation Rule

 Log in to Parnassus

 Select Vacation Rules through Workflow/Worklist

 Click on trash can icon under “Delete” column (see Figure 5)

o Warning message appears: Click Yes to delete rule

Additional Options for Requisition Approvals

Contact the Purchasing Department regarding requisitions requiring approval when the
approver is unavailable due to unexpected circumstances and a vacation rule is not
active.

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Requisition Approvals & Vacation Rule User Guide
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