[Advisors] What happens when my payment request needs to be approved?
Looking for information specifically about fee escalation approvals? Click here!
AdvicePay's invoice approvals feature allows the firm's primary account (aka your broker-dealer, selected "reviewer" or "home office") to review payment requests issued by advisors. If the invoice approvals feature is enabled, any invoices meeting the criteria they set will require approval before being sent to the client.
When requesting payments, we will let you know if an invoice is subject to approval by displaying the following message below the item amount:
Here's how the invoice approval process works:
1. Once you complete the invoice details and click Create and Email Invoice or Create Invoice the invoice will be sent to the firm's account for approval -- it will not be sent directly to the client's account. (If you selected to email the invoice notice, we will hold the email until the invoice is approved!)
Tip: If you select Create Invoice, this means the client will not receive an automatic email notice about the invoice once it is approved. There is no way to send the email later, so depending on your processes you may need to reach out personally to the client to let them know there is an open invoice waiting for them on their account. 👍
2. While the invoice is awaiting approval, it will reflect the "Pending Approval" status.
You can also see a running total of how many invoices you have out for approval at the top of your business dashboard.
3. When the firm's account approves the invoice:
- You will be notified of the approval via email
- The invoice will update to the normal "Inactive" or "Unpaid" status
- The invoice will no longer be editable
- The invoice will appear in the client's account for payment
If the request for payment included the option to email the client, upon approval the invoice notice (including a request for eSignature(s) on any contracts) will also be sent immediately to the client. If the email option was not part of the request, the client will not be notified.
What happens when approval for an invoice is denied?
If the firm's account denies approval on an invoice:
- You will receive an email letting you know what invoice was denied (and a reason why, if provided)
- The invoice will reflect the "Approval Rejected" status
After an invoice rejection, you will continue to have the ability to edit the invoice! If approval is no longer needed on the invoice after editing it (e.g. the amount is adjusted to less than/equal to the specified approval threshold), the invoice will be automatically sent directly to the client's account for payment.
If approval is still needed, it will be sent back to your firm for review. The firm account will not receive an immediate email regarding the need for re-approval, but they will receive a daily summary via email every morning at 5 a.m. MST notifying them of pending invoices that require review. The firm can also view pending invoices under Approvals in their account.
Tip: If invoices and subscriptions are rejected, you can delete/cancel them to start over if needed.
Once an invoice or subscription request is approved by the Home Office, you can expect to receive an email similar to those below.
This is the email for an approved invoice :
This is the email for an approved subscription :
