Ting Guides · For the CFO
How do you build an approval authority matrix that cuts waiting time?
The short answer
Write down, for every request type, who approves it at each amount, who approves when they're away, and how many working hours they have to decide. Requests below a limit are approved at that level and never climb higher. When the clock runs out, the request moves to the backup, then up a level, automatically.
Reviewed by Badr Al-RashedUpdated
What it depends on
Which requests wait today
List every request that sits waiting for a signature: purchases, discounts on quotes, customer refunds, leave, payment releases. Start with the ones that wait longer than the work itself takes. Some may only need a record, not a signature; take those out of the matrix.
How your limits are written
"Large purchases go to the finance manager" starts arguments. "Above the second limit goes to the finance manager", with that limit written as an amount, ends them. Words like large, urgent or exceptional have no place in a matrix.
Who is actually there to sign
Requests stall when the approver is on leave, travelling or in back-to-back meetings. In a group with several branches or entities, the same person may approve for all of them. The matrix has to say who signs when they can't.
What a fast answer means for each request
A discount on a live quote can't wait as long as a new supplier's first order. Decide a maximum response time per request type, in working hours, and publish it to the people who submit requests.
Five rules that cut the wait
Delegation limits
Not every request needs the top signature. Set a ceiling for each level; a request under the ceiling is approved at that level and doesn't climb any higher.
A written backup for every approver
Each approver has a named backup with the same authority, who takes over during leave or when the response time passes. The backup is never the approver themselves.
A response-time rule
Set the longest a request type may wait for an answer, and announce it to the team. A request with no answer inside that time doesn't stay pending.
Automatic escalation
When the time runs out without a decision, the request moves to the backup, then to the next level up, with a notification at each step, without anyone having to chase it.
A complete request the first time
Ask for every detail and attachment the decision needs in one form, so the request never comes back with a question and restarts the clock.
What columns does an approval matrix need?
One row per rule. A request type with three amount bands takes three rows.
| Column | What goes in it | Check it before sign-off |
|---|---|---|
| Request type | Purchase, quote discount, customer refund, leave, and so on, each with its unit: amount, percentage or days | Every request that waits for a signature today is listed |
| From and to | The band this row covers, written as numbers | No band is still a placeholder |
| Approver | The role that decides inside the band | One role per band, not a committee |
| Backup | The role that decides when the approver is away or late | Present, and a different person from the approver |
| Response time | The maximum working hours before escalation | Filled in on every row |
| Manager signature | Whether the band also needs a senior manager to countersign | Yes or no, never blank |
What happens when an approver doesn't answer?
- The clock starts
The request arrives complete
With every field and attachment the form asks for. An incomplete request goes back to the requester at once, before the clock starts.
- Inside the response time
The approver decides inside the response time
Approve, reject, or ask one question. Each answer is recorded with the time.
- Time runs out
Time runs out or the approver is away
The request moves to the named backup, who has the same authority for this band.
- The backup's time runs out
The backup doesn't decide in time
The request moves up one level, and the original approver is told why.
What should you check before you approve the matrix?
Sign-off checklist, copy into your approval memoEvery request type has a clear owner who answers for its limits. Every approver has a named backup, and the backup is a different person. Every limit is written as a number, not a word. Every row has a response time, and the team has been told what it is. The matrix is saved in one place everyone knows, with the date of this version. The next review date is written in the file, with the name of who reviews it.
Change the wording to your company's terms; keep all six checks.
What changes for companies in Saudi Arabia
Holidays move every approver at once
Around the Eid holidays, and whenever your working hours change, many approvers and their backups are away in the same week. Count response times in working hours of your own calendar, and check before each holiday that every backup will be there, or name a second one.
Groups with several entities
When a holding group runs several companies, the same request type can have different limits and approvers in each entity. Keep one matrix per entity, with the entity as the first column, rather than one matrix that tries to fit all of them.
A filled matrix for four request types
ExhibitWorked example
Rasikh Motors, the car dealer of the fictional Rasikh Holding, filled in its matrix. The amounts are illustrative: set the bands from your own delegation of authority.
Approval authority matrixAM-RM-01 · v3
| Band | Approver | Backup | Response time | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase request SAR | ||||
| 0 – 25,000 | Line manager | Department head | 24 h | Complete |
| 25,001 – 250,000 | Department head | Finance manager | 48 h | Complete |
| 250,001 and above | Chief executive | Deputy chief executive | 48 h | Complete |
| Discount on a quote % | ||||
| 0 – 5 | Sales supervisor | Sales manager | 4 h | Complete |
| 5.1 – 12 | Sales manager | Commercial director | 8 h | Complete |
| Customer refund SAR | ||||
| 0 – 5,000 | Customer service supervisor | Customer service manager | 8 h | Complete |
| Leave request Days | ||||
| 1 and above | Department head | None named | 48 h | No backup |
Rasikh Motors · approval authorityVersion 3 · next review: 30 April 2027
The decisionThe leave row has no named backup, so the check column flags it. Name the backup before anyone signs the matrix off.
Questions people ask
Who should own the approval matrix?
How often should we review it?
Where does AI fit in approvals?
What Ting does and doesn't do here
What we do
- In the AI Transformational Audit we map how approvals actually move between your people, branches and systems, and find where requests wait.
- We rank which approval steps are worth automating, and which need a clearer rule first.
- If you go ahead, the automated routing is specified in an AI Solution Blueprint before anything is built.
Where Ting helps: AI Transformational Audit
What we don't do
- We don't set your limits or choose your approvers; those are your company's decisions.
- We don't automate an approval chain that isn't written down and agreed yet.
