# Project Based Approval

## Overview

This feature enables a more flexible approval chain based on projects, cost centers, etc. For example, a cost center owner might be more suitable to approve the related expenses than the user's superior or the finance team.

<details>

<summary>Common usage cases</summary>

This feature is used by companies that frequently work on projects where the project manager shall approve expenses instead of the line manager. Other common cases are:

* Cost center-based approval.
* Department-based approval.
* Market-based approval.
* Product-based approval.

</details>

## Activate the feature

To activate the feature, contact <support@skovik.com>. You can only apply the feature to a multiple-choice custom field. The following article explains how custom fields work in general:

{% content-ref url="../for-finance-and-hr/manage-custom-fields" %}
[manage-custom-fields](https://docs.skovik.com/for-finance-and-hr/manage-custom-fields)
{% endcontent-ref %}

## Configure project based approval

### Set an owner for each project

* Go to **Settings --> Custom fields.**
* Press the button **xx Pre-defined values** to the right of the custom field you want to use for your approval chain.
* Press the edit button on the right to add an owner.
* Search and choose the correct employee in the **Owner** field. This employee will approve expenses and trips booked to the owner's project or custom field value.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you do not allocate an owner to a project or custom field value, expenses booked to the project will be excluded from the approval step and automatically approved or sent to the next step.
{% endhint %}

### Set up the approval step

* Go to **Settings --> Approval chain**.
* Press **Add approval step** and choose the **Custom field** in the drop-down list for **Type**.
* Choose the custom field.
* **Save.**

{% hint style="warning" %}
If you have an integration for custom field values, evaluate if this needs to be adjusted before activating the feature.
{% endhint %}