Approvals weren’t the issue. It was the delays, missing context, and frantic messages trying to reach the right person.

This was daily life for the finance team at NOUS, a creative agency in Australia. The approval process quickly got messy juggling multiple stakeholders who all had to review and approve documents before they could be finalised. The company’s admin staff had to manually check each PDF in a folder – with some containing up to 80 files, this took a huge amount of time. This slow and error-prone process wasn’t just inefficient; the delays left decision-makers and admin staff confused and frustrated.

Once the team put proper controls in place, with the help of Tinka Consulting, the results were immediate:

NOUS saved the equivalent of one full-time employee (FTE) in time

• The new process has an estimated ROI of AUD$40k
• Administrative staff were freed from managing approvals and chasing decision-makers
• The team maintained the same level of control and oversight
  

NOUS isn’t alone. Across industries, teams using ApprovalMax are reducing risk and regaining control – not by overhauling everything, but by adding smarter tools at the right steps.

Here’s how the latest ApprovalMax updates are helping businesses like this one move faster, with less back-and-forth and stronger checks in place.

Here’s what’s new for Xero customers:

• Schedule payments (UK only): Plan payments ahead of time with ApprovalMax Pay. Align with cash flow and supplier terms to avoid last-minute stress.
• Overdraft payments (UK only): Make payments even when your bank balance dips, as long as your account has an overdraft facility.
• Track goods received notes (GRNs): Keep an eye on what’s actually been delivered before paying a bill. It’s easier to match bills to purchase orders and avoid overpayments.
• Create and approve credit notes: Create Xero credit notes directly in ApprovalMax and route them through your usual approval workflow. Once approved, they’re automatically synced to Xero.
• ApprovalMax Capture for POs and credit notes: Speed up data entry by extracting key details from uploaded or emailed documents. Works for both purchase orders and credit notes.
• Create account groups: Group account codes for easier workflow management. Ideal for teams working with long, complex charts of accounts.
  

For Xero, QuickBooks Online, and NetSuite customers

• ‘On Hold’ status: Need to pause a request without starting over? You can now put it on hold and pick it back up later, even from your phone.
• Nudge: A gentle reminder for approvers who haven’t acted yet. It only goes to the right people, and every nudge is recorded in the audit trail for full visibility.
  

For Xero and QuickBooks Online customers

• Bill duplication detection: Avoid paying the same bill twice. You’ll get a warning if a bill with the same supplier, date, amount, or invoice number already exists.​
  

For NetSuite customers

• Sales invoice approvals: Add checks and balances to your sales process. Multi-step approvals help reduce mistakes before invoices are synced to NetSuite.
• Approve new vendors: Screen every new supplier before they’re added to NetSuite. It’s a simple step that helps protect your data and your process.
• Journal entries: Submit and route journal entries directly in ApprovalMax. Once approved, they’re sent to NetSuite with a complete audit trail, making audit-preparation much easier.
  

Smart approvals aren’t about adding more steps

It’s about adding the right ones – at the right time – to protect your business without slowing it down.

You don’t have to overhaul your whole way of working. Just make approvals clear, easy, and better connected to your finance tools.

The result? A happier finance team, fewer mistakes, and tens of thousands of dollars saved.

Want to see how ApprovalMax could work for you? Get in touch today.