Keep the decision with the evidence
Illustrative manual workflow. An approval is not payment execution or bank confirmation.
| Step | What the next person needs |
|---|---|
| Collect | The document, service account and billing period |
| Review | Confirmed details and any unresolved dispute |
| Approve | An authorized decision on the reviewed bill |
| Check payment evidence | The reported payment and matching receipt |
Review the details before asking for a decision
The collector and approver need different information. The collector needs to know which document is missing. The reviewer needs the account, location, billing period, amount and due date. The approver needs the reviewed bill and any unresolved issue, not an unexplained attachment.
In the open beta, adding a document, reviewing it and approving it are distinct actions. Unclear or disputed details should remain visible. Adding a document is not permission to pay it.
Make handoffs explicit
For an SME, start with a named operator, an authorised approver and a reviewer for payment evidence. Agree an escalation route for absence before a due date gets close. If the amount or billing period is disputed, record that issue and keep the item open for review.
attenlo supports owners, roles, approval requests, notes and manual escalation. It does not currently promise arbitrary multi-stage approval chains, automatic email chasing or policy-based payment release.
An approval is not a completed payment
Approval records a decision. Payment initiation records an attempt. A receipt supports a recorded payment. These should not share a single green ‘done’ state. Today payment takes place outside attenlo. A person must check the matching receipt before the payment record is marked checked; this is not independent bank confirmation.
The planned Bharat Connect layer is intended to connect eligible bill payments to that workflow. It is in development, not available payment execution or a claimed partner certification.
Define your policy before configuring tools
Write down who may approve, which checks they expect, what happens when they are absent and what evidence is sufficient to close. Software makes those decisions easier to follow; it cannot decide your internal authority for you.
Use the practical approval guide below to sketch the process. attenlo’s current app remains an open beta; you can sign in on attenlo.app and try it for free.