Invoice approval in Dimensions follows a defined authorisation workflow. If an invoice is stuck or cannot be progressed to the next approval stage, the cause is usually one of the scenarios below.
Invoice is awaiting authorisation but no approver is available
If the assigned approver is unavailable (e.g. on leave), a user with the relevant security permissions can re-assign the invoice to an alternative approver.
Go to Purchase Ledger > Invoice Authorisation.
Locate the invoice and open it.
Use the Re-assign option to select an alternative approver.
Save the change — the invoice will move to the new approver's queue.
If you do not see the Re-assign option, your Security Profile may not include the Invoice Re-assignment permission. Contact your system administrator to check.
Invoice is stuck at a workflow status and cannot be progressed
Invoices in Dimensions move through a lifecycle (e.g. Entered > Authorised > Posted). An invoice can become stuck if a required step has not been completed.
Check the current workflow status on the invoice header.
Confirm all required authorisation levels for this invoice value have been completed — Dimensions uses value-based authorisation thresholds.
If the invoice requires a second-level authoriser (e.g. over a certain value threshold), ensure that user has actioned their approval queue.
If the invoice shows as Authorised but cannot be posted, check the posting period is open.
You cannot authorise an invoice you entered yourself
Dimensions enforces a segregation of duties rule: the user who entered an invoice cannot also be its first-level authoriser. This is by design and cannot be overridden for that user.
A different user with authorisation permissions must approve the invoice.
If this is a recurring issue, review your authorisation workflow configuration with your system administrator to ensure there are always at least two users who can authorise invoices.
Invoice shows as Authorised but the Post button is greyed out
Confirm the posting period is open: Nominal Ledger > Options > Periods.
Confirm you have the Post Invoices security permission on your profile.
Confirm the invoice has not already been posted — search for the invoice number in the Purchase Ledger to check its status.
If none of the above apply, refresh the screen and try again. If the button remains greyed out, contact support.
Approval emails are not being received
Verify the approver's email address is correctly set in their user record (System > Users).
Check that the invoice authorisation email notifications are enabled in System > Options > Email Settings.
Ask the approver to check their spam/junk folder.
If emails have never worked for this configuration, contact support to verify the outbound email setup.