Editing documents during approval

Each stage in an approval workflow can allow no edits, full edits, or edits to selected fields only - and a workflow-level setting called Keep Documents Editable can override all of that, during and after approval.

When an admin builds a workflow, each stage has an edit permission, so different stages in the same workflow can have different edit rights. For instructions on setting these, see Setting up an approval workflow.

Each stage uses one of three settings:

Selected fields always includes the document header data, plus the accounting-code fields available for the folder's connected integration:

Lock mode is a Default path setting that controls whether documents can be edited while awaiting approval.

Lock mode has two states:

Keep Documents Editable is a per-workflow setting for folders that need someone to edit a document even after it has been approved - for example, a business approves the invoice, then the finance team fixes the tax codes afterwards. When it's on, it overrides every other edit setting on that workflow.

👉 What does Keep Documents Editable do when it's on? It keeps documents in that workflow editable, with different reach depending on access role:

👉 Does it override stage edit permissions and Lock mode? Yes. While Keep Documents Editable is on, it ignores the stage's edit permission (including All locked) and ignores Lock mode entirely for that workflow. Those settings aren't removed - they become the fallback for when the setting is turned off again.

👉 Where do I turn it on?

Open Folder Menu - Approval Workflows, open the workflow, and expand its workflow settings to find the Keep Documents Editable toggle. Only folder admins can change it.

👉 What happens to documents that are already submitted or already Approved? Keep Documents Editable is a live setting, not a snapshot. Turning it on immediately makes every document on that workflow editable - in any status except Archived, including documents that are already Approved. Turning it off immediately reverts every document on that workflow back to its stage edit permissions and Lock mode.

👉 What happens to documents that were approved by the system (Trusted supplier)?

If Keep Documents Editable is enabled for a workflow, documents from Trusted suppliers that were approved by the system will be editable even after approval.

Approval finalises the document. Edit permissions only apply while a document is still awaiting approval at a stage - unless Keep Documents Editable is on for that workflow.

👉 Can I edit a document after it is approved?

Only if Keep Documents Editable is on for the workflow that document belongs to, and only if you have an Admin or User access role. Without it, once a document reaches Approved, it can no longer be edited by anyone, on any path, regardless of Lock mode or the per-stage edit permissions.

👉 I need a review or edit as a final step. How?

You have two options. Either turn on Keep Documents Editable for the workflow, so Admins and Users can adjust the document after approval, or build the step into the workflow itself: add a stage at the end for the review or edit, and give that stage the edit permission it needs. Since a document is only fully Approved after its last stage, that editing happens before it locks. See Setting up an approval workflow.

You can move a document to another folder at any point except while it is awaiting approval. In every other state - Ready, Approved, or Rejected - you can move it as usual. While it is awaiting approval it stays put until the approval concludes.

Moving an Approved document to another folder resets its approval. It starts again in the new folder and runs through that folder's workflow from the beginning - expected behaviour, because the new folder can have different paths and approvers, so the earlier sign-off no longer applies. See how documents are routed.

👉 I could edit approved documents before. What changed?

If your folder previously had "Lock editing during approval" turned off, you may have been able to change a document even after it was approved. With approval workflows, that's no longer possible through Lock mode - the only way to keep an approved document editable now is to turn on Keep Documents Editable for its workflow.

👉 Is there an audit trail for edits made after approval?

No. Status changes - like resetting an approval - are recorded in the document's audit trail, but coding edits made while a document stays editable are not tracked. If you enable Keep Documents Editable, it's on your own internal process to make sure those edits are checked and correct.

👉 Can an Approver-only user edit a document after it's Approved?

No. Keep Documents Editable extends editing after approval to Admin and User access roles only. Approver-only users can edit a document while it's awaiting approval at their assigned stage, but that access ends as soon as the document is Approved.