Folder admins have three tools in the More actions menu to handle approvals that need intervention - Approve as admin, Reassign, and Reset approval. All three unblock documents without removing the audit trail.
Where to find the admin tools
👉 Where are the admin tools?
Open a document in the Approvals module and select More actions. A regular user sees only Download document. As an admin you also see Reassign, Download document, Approval settings, and under a separate Admin heading: Approve as admin and Reset approval.
Approve as admin
Approve as admin lets you approve a document yourself, bypassing the normal approver assignment, but only while it is still Awaiting approval.
👉 How does Approve as admin work?
Select More actions > Admin > Approve as admin and enter a reason before confirming. The document moves to Approved immediately, recorded in history as admin override and reading as a normal Approved. It is not available on documents that are already Approved or Rejected - use Reset approval and resubmit instead.
👉 What replaced "Force approve and export"?
Force approve and export no longer exists (it used to override a rejected document and push it straight through). If the document has not been submitted, submit it and then use Approve as admin once it is Awaiting approval; if it is already Awaiting approval, use Approve as admin to move it to Approved, then export normally. There is no force-reject equivalent.
Reassign
👉 How does Reassign work?
Select More actions > Reassign, choose the new person, and enter a reason. Reassign adds that person to the currently pending stage; the original approvers can still act, and later stages are unaffected. Use it when an approver is unavailable or the wrong person was assigned - it is also the nearest thing to "removing yourself", since an approver cannot remove themselves but an admin can reassign their stage.
Reset approval
Reset approval removes the current approval entirely and returns the document to Ready so it can be resubmitted.
👉 How does Reset approval work?
Select More actions > Admin > Reset approval. The status changes from Awaiting approval (or Approved or Rejected) back to Ready and all approval history for that submission is cleared. Submitting again captures the folder's current workflow, including any edits made since the original submission.
👉 When should I use Reset approval?
Use it when:
The wrong workflow was matched at submission and needs re-routing.
A workflow was edited and the updated version should now apply.
An Approved or Rejected document needs to go through the process again.
Export without approval
👉 Can I export documents directly without approving them first?
Yes and this option is available only to Admins. The action is called 'Skip approval and Export' and is available under the small arrow next to 'Submit for Approval' button.
Users are unable to export docs directly to accounting software without approval. They will be able to bulk export to file only.
What these tools cannot do
👉 What can't these tools do?
No force-reject - there is no action to forcibly reject a document; use Reset approval and resubmit instead.
Finished decisions cannot be flipped directly - an Approved or Rejected status can only change by using Reset approval first, then resubmitting.
Approve as admin does not work on already-Approved documents - it is only available while a document is Awaiting approval.
Frequently Asked Questions
👉 A document is stuck with no approver. What do I do?
That document is in Exceptions. Reassign and Approve as admin are both valid ways to clear it. See Fixing approval exceptions. For who can use each tool, see Roles and permissions in approval.