How to Track Approval History in Odoo

Approval history monitoring can be done through the use of Odoo, in which firms can maintain a history of approvals, which will tell exactly who approved, disapproved, and even made changes to any particular document during its approval process

Why Track Approval History?

Below are some of the advantages of maintaining approval history:

• User activities are logged for greater accountability
• Provides a clear audit trail for approvals
• Aids organizations in following their internal policies
• Previous decisions can be easily reviewed
• Facilitates problem-solving and dispute resolution

Common Use Cases

1. Approval History for Purchase Order

Once an approved purchase order comes up, the history of approvals will contain the names of the person or persons who approved it, as well as dates of such actions, thus making it easy to look up any necessary details regarding the purchase decision process.

2. Approval History for Leave Requests

With the help of the approval history, it will become easy to monitor all leave requests by employees, including the names of the people who approved or rejected the request and the dates of the action taken.

3. Approval History for Expenses

The approval history will ensure that there is documentation of all approvals made in the expense claim/reimbursement claims process.

4. Approval History for Invoices

It is essential to have the approval history to document all activities that take place in the validation/approval of the invoice.

Using Chatter to Track Approval History

Approval Actions on a Record Can Be Logged Through Odoo’s Chatter.

The approval will be captured as the communication history for the specific record and will be accessible through the form view.

from odoo import models, fields
class PurchaseOrder(models.Model):
  _inherit = 'purchase.order'
  def button_approve(self):
      result = super().button_approve()
      for order in self:
          order.message_post(
              body=(
                  f"Purchase Order approved by "
                  f"{self.env.user.name} on "
                  f"{fields.Datetime.now()}"
              )
          )
      return result

• The process of approval is handled through the execution of the button_approve() method.
• A system-generated post is made to the chatter on approval.
• The name of the person who approves the record is appended to the post.
• The approval history can be viewed via Chatter.

This creates a message in the record's chatter, allowing users to view the approval history directly from the form view.

Advantages of Using Chatter

• No extra model or table is needed.
• The history of approval is always attached to the document.
• It is very easy for users to track past activities.
• Also, it works with existing Odoo notifications and followers.
• Provides a simple audit trail without complex customization.

Best Practices

• Record both the approver and approval date.
• Track approval comments when applicable.
• Use the Chatter for better visibility.
• Restrict approval actions to authorized users.
• Maintain approval records for auditing purposes.

The ability to log the approval history in Odoo is very important for organizations to ensure that they are transparent and in control of their business processes. This is because one can log the information regarding the approval, who did it, and when.

To read more about How to Optimize Approvals in Odoo 18 for Better Efficiency, refer to our blog How to Optimize Approvals in Odoo 18 for Better Efficiency.