13 Approving Notes

Introduction to Note Approval

The approval process is a very important function for every note type. The supervisor’s approval of the note carries the following three main responsibilities:

1. It is the mechanism for putting the supervisor’s signature on the note.
2. It allows the note to be pulled into billing.
3. It allows the note to be pulled into a timesheet for payroll.

• Note: all three of these functions are optional.

Client Supervisor Assignment

Every note is assigned to a supervisor, and it is this person who is responsible for approving the note. The only person other than the supervisor who can approve the note is a Notes Super-user. Notes Super- user mode is covered in more detail in the “Approving Notes in Bulk” course. The supervisor’s name auto-populates to the note based on the assignment at a client’s record.

1. In order to verify a client’s Supervisor assignment, first open the client’s record.
2. Click on the General section
3. Click on the Identification tab
4. Find the Supervisor drop-down (lower right of the client record) and verify or change if necessary.

Helpful Hint: If you do not see a particular name that you need in the drop-down, you may need to take a look at job title configuration or the job title assignment at the particular employee’s record.

Job Title Configuration

Job title configuration and job title assignment at the employee record controls the list of names that show up in the Supervisor drop-down of the client record.

1. In order to verify or change Job Title Configuration, go to Configure > List Configuration > Employees > Job Titles.

Helpful Hint: Only job titles with the Supervisor/Approver checkboxes carry the capability for note approval.

2. Make any adjustments to the Supervisor/Approver checkboxes as necessary
3. Click on the Update button to save any changes
4. Verify the job title assignment for a particular employee by going to Employees > Open the Employee’s record > Demographics tab > Job Title drop-down (scroll to the bottom of the screen).

Note Approval

The note approval workflow starts with the Unsigned/Unapproved Notes dashlet. All of the notes that are assigned to the supervisor and ready to be approved are displayed here.

1. Click on Dashboard

2. Find the Unsigned/Unapproved Notes dashlet

3. Click on the “Signed Notes Only” checkbox

Helpful Hint: Only signed notes are eligible for approval. Uncheck the “Signed Notes Only” checkbox to see notes that are still a work in process.

4. Click on the Edit Note icon to open the note to be reviewed/approved

Once the note has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance, you can either approve the note or follow the process for sending a task for a note correction. This process is covered in detail in the “Using Note Tasks” course.

5. With the note open, Click on the Process button (lower right)

6. Click on the “Approve for Billing” checkbox and/or “Approve for Payroll” checkbox.

Helpful Hint: For companies that are using timesheets, both “Approve for Billing” and “Approve for Payroll” will be visible. Check the box(es) accordingly so that the note may travel the correct path to billing and/or payroll.

7. Enter your password.

• Note: this is the same password used for system login.

8. Click on the OK button

Helpful Hint: Warning messages may be presented at this step if anything about the note is out of compliance. If warning messages are override, the note will continue to be approved for either billing and/or payroll.