Document Approval Status and Role Matrix
Editable app-neutral approval matrix. Not e-sign. Not a tracker. Payment stays outside.
The Document Approval Status and Role Matrix is an editable workbook for app-neutral document approval. It is not a marketplace template, not an e-sign kit, and not a tracker.
A named person still approves, rejects, or requests changes. Comments and reactions are not the evidence log. Payment and supplier bank-detail changes stay outside.
What you get
- An editable workbook covering the field list, closed statuses, roles and authority, sequential versus parallel routing, reminders and escalation, decision-log fields, version lock, downstream contract, exceptions, security and retention questions, seven fictional cases, KPIs, proof gates, rollout, and a decision record
- CSV companions for fields, statuses, roles, exceptions, and cases
- Seven Cedar & Quay procedure cases. They do not measure OCR
Anonymous approval is rejected. High-confidence extraction does not auto-release. Timeout escalates or cancels; it does not approve. Retention questions are not a compliance certificate.
How to start
- Open the workbook Instructions sheet.
- Fill RolesAuthority and the routing rule.
- Walk Case01 through Case07.
- Read the paired guide: Document Approval Workflow.
If reviewers, authority, or the downstream action are still unclear, discuss the gaps on a fit call. If they are named, book a fit call to scope an AI Automation Systems build.
Follow one document version through the decision
Read the ZIP instructions, then choose a document type and a named approval authority. Use the fictional cases to trace the submitted version, the decision and the evidence retained. Make clear whether an approval permits a status change, a release or one downstream write.
A practical test is to change a material field after approval. The changed document should return to the agreed review path rather than inheriting approval from an earlier version. Keep rejected and superseded versions distinguishable so the team can explain which version was authorised.
Check the handoff after approval
Test an absent approver, a rejected request and a repeated notification. Confirm who owns the queue and how unresolved items are escalated. If an integration retries, check that it cannot perform an unintended second downstream action.
Keep the matrix small enough that the people named in it can explain their responsibilities. This pack supports authority, version control and evidence; it does not establish extraction accuracy. Pair it with the requirements and test pack when a workflow also needs to read fields from incoming documents.