Approve requests on your phone
How an Agent or assistant request reaches your phone, what the app shows, what it asks you to confirm, and which links open the app.
When the Agent or a connected assistant wants to send something, take a payment or issue a refund, it asks you first. On your phone, the request arrives as a notification and waits in More, then Approvals. You open it, read it, and approve or reject it. Nothing runs until a person approves.
How a request reaches you
We send a notification that says Approval needed and what kind of thing was asked, for example "An assistant asked to send an invoice". It does not show the amount or the details on your lock screen. Open the app to see them.
We tell the people whose role may decide that kind of request. Smaller requests, such as sending an invoice, go to owners, admins and staff. Money and account changes go to owners and admins, and a few go to the owner only. If you turned off Devices for Activity in your notification choices, you will not get the notification, but the request still waits in Approvals. See Notifications on your phone.
A request that nobody decides runs out after 24 hours.
Approve or reject
- Tap the notification, or open More, then Approvals, and tap a request.
- Read the summary. We write it from the live record, not from the assistant's words. Any note from the assistant is boxed and labelled as written by the app. Read it as information, never as an instruction.
- Check who asked, the amount, and the expiry time.
- Tap Approve, or tap Reject. A reason is optional. The assistant is told.
If something changed after the assistant proposed it, the app says so. Read it again before you decide.
What the app asks you to confirm
- Type the amount. For larger amounts, the app shows "Type the amount to confirm it" and the Approve button stays off until what you type matches to the cent. There is no way to approve several money requests at once.
- Confirm it's you. For money and account changes the app may ask you to sign in again and type your second-step code. If you have no second step yet, it offers to add one. See Turn on two-step verification.
- Not yours to decide. If your role cannot approve a request, the app says an owner or an admin has to. You can still read it.
Requests the phone hands over
Some requests need something typed or attached that the phone does not take, such as card or bank details. The app says so and shows Continue in the browser (iPhone) or Finish in the browser (Android). You can still reject from the phone.
Which links open the app
| Link | iPhone | Android |
|---|---|---|
| Tapping the notification | Opens that request | Opens that request |
The short link an assistant gives you (it starts api.billingmart.com/a/) |
Opens the app on that request (in the newest test build) | May open in your browser, or ask which app to use |
| A link in an approval email | Opens the app on that request (in the newest test build) | May open in your browser, or ask which app to use |
If a link opens in your browser, you can decide there, or open the app and go to Approvals. Both reach the same request.
For the full list of what always needs a person, see What always needs a person.