Troubleshooting: Invoice Approval Requests
When an invoice is submitted for a participant, Navigator can send an approval request to the participant or their nominated contact before the invoice is processed. If a customer or contact tells you they're not receiving these approval requests, there are a few straightforward things to check.
How invoice approvals work
When an invoice is ready for approval, Navigator sends a notification to whoever is configured as the approver — either the participant directly or one of their contacts. The notification is sent via the approver's chosen channel (email, SMS, or app notification), and they can approve or reject the invoice from there.
Approvals are sent once when the invoice reaches the approval stage. They are not automatically resent if the approver doesn't respond.
Check 1 — Is this contact set as an invoice approver?
A contact must be specifically set as an invoice approver to receive approval requests. Being linked to a customer and having funding access is not enough on its own.
What to do:
- Open the customer's profile in Navigator.
- Go to the Contacts section.
- Find the contact who isn't receiving approvals.
- Check whether Invoice Approver is enabled on their contact–customer relationship.
If Invoice Approver is off: Enable it. From the next invoice onwards, this contact will be included in the approval process.
Note: Check with your team lead if you're unsure who should be the approver. Only one approver is configured per invoice — if both the customer and a contact are set up, the invoice determines which one is used.
Check 2 — What approval channel is configured?
Even if a contact is set as an approver, approvals won't be sent if the wrong channel is configured or the channel is set to none.
What to do:
- On the contact's record in Navigator, check the Invoice Approval Channel setting.
- Confirm it matches how the contact expects to receive notifications.
Channel options and what's required for each:
| Channel | What it means | What must be on file |
|---|---|---|
| None | No approval request is sent — invoices are auto-approved for this contact | N/A — approvals are disabled |
| Approval request sent via email | A valid email address on the contact's record | |
| Text message | Approval request sent via SMS | A valid mobile phone number on the contact's record |
| App notification | Approval request sent as a push notification to the Navigator app | The contact must have the Navigator app installed with notifications enabled |
If the channel is set to "None": This contact's invoices are being auto-approved without a notification being sent. If they want to receive approval requests, update the channel to email, SMS, or app notification.
If the channel is email or SMS: Make sure the contact's email address or mobile number is correctly recorded in Navigator. A missing or incorrect detail means the notification can't be delivered.
Check 3 — Is the email address blocked?
If the approval channel is email, the contact's email address may have been blocked — meaning Navigator won't send any emails to it, including approval requests.
What to do:
- Open the contact's profile in Navigator and look for a red Errors alert near their email address.
- If you see one, the email address has a delivery issue. See the Blocked Email Address troubleshooting guide for how to resolve this.
Check 4 — Has the approval already been sent?
Approval requests are sent once when the invoice enters the approval stage. If the contact missed it, didn't see it, or it went to spam, it won't be automatically resent.
What to do:
- Ask the contact to check their spam or junk folder if the channel is email — approval emails can occasionally be filtered.
- If the approval was already sent but no action was taken, check the invoice in Navigator — it may be sitting in a pending approval state. A team member with the right permissions may be able to resend the approval or action it directly.
- Check with your team lead if the approval needs to be manually resent.
Quick reference
| Symptom | Most likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Contact has never received any approval requests | Not set as an invoice approver, or channel set to None | Enable Invoice Approver; set the correct channel (Check 1 & 2) |
| Contact receives approvals sometimes but not always | Email going to spam; or some invoices routed to a different approver | Check spam folder; confirm approver settings (Check 3 & 4) |
| Channel is email but nothing arrives | Email address missing, incorrect, or blocked | Verify email address; check for blocked email alert (Check 2 & 3) |
| Channel is SMS but nothing arrives | Mobile number missing or incorrect | Verify mobile number on the contact's record (Check 2) |
| Channel is app but nothing arrives | App not installed or notifications not enabled | Ask contact to check app installation and notification settings (Check 2) |
Still not resolved?
If you've confirmed the contact is set as an approver, the right channel is configured, the contact details are correct, and there's no email block — but they still aren't receiving approvals — escalate to your team lead with the contact's name, the customer's name and NDIS number, the approval channel configured, and details of which invoices are affected.