Approval Workflows

Borderbolt includes two approval workflows to ensure proper authorization before declarations are submitted to customs and before documents are shared with customers.

Declaration Approval (Financial Impact)

When a user attempts to submit a declaration to customs, the system automatically checks whether the declaration’s financial impact exceeds the user’s authorized limit. If it does, an approval request is sent to managers before the declaration can proceed.

How It Works

1. User clicks Submit to Customs on a declaration
2. Borderbolt calculates the total financial impact (sum of all duties and taxes)
3. The system checks the user’s maximum impact limit (based on their role or personal limit)
4. If the impact exceeds the limit, an approval request is triggered
5. Managers receive an email with a secure approval link
6. Once approved, the user can re-submit the declaration

Impact Limits

Impact limits can be set at multiple levels:

The system checks procedure-specific limits first, then falls back to the user’s general limit.

Approval Request

When approval is required, Borderbolt:

1. Creates a secure, time-limited token (valid for 24 hours)
2. Takes a snapshot of the declaration’s financial details
3. Sends an email to all eligible approvers with:
   • Declaration details (reference, type, importer/exporter)
   • Total financial impact vs. user’s limit
   • Duties and taxes summary
   • Approve/Reject buttons

Who Can Approve

The following users receive approval requests:

• Organization owners
• Organization administrators
• Customs managers (users with the customs_manager role)

Approval Page

Approvers click the link in the email to open the approval page. No login is required — the secure token provides access. The page shows:

• Declaration details and reference number
• Financial impact warning with amount
• Complete duties and taxes breakdown
• Approve or Reject buttons

To reject, the approver must provide a reason (max 1,000 characters).

Token Statuses

After Approval

When a declaration is approved:

• The original requester receives a notification email
• The declaration can now be submitted to customs by clicking Submit to Customs again
• The approval is logged in the audit trail with approver details, timestamp, and IP address

After Rejection

When a declaration is rejected:

• The original requester receives a notification with the rejection reason
• The user can make corrections and re-submit, which generates a new approval request

Document Approval (Customer Sign-off)

The document approval workflow allows you to send documents to external customers for review and sign-off, without requiring them to have a Borderbolt account.

Supported Documents

• A.TR certificates — Send to customers for approval before printing
• Declarations — Share with customers for review

Sending for Approval

1. Open the document (e.g., A.TR certificate)
2. Click Send Approval
3. Select the customer contacts to notify
4. Each contact receives an email with a secure approval link

Customer Approval Page

The customer clicks the link in the email to access a review page that shows:

• PDF preview of the document (displayed inline)
• Document details (type, number, relevant shipment information)
• Approve or Reject buttons
• Expiry warning if the link is nearing expiration

No Borderbolt login is required — the secure token provides access.

Approval History

All approval actions are tracked:

• Who sent the approval request
• Who approved or rejected
• When the response was given
• Rejection reason (if applicable)

View the approval history from the document’s Approval History panel.

Audit Trail

Both approval workflows maintain a complete audit trail: