Summary
Finance Settings is the section of the Proteus Admin Console where purchase order approval workflows, public note presets, currency exchange rates and invoice settings are configured. These settings govern how procurement and financial processes operate across the platform.
Finance Settings is only accessible to users with Admin role permissions. Navigate to the Admin Console from the main navigation menu and select Finance Settings to access these options
Purchase Order Approval
Proteus supports two distinct purchase order procurement flows, each with its own approval structure. The flow used by your organisation is determined at the tenant configuration level.
Approval Type | Description |
Standard Flow | Uses individual Purchase Approvers. Each approver is a named user with a defined approval limit and office scope. Suitable for straightforward single-tier approval requirements. |
Enhanced Flow | Uses the Delegation of Authority (DOA) framework. Approvers are organised into groups with tiered limits covering three types of approval: Single Source Justification (SSJ), External Commitment and Approval to Pay. Suitable for organisations requiring more granular, multi-level procurement governance. |
Your organisation will use either the Standard or Enhanced procurement flow, not both. If you are unsure which flow your Proteus tenant is configured for, contact your Proteus administrator.
Purchase Approvers
Purchase Approvers are individual users who are authorised to review and approve outgoing Purchase Orders under the Standard procurement flow. Each approver is assigned an approval limit and an office scope, defining the maximum value and the office(s) they can approve for.
How to Add a Purchase Approver
In the Admin Console, navigate to Finance Settings.
Select the Purchase Approvers tab.
Select Add Approver to create a new entry.
Complete the approver details:
User - Select the user to be designated as an approver.
Approval Limit - Enter a specific monetary limit up to which this user can approve, or tick the Unlimited box to grant unrestricted approval authority.
Office - Select either a single specific office or all offices to define the scope of this approver’s authority.
Select Save to confirm the new approver.
Editing & Deleting Approvers
All Purchase Approver records can be updated or removed at any time.
Edit - Select the 3 dots to the right of the approver record and choose Edit to update the user, limit or office scope.
Delete - Select the 3 dots to the right of the approver record and choose Delete to permanently remove the approver.
Delegation of Authority
The Delegation of Authority (DOA) framework is used under the Enhanced procurement flow. Rather than individual approvers, DOAs are approval groups that can contain one or more users, each covering a defined financial range and one of three approval types. This enables multi-level, tiered procurement governance.
Approval Types
Each DOA must be assigned one of the following three approval types:
Approval Type | Description |
Single Source Justification (SSJ) | Approval required for high-value purchase requests where the procurement mode Single Source is selected. An SSJ approver with a limit that covers the full cost of the purchase must always be available, regardless of procurement mode. A single DOA with a lower limit of 0 and no upper limit will satisfy this requirement unless tiered SSJ approvals are preferred. |
External Commitment | Approval of Purchase Orders based on the total PO value. This type controls who can commit the organisation to external spend at each value tier. |
Approval to Pay | Approval of supplier invoices once they have been receipted against the related Purchase Order. This controls who can authorise payment at each value tier. |
TIP: It is recommended to configure External Commitment and Approval to Pay DOAs in incremental value tiers to avoid overlapping approval authority. For example:
• DOA 1: £0 – £999
• DOA 2: £1,000 – £4,999
• DOA 3: £5,000 – Unlimited
If individual DOAs (single user per group) are preferred and value ranges overlap intentionally, multiple DOA options will be presented on the Purchase Request and PO, allowing the requester to select the appropriate approver.
How to Add a DOA
In the Admin Console, navigate to Finance Settings.
Select the Delegation of Authority tab.
Select Add Approver to create a new DOA.
Complete the DOA details:
Description - The name of this approval group. This will be the visible label on the Purchase Order when this DOA is applied.
Approver(s) - Select one or more users to be part of this approval group. Multiple approvers can be added to a single DOA.
Role - To assign the Project Manager as the DOA approver automatically, select PM from the Role field. Otherwise, leave this as Select a user role to use the manually selected approver(s) above.
Approval Lower Limit - The minimum value from which this DOA applies.
Approval Upper Limit - The maximum value this DOA covers. Tick the Unlimited box for no upper limit.
Approval Type - Select one of: Single Source Justification (SSJ), External Commitment or Approval to Pay.
Office - Select the specific office this DOA applies to. For the Enhanced flow, a DOA can only be connected to a single office.
Select Save to confirm the new DOA.
NOTE: Unlike the Standard flow where an approver can cover all offices, each DOA in the Enhanced flow is linked to a single office. Separate DOAs must be created for each office where approval coverage is required.
Single Source Limit
The Single Source Limit defines the highest purchase request value for which the Single Source procurement mode can be selected. Any purchase request above this limit cannot use Single Source procurement and must follow a competitive process.
On the Delegation of Authority index page, locate the Single Source Limit field.
Enter the agreed monetary limit for Single Source procurement.
Select Save Limit to apply.
Purchase Order Public Notes
Public Notes are preset text blocks created in the Admin Console that can be selected by a buyer when raising a Purchase Order. Any Public Note added to a PO will appear on the Purchase Order PDF that is issued to the supplier.
Common uses for Public Notes include standard terms and conditions, payment instructions, health and safety requirements, or any other standard text that should appear on outgoing purchase orders.
How to Create a Public Note
In the Admin Console, navigate to Finance Settings.
Select the Purchase Order Notes tab.
Select Add Note to create a new blank note entry.
Complete the note fields:
Title - The internal name for this note preset, used to identify it when selecting notes on a PO.
Public Note - The full text that will appear on the Purchase Order PDF.
Select Save to confirm the note
Select Remove to delete an existing note.
NOTE: If multiple Public Notes already exist, the new blank note will be added at the bottom of the list. Scroll down if it is not immediately visible after selecting Add Note.
Currency Exchange
The Currency Exchange section is where the forex exchange rate matrix is configured for the Proteus tenant. Each Office in Proteus is tied to a single currency set at the point of creation. The forex matrix defines the exchange rates between office currencies and any additional currencies used on contracts, enabling multi-currency project and proposal management.
WARNING: The forex matrix in Proteus is set and maintained manually. It is not connected to any external or live currency exchange feed. Exchange rates must be updated manually whenever rates change to ensure accurate currency conversions across the platform
How to Configure the Currency Exchange Matrix
In the Admin Console, navigate to Finance Settings.
Select the Currency Exchange tab.
The matrix will display existing currency pairs based on the currencies assigned to each Office. Any office currencies already configured will appear as rows and columns in the matrix.
To add a new currency to the matrix, select the currency from the dropdown at the top of the screen and select Add Currency. The new currency will be added to the matrix and will become available for selection on contracts.
Select a cell within the matrix to enter the exchange rate between two currencies. Enter the rate and press Enter or click away to save.
NOTE: Exchange rates must be entered for every currency pair that will be used across proposals, projects and contracts. Cells left empty will not convert values correctly.
Exchange Rate Tester
The Exchange Rate Tester allows users to verify that the rates entered in the matrix are working correctly before they are used on live contracts.
In the Exchange Rate Tester section, select the source currency from the first dropdown.
Select the target currency from the second dropdown.
Enter a value in the source currency field on the left.
The converted value in the target currency will be displayed automatically, confirming the exchange rate is applied correctly.
Invoice Settings
Invoice Settings is where the financial year start date is configured for the Proteus tenant. This date determines the beginning of the financial reporting year and affects how financial data is grouped and presented across reports and project financials.
How to Set the Financial Year Start Date
In the Admin Console, navigate to Finance Settings.
Select the Invoice Settings tab.
Select the Financial Year Start Date from the dropdown. This is the month in which your organisation’s financial year begins.
Select Save to apply the setting.
NOTE: The financial year start date should reflect your organisation’s actual financial year. If this is changed after financial data has already been recorded in Proteus, it may affect how historical data is grouped in period-based reports. Contact the Xergy support team if you are unsure what value to set
