Kantivo PayFlow

A complete payment request, approval, and processing workflow system built into Kantivo. Collect requests from your team through a cloud portal, route them through approval chains, and convert them to journal entries -- all without leaving your accounting software.

Overview

PayFlow lets anyone in your organization -- employees, volunteers, freelancers, vendors -- submit payment or reimbursement requests through a web portal. Those requests sync to your Kantivo desktop app, where you can review details, communicate with the submitter, approve or reject, and ultimately record the payment as a proper accounting transaction.

The system is designed around a simple principle: the cloud portal is a temporary relay. All financial data ultimately lives on your local machine, giving you full control over your records.

Request Dashboard

The PayFlow dashboard is accessible from the sidebar under PayFlow > Request Dashboard. It provides a complete view of all payment requests for your current company.

Dashboard Stats

At the top of the dashboard, six stat cards show real-time counts and totals:

• Total Requests: All requests regardless of status
• Pending Review: Requests awaiting your initial review
• Awaiting Approval: Requests in the approval chain
• Approved: Requests approved and ready for payment
• Total Amount: Combined dollar value across all active requests
• Paid: Requests that have been paid and recorded

Filtering and Search

Use the filter bar to narrow down the request list:

• Search: Type a keyword to search across titles, descriptions, and request numbers
• Status: Filter by pending, awaiting approval, approved, rejected, needs info, paid, or cancelled
• Priority: Show only urgent, high, normal, or low priority requests
• Date Range: Set a From and To date to view requests within a specific period
• Amount Range: Set minimum and maximum amounts to find requests in a dollar range

Category Spend Chart

Below the filters, a horizontal bar chart shows total spend grouped by category. This gives you a quick visual overview of where the money is going without generating a separate report.

Creating Requests

Requests can be created in two ways:

1. From the desktop app: Click the New Request button on the PayFlow dashboard. Fill in the title, amount, category, priority, and optional fields like vendor, account, due date, and approval chain. Attach files if needed.
2. From the cloud portal: Portal users submit requests through their browser. These sync to your desktop app automatically.

Request Fields

Reviewing and Approving Requests

Click any request in the dashboard to open the detail view. Here you can see all information, attachments, the message thread, approval status, and the activity log.

Available Actions

• Approve: Move the request to approved status. If an approval chain is assigned, this advances to the next step.
• Reject: Decline the request with an optional note explaining why.
• Needs Info: Send the request back to the submitter with a request for clarification or additional documentation.
• Mark as Paid: Indicate that payment has been made.
• Cancel: Cancel the request entirely.
• Convert to Transaction: Create a double-entry journal entry from the approved request.

Messages and Attachments

Every request has a built-in message thread. Use it to ask the submitter for more information, provide instructions, or explain a decision. Messages are visible to both the accountant in the desktop app and the submitter on the cloud portal.

Attachments uploaded during request creation are visible in the detail view. You can download any attachment to review it locally. Files sync from the cloud to your desktop during the sync process.

Converting to Transactions

When a request is approved and paid, you can convert it into a proper journal entry:

1. Open the request detail view
2. Click Convert to Transaction
3. Select the debit account (typically an expense account)
4. Select the credit account (typically a bank or cash account)
5. Confirm the amount, date, and memo
6. Click Convert

The transaction is created with full double-entry bookkeeping, and account balances are updated automatically. The request is linked to the resulting transaction for audit trail purposes.

Approval Chains

Approval chains define who needs to approve a request and in what order. Navigate to PayFlow > Approval Chains to manage them.

Creating an Approval Chain

1. Click New Approval Chain
2. Give the chain a name (e.g., "Standard Approval" or "High-Value Purchases")
3. Add steps in order. Each step specifies an approver (a user in your Kantivo installation)
4. Drag steps to reorder them if needed
5. Save the chain

When a request is assigned to an approval chain, it starts at step 1. The step-1 approver is notified by email. Once they approve, the request moves to step 2, and so on. If any approver rejects, the request is rejected immediately.

Examples

Portal Users

Portal users are people outside your Kantivo installation who submit requests through the web portal. Navigate to PayFlow > Portal Users to manage them.

Inviting a Portal User

1. Click Invite User
2. Enter their name and email address
3. Optionally assign a role (default: submitter)
4. Click Send Invite

The invited user receives an email with a link to set up their account. The invite expires after 7 days. Once they create their password, they can log into the portal and start submitting requests.

Managing Portal Users

• Activate/Deactivate: Toggle a user's access without deleting their account
• Delete: Permanently remove a portal user

Each portal user can only see their own requests. They cannot view requests submitted by other portal users.

Cloud Portal

The cloud portal is a web application that portal users access from their browser. It is hosted on the Kantivo cloud infrastructure and requires no installation.

Portal Features

• Dashboard: Overview of the user's own requests with status counts
• Submit Request: Form to create a new payment or reimbursement request
• Request Detail: View full details, message thread, and attachments
• Status Tracking: See real-time status of submitted requests
• Mobile Responsive: Works on phones and tablets

Syncing Data

PayFlow uses a sync mechanism to transfer data between the cloud portal and your desktop app:

• Pull from Cloud: Click Sync Portal on the PayFlow dashboard to pull new requests, messages, and attachments from the cloud
• Push to Cloud: Status changes, messages, and portal user invites are pushed to the cloud automatically when you sync

The cloud acts as a temporary relay. After data syncs to your desktop, cloud copies are automatically purged after 30 days. Your financial data always lives on your local machine.

Batch Operations

For high-volume processing, use batch operations:

1. Use the checkboxes on the left side of the request table to select individual requests, or click the header checkbox to select all visible requests
2. Click Approve All to approve all selected requests, or Reject All to reject them
3. Each request is processed individually and logged in the activity trail

Combine batch operations with filters for targeted actions. For example, filter by "pending" status and "normal" priority, then select all and approve.

Quick Links

Quick links are customizable shortcut buttons that appear on your PayFlow dashboard. Navigate to PayFlow > Quick Links to manage them.

Use quick links to open frequently used external resources:

• Your bank's online payment portal
• Payroll system login page
• A vendor's website or billing portal
• Internal wiki or policy documents

Each quick link has a title, URL, and optional icon. They appear as clickable buttons on the PayFlow dashboard for one-click access.

Email Notifications

PayFlow sends automatic email notifications at key moments in the workflow:

All emails use a professional branded template. Email delivery uses the existing Kantivo email infrastructure -- no additional configuration is required.