Business Central has approval workflows built in, so why would anyone add a separate approval engine? This guide compares the two honestly: what the built-in workflows do well, where they fall short, and when Cliqo is worth it.
At a glance
| Business Central workflows | Cliqo | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included with Business Central | Monthly platform fee plus a fee per transaction |
| Approver licences | Every approver needs a Business Central user and licence | No Business Central licence for people who only submit or approve |
| Where people approve | In Business Central, with email notifications | In Microsoft Teams (the whole app is available there) or by email |
| Routing rules | Conditions mostly on document header fields | Rules on header and line data, budgets and dimensions |
| Changing rules | Workflow designer with events and responses | An ordered list of rules you drag into place |
| Testing | Usually in a sandbox or test company | Test mode runs a workflow without notifying real approvers |
| Requisitions | No employee-facing requisition process out of the box | Requisitions that become Purchase Orders, with automatic accruals |
| Expenses and cards | No built-in expense management | Phone receipt capture and corporate card statements |
Where the built-in workflows are the right choice
- Small teams. If five people approve and all of them already use Business Central every day, there is little to gain.
- Simple limits. Amount limits and approver chains are exactly what the templates were designed for.
- No extra budget. They come with your Business Central subscription.
Where they start to hurt
Licences for occasional approvers
Budget holders, project managers and department heads often approve a few documents a month. Each one still needs a Business Central licence to do it. Across dozens of approvers that adds up quickly. Our licence savings calculator shows the cost for your team.
Line-level routing
Finance policies often depend on what is on the lines: the cost centre, the project or the G/L account. Routing each line to the right person is hard with header-based conditions.
Approving outside Business Central
Approvers who rarely open Business Central forget to check it. Requests sit waiting, and finance spends time chasing.
Maintaining the workflows
The workflow designer is powerful but technical. When your policy changes, many teams need a partner to update it.
What Cliqo does differently
- One engine for every module. Invoice approval, requisitions and expenses share the same rules and the same Teams approvals.
- Easy to use. Build rules in minutes and drag them into order. No more fighting with workflow events and responses.
- Rules on line details. Route each line by its dimensions, such as department or project, as well as amounts and budgets.
- The whole app in Teams. Approve, and browse Cliqo itself, without leaving Microsoft Teams.
- Business Central stays the system of record. Approved documents integrate back automatically: Purchase Orders from requisitions, Purchase Invoices from expenses, and approved Purchase Invoices and Credit Memos.
How to decide
Count the people who approve but don't otherwise need Business Central, and list the rules your finance policy really uses. If the answer is "a few people, simple limits", stay with the built-in workflows. If it is "lots of occasional approvers, line-level rules, and a team that lives in Teams", book a 30-minute demo and see Cliqo with your own scenarios.