Learning PathModule

Approval Rule inheritance

Control whether a Division inherits its parent Company's Approval Rules, and layer division-specific rules on top.

Ask about this Page
Copy for LLM
View as Markdown

After completing this page, you should be able to:

  • Explain the two approval-rule inheritance modes and which Business Unit types can use them.

  • Configure a Division to inherit company-wide rules and add stricter rules of its own.

  • Prevent unintended rule inheritance where a Division must govern itself.

A company-wide policy, "every order over AUD 50,000 needs finance sign-off," should apply across every Division without being re-created five times. But a single Division might also need controls the parent does not. Approval Rule inheritance lets a Division pick up its parent Company's rules while still defining its own, and a single Business Unit setting governs the behavior.

The inheritance mode

The BusinessUnitApprovalRuleMode determines whether a Business Unit applies only its own Approval Rules or also rules inherited from its parent. Use Explicit when a Division must govern itself, and ExplicitAndFromParent when a Division should combine parent rules with its own stricter local rules. Only Business Units of type Division can inherit Approval Rules from a parent.
A top-level Company has no parent to inherit from, so it is always Explicit. This follows the same parent-child structure you designed in Model buyer organizations, and aligns with the inheritance behavior for associates and stores you traced in Configure associate access.

Setting the mode

You change the mode with the changeApprovalRuleMode update action on the Division's Business Unit.
POST /{projectKey}/business-units/key=atlas-apac HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "version": 3,
  "actions": [
    { "action": "changeApprovalRuleMode", "approvalRuleMode": "ExplicitAndFromParent" }
  ]
}
With the APAC Division set to ExplicitAndFromParent, every Approval Rule defined on the atlas parent Company now also governs APAC orders, in addition to any rule defined on APAC directly. The action generates a BusinessUnitApprovalRuleModeChanged message, which downstream systems can react to.

Layering division-specific rules

Inheritance is additive, so a Division under ExplicitAndFromParent can tighten governance without weakening the inherited baseline.
Suppose the atlas Company defines the AUD 50,000 finance rule. The APAC Division handles sensitive government contracts and additionally wants compliance sign-off on any controlled product, at any value. APAC adds its own controlled-product rule directly. APAC orders are then governed by both the inherited 50,000 rule and its own compliance rule; an order can trigger several rules at once, and each contributes its approvers.

Inheritance only adds rules; it never removes or loosens a parent rule. A Division cannot use inheritance to exempt itself from a company-wide control. To make a Division stricter, add rules; to make it independent, change its mode.

Preventing unintended inheritance

Sometimes a Division must govern itself entirely, for example, a separately regulated entity whose controls differ from the parent's. Set that Division's mode to Explicit, and it stops inheriting parent rules and applies only its own.
Use this setting when an inherited rule would be wrong for a Division, rather than trying to write a parent rule that carves out exceptions. Keep company-wide rules for genuinely universal controls, and use Explicit Divisions for the parts of the organization that must stand apart.

Worked example: Atlas mixed governance

Atlas Corporate has a parent Company (atlas) and two Divisions, APAC (atlas-apac) and EU (atlas-eu). Design inheritance so one division is stricter than the parent and the other is independent.
  1. Company baseline. On atlas, define the universal rule: orders over AUD 50,000 require finance-director. Every part of Atlas should share this control.
  2. Stricter Division (APAC). Set atlas-apac to ExplicitAndFromParent so it inherits the 50,000 rule, then add an APAC-only rule requiring compliance-reviewer on any controlled product. APAC is now governed by both.
  3. Independent Division (EU). The EU entity operates under different regulations and must not inherit the AUD-denominated company rule. Set atlas-eu to Explicit and define its own rules in euros. EU governs itself.
  4. Verify. Place a qualifying order in each Division and confirm the matched rules: APAC shows the inherited finance rule plus its compliance rule; EU shows only its own rules.

Key takeaways

  • BusinessUnitApprovalRuleMode is Explicit (own rules only) or ExplicitAndFromParent (own plus inherited); only Division Business Units can inherit.
  • Set the mode with the changeApprovalRuleMode update action on the Division; it emits a BusinessUnitApprovalRuleModeChanged message.
  • Inheritance is additive: a Division can add stricter rules but cannot use inheritance to exempt itself from a parent rule.
  • Use Explicit on a Division that must govern itself, rather than writing carve-outs into company-wide rules.

Test your knowledge