This article explains how the approval workflow works in SimplyMerit, including worksheet statuses, reporting hierarchy, delegates, administrator oversight, and the Final Approver setting. It is written for HR teams, managers, and delegates and is intended to remove common confusion around approvals.
Overview: single-level approval
SimplyMerit uses a single-level approval workflow for manager worksheets.
This means:
- Each manager submits one worksheet for their team.
- That worksheet goes through one approval step.
- There are no chained or staged approvals, such as “manager approved, pending ELT,” nor do worksheets require multiple levels of approval.
At any point in time, a worksheet has a single clear status that reflects its current state.
Common hierarchy terms
To explain approvals clearly, it helps to use standard HR reporting terminology.
Direct reports
Employees who report directly to a manager.
Indirect reports
Employees who report to a manager’s direct reports, and so on down the hierarchy.
Example hierarchy:
- Bob (Vice President)
- Bob’s direct report: Sally (Director, reports to Bob)
- Bob’s indirect report: Joe (Manager, reports to Sally)
Roles involved in approval
Submitting manager
The manager who is responsible for entering compensation recommendations for their direct reports and submitting the worksheet.
Approving manager (one-up manager)
The submitting manager’s direct manager. This person is the default approver once a worksheet is submitted.
Higher-level leaders
Any manager above the approving manager in the reporting hierarchy. In SimplyMerit, higher-level leaders can take action on worksheets for anyone beneath them, whether they are direct or indirect reports.
Delegates
A delegate is someone authorized to act on behalf of a manager.
Delegates can:
- Enter recommendations
- Edit worksheets
- Submit and resubmit worksheets after rejection
Delegates do not create a separate approval layer. When a delegate submits a worksheet, it follows the same approval path as if the manager submitted it.
Administrators
Administrators have full visibility and control across the system. Admins can view, edit, approve, reject, reopen, and bulk-approve worksheets regardless of reporting hierarchy.
Worksheet statuses
Each worksheet will always be in one of the following states:
Awaiting Submission
The worksheet has not yet been submitted.
Pending Approval
The worksheet has been submitted and is awaiting an approver's action.
Approved
The worksheet has been approved.
Rejected
The worksheet has been rejected and must be updated and resubmitted.
These statuses apply independently to merit, bonus, and equity worksheets.
How hierarchy affects approval authority
Approval authority follows the reporting hierarchy.
Using this structure:
- Bob (VP)
- Sally (Director), Bob’s direct report
- Joe (Manager), Sally’s direct report, and Bob’s indirect report
The following rules apply:
- Sally can view, approve, reject, or modify Joe’s worksheet.
- Bob can view, approve, reject, or modify Sally’s worksheet.
- Bob can also view, approve, reject, or modify Joe’s worksheet because Joe is an indirect report.
- Administrators can act on any worksheet.
A worksheet approved by a one-up manager is not locked. Anyone higher in the hierarchy, or an admin, can still take action if changes are needed.
This flexibility is especially useful if a manager is unavailable. If a manager is out of the office, has not been invited into SimplyMerit, or is otherwise unable to act on their worksheet, anyone above them in the reporting hierarchy can submit, approve, reject, or modify that worksheet on their behalf. The same applies when a delegate is assigned, as delegates can enter and manage the worksheet while approval authority remains with the appropriate leader in the hierarchy.
Actions that can be taken on a worksheet
Approvers and administrators can take the following actions:
Modify
Edit recommendations before approving or after reopening a worksheet.
Approve
Finalize the worksheet and move it into Approved status.
Reject
Send the worksheet back for changes. A reason is required and displayed to the original submitter.
Reopen or reverse
Approved or rejected worksheets can be reopened by a higher-level leader or an administrator. Once reopened, the worksheet can be edited and resubmitted.
Final Approval feature (separate from worksheet approvals)
Some organizations enable the Final Approval feature for audit and sign-off purposes.
Final Approval is not part of the manager worksheet approval workflow. It does not change worksheet statuses or approve or reject individual worksheets.
Instead, Final Approval provides one or two designated approvers with a way to record an organization-wide sign-off.
What Final Approval does
When Final Approval is enabled:
- You can configure up to two Final Approvers, commonly leaders such as a CEO and CFO.
- Each Final Approver sees a Submit Final Approval button on their My Org screen.
- Clicking that button records the Final Approver’s sign-off.
- Allows the use of the Final Approval - Data Export, a CSV of all employee data, including merit, bonus, and equity allocations. This particular export can only be triggered by the CEO when clicking the 'Final Approval' button, which is enabled on the Active Features configuration page. It includes the Final Approver(s) name(s) along with the date and time they approved.
What Final Approval does not do
Final Approval does not:
- Change any manager worksheet status
- Approve or reject any individual worksheet
- Add an additional approval layer to the workflow
- Affects whether managers can submit, or approvers can approve or reject
How to avoid confusion between Approved and Final Approval
To keep terms clear:
- Approved is a worksheet status (it applies to an individual manager’s worksheet).
- Final Approval is an organization-level sign-off stamp for auditing (it applies to the overall cycle and produces a timestamped export).
If you enable Final Approval, treat it as the final signature step after your worksheet approvals are complete, not as a step that controls worksheet workflow.
Tracking progress and approvals
Manager Activity
Administrators can use the Manager Activity page to monitor progress across the organization. This page shows, in real time:
- Which managers have been invited
- Which managers have logged in
- The current status of each manager’s merit, bonus, and equity worksheets
Manager Activity reflects the single-level approval model. It shows the current status for each worksheet, not multiple approval stages.
Admins may also use Manager Activity to perform bulk actions, such as approving all submitted worksheets at the end of a planning cycle.
Data exports
For reporting or audit purposes, admins can run exports that include worksheet status fields, such as merit status and bonus status.
How delegates fit into approval
Delegates support managers by handling data entry and workflow steps.
Typical patterns include:
- Delegate enters recommendations, manager submits
- Delegate enters and submits, approver reviews
- Delegate updates and resubmits after rejection
Regardless of who submits the worksheet, the approval path is the same. Delegates do not bypass approval or add an extra step.
In many organizations, HR Business Partners (HRBPs) are assigned as delegates for one or more managers, enabling them to enter and manage compensation recommendations on the manager’s behalf, especially during tight planning timelines or when managers need hands-on support. Even when an HRBP is acting as a delegate, the worksheet still follows the same approval path, and approval authority remains with the appropriate leader in the reporting hierarchy (or an admin).
Common scenarios
Scenario 1: One worksheet approved, another rejected
Joe submits his worksheet, and Sally approves it. Joe’s worksheet is Approved.
Sally then submits her own worksheet, and Bob rejects it. Sally’s worksheet is Rejected.
Joe’s worksheet remains Approved because each worksheet is independent.
Scenario 2: Higher-level leader intervenes after approval
Joe’s worksheet is approved by Sally.
Bob reviews Joe’s worksheet later and wants changes. Bob can reject or modify Joe’s worksheet, even though it was already approved, because Joe is Bob’s indirect report.
Scenario 3: Delegate submission
A delegate submits a worksheet on behalf of a manager. The worksheet follows the same approval workflow and appears as pending for the appropriate approver.
Summary
SimplyMerit uses a single-level approval workflow. Each worksheet has one approver, determined by hierarchy. Higher-level leaders and administrators can step in at any time to review, change, or reopen worksheets for anyone beneath them in the hierarchy. Delegates act on behalf of managers but do not change the approval structure. Manager Activity provides administrators with a clear, real-time view of progress without introducing multiple approval stages.
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