Cash vs Non-Cash Requests: One Engine, Two Decision Types
Cash requests end in a payment — approve, then pay the vendor; non-cash requests end in a decision — approve, then act: hire, sign, commit, allocate. Same pipeline, same evidence, different destination.
Most approval tools only handle the first kind, which is why hires and contracts end up approved in email threads while invoices get software. One engine running both is the non-cash decision workflow idea — this page covers the practical split.
The two request types
| Attribute | Cash request | Non-cash request |
|---|---|---|
| Carries | Vendor, amount, bank details, invoice | Priority, justification, supporting documents |
| Examples | Bills, payments, expenses, petty cash | Hires, contracts, budgets, PO reconciliations, policy changes |
| Ends in | Payment to verified details — payment approval | A locked, recorded decision |
| Integrations | QuickBooks drafts, Sheets rows | Sheets rows — decision records |
Why non-cash decisions need the same trail
Payment approvals leave external evidence — the bank record exists regardless. Decision approvals leave only what the system recorded: an approved hire in a deleted thread is, two years later, indistinguishable from a guess. When the audit or the dispute asks "who decided this, when, on what basis," non-cash requests with no workflow have no answer. The full argument: Non-Cash Decision Workflows; HR in depth: HR Approval Workflow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between cash and non-cash approvals?
Cash approvals authorize money to move; non-cash approvals authorize everything else — hires, contracts, budgets. The engine, routing, and evidence requirements are identical; only the destination differs.
Approvdit runs cash and non-cash decisions on one engine — payments push to QuickBooks, decisions lock with receipts. Book a live demo.