Overview
The Financial Governance section in INGENIOUS.BUILD enforces financial controls to ensure budget accuracy, approval compliance, and cost code consistency. It consists of three key tabs:
Budget – Controls budget validation and accuracy.
Commitments – Manages cost limitations and contract approvals.
Approval Workflows – Regulates approval permissions and restrictions.
Each tab contains specific settings that influence financial workflows across projects.
Prerequisites
You must be an Administrator to access the Workspace Settings and/or Financial Governance settings.
Budget Tab
The Budget tab ensures that project budgets adhere to predefined financial controls. Key settings include:
Prevent Negative Budget Values (Disabled by default)
When enabled, users cannot approve budgets if any cost code exceeds the allocated budget.
Enforce Client Connected Cost Codes (Disabled by default)
Ensures that a budget is connected to a client before approval.
Restrict Editing of Accounting and Analytic Cost Codes (Disabled by default)
Prevents users from editing the Accounting and Analytic Cost codes in a Budget.
Require Analytic Cost Codes
Require Analytic Cost Codes be assigned to each cost code.
Commitments & Invoices Tab
The Commitments tab enforces restrictions on financial commitments within projects. The available settings are:
Require Phased Budget Approval (Disabled by default)
Prevents users from submitting for approval or marking vendor contracts/non-contracted invoices as executed unless the associated budget is approved.
Does not apply retroactively to existing projects.
Enforce Cost Code Budget Limits (Disabled by default)
Ensures that commitments—including contracts, contract changes, and non-contracted invoices—do not exceed budgeted amounts for any cost code.
Blocks approvals, execution, or submission if the cost code is over budget.
Require Approval, Lock SoV/WBS, and Cost Codes (Disabled by default)
Requires that all contracts, contract changes and Invoices be submitted for approval before execution.
Locks the Schedule of Values (SoV), Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and cost codes after contract execution.
Require Accounting Company and Payment Term for Contract and Non-Contracted Invoice Execution (Disabled by default)
Requires an accounting company and payment term selection during vendor contract creation and non-contracted invoice creation before either can be submitted or executed.
Note: If an accounting integration is active, selecting an accounting company will always be required when syncing to your accounting system.
Approval Workflows Tab
The Approval Workflows tab sets approval restrictions and workflow automation for financial transactions. The main settings are:
Enforce Client-Connected Approval Workflows (Disabled by default)
Prevents non-admin users from creating or modifying project approval workflows.
Users can only upload approval workflow templates that match the project's associated client.
Applies only to new workflows after activation; does not affect existing workflows.
Important: This toggle will also remove the Assign Default PM as Approver check box that can be found in the project setup process as it would no longer apply (pictured below).
This will also remove the ability to Assign a Workflow, within Project Settings under the Financial Approval workflow tab, to multiple modules at once.
Restrict Self-Approval for Final Approvers (Disabled by default)
Blocks users from approving financial resources they created if they are the final approver in the workflow.
An admin must assign a different final approver.
Project Request Intake Forms Tab
The Project Request Intake Forms tab enforces restrictions on Project Request Intake Forms within a Project Request pipeline. The available settings are:
Enforce Client-Connected Project Request Intake Forms (Disabled by default)
When this is enabled, it restricts who can manage intake forms and makes sure new forms are only pulled from a template that has the same assigned client as the Project pipeline. Users without permission to edit lists and template will not be able to create a form from scratch.
Note: This only applies to forms created after the setting is enabled. Existing forms that are not linked to a client template will not be affected.
Financial Governance Restrictions
If users encounter financial restrictions, the cause may be due to Financial Governance settings. Some common blockers include:
Negative Budget Values – This may be disallowed due to budget enforcement rules.
Client-Connected Cost Codes – Some actions may require a linked client before proceeding.
Locked Cost Codes in Commitments – Once contracts are executed, cost codes and WBS elements cannot be modified.
Phased Budget Approval Requirements – Prevents contract execution until budget approvals are completed.
Self-Approval Restrictions – Users may be blocked from approving items they created if they are the final/only approver.
By reviewing these settings, users can identify and resolve potential blockers within their financial workflows.
Now you know how INGENIOUS.BUILD enforces financial governance to maintain accuracy and compliance across budgets, commitments, and approval workflows. If you experience any issues, check the Financial Governance settings to ensure your project aligns with company-wide policies.