# Invoices over a dollar amount need a second approver

Send small invoices down the normal path and large ones through a longer one — two approval processes, two Content Capture triggers with a field-value Range condition, two rules. No one has to look at the amount.

Product: content-central · Versions: 7.8+ · Audience: catalog-administrator · Time: 25 minutes · Last verified: 2026-09-05

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/route-large-invoices-to-a-second-approver

**When you're done, an invoice under your threshold starts the standard approval path, and one at or over it starts a second process that adds the extra approver — decided by the amount field the moment the invoice is filed.**

```plan
scope: document-type
trigger: Content Capture › Content Captured in this Document Type | Field Evaluation: Selected Field Value(s) · Field: Invoice Total · Field-Match Type: Range · From 5000 to 999999999
action: Approval Process - Start Process | Approval Process: "Large invoice approval" (the path with the second approver)
rule: "Large invoice → two-step approval", enabled — plus a mirror rule for the small-invoice range
```

## How the split works

Content Central doesn't have an "if amount > X, add a step" setting inside one process. What it has is a **field condition on a trigger** and the ability to start *any* process from a rule. So you build:

- Two approval processes: **Standard invoice approval** (say, AP clerk → AP manager) and **Large invoice approval** (AP clerk → AP manager → Controller).
- Two triggers on the invoice document type: one that matches the small range, one that matches the large range.
- Two rules, each starting the matching process.

> **IMPORTANT:** Turn **off** the **Automatically start this process on all captured content** option on both processes. With it on, every invoice would enter that process regardless of the amount, and your rule would start a second copy.

## Build the two triggers

1. Go to **Administration** > **Catalogs & Document Types**, pick the **Catalog** and the invoice **Document Type**, and click the **Workflow** tile. Click **Triggers**, then **New Trigger**.

2. **Type:** `Content Capture` and `Content Captured in this Document Type`. **Trigger Name:** `Invoice captured — 5,000 and over`.

3. **Field Evaluation:** `Selected Field Value(s)`. **Field:** your invoice total field.

4. **Field-Match Type:** `Range`. Enter **From and including:** `5000` and **to and including:** a number larger than any invoice you'll ever see, such as `999999999`.

*[Screenshot: Choosing Selected Field Value(s) reveals the Field, Field-Match Type, and value controls. For a numeric field the match type is Equals or Range; Range gives you the from/to pair.]*

5. Click **Save**.

6. Click **New Trigger** again and build the mirror: **Trigger Name:** `Invoice captured — under 5,000`, same type and field, **Range** from `0` to `4999.99`.

**What you should see:** two Live triggers in the list, each showing the field and range in its **Details** column.

> **NOTE:** The two ranges must not overlap and must not leave a gap, or an invoice at the boundary either starts both processes or neither. `0–4999.99` and `5000–999999999` is safe for a two-decimal currency field. Invoices with an *empty* total match neither range — see Variations for catching those.

## Build the two actions

1. Click the **Actions** card, then **New Action**.

2. **Type:** `Approval Process - Start Process`. **Action Name:** `Start large invoice approval`. **Assignment Type:** `Single Approval Process`. **Approval Process:** `Large invoice approval`. **Save**.

3. **New Action** again: **Action Name:** `Start standard invoice approval`, **Approval Process:** `Standard invoice approval`. **Save**.

## Wire the two rules

1. Click the **Rules** card, then **New Rule**. **Rule Name:** `Large invoice → two-step approval`. **Add Trigger:** `Invoice captured — 5,000 and over`. **Add Action:** `Start large invoice approval`. **Apply**.

2. **New Rule** again: `Small invoice → standard approval`, trigger `Invoice captured — under 5,000`, action `Start standard invoice approval`. **Apply**.

## Test it

1. Capture two invoices: one coded with a total of `4,999.00`, one with `5,000.00`.

2. Check each approver's **Queues** > **Approval** tab, and each document's **View History**.

**What you should see:** the small one on the standard path's first approver, the large one on the large path's first approver, and each history showing `Process started by workflow rule.` with the process name. After the AP manager approves the large one, it moves on to the Controller instead of completing.

## Variations

| Want this instead | Change this |
| --- | --- |
| Three tiers (under 1,000 · 1,000–9,999.99 · 10,000+) | Three triggers with three ranges, three processes, three rules |
| Catch invoices with no total entered | A third trigger: **Field Evaluation:** `Selected Field Lacks Value`, **Field:** your total field → route to a work queue or email AP to fix the coding ([work-queue recipe](/content-central/workflow/send-new-documents-to-a-teams-work-queue)) |
| Decide by vendor instead of amount | **Field:** your vendor field, **Field-Match Type:** `Equals`, and the vendor name as the value — one trigger per vendor you treat differently |
| Route on the invoice's *date* instead | Text and date fields offer different match types; date fields compare against today ([reminder recipe](/content-central/workflow/remind-the-owner-before-a-contract-expires)) |
| Same split, but from the Coding Queue commit | Trigger type **Coding-Queue Commit** › **Committed in this Document Type** with the same field conditions |

## What's next

- [Start an approval every time an invoice is captured](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/start-an-approval-when-an-invoice-arrives)
- [Set up an approval process](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/set-up-an-approval-process)
- [Escalate an approval that has waited too long](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/escalate-an-approval-that-has-waited-too-long)