Slingshot allows requisitions, purchase orders, supplier invoices, P-Card statements and expense reports to be approved on mobile devices, tablet computers or by eMail.

eMail approvals have been enhanced allowing the user to approve or deny approval in the body of the eMail message without logging into Slingshot.  

The user views the document requiring approval and approves or denies approval with one click.

Click the green “Approve Request” button or click the blue “Deny Approval” button.  If the user denies approval a reason is required.  The document owner is notified automatically when the document is approved or approval denied.

The approver can also sign in and view all pending approvals (blue link).  This is useful if the number of open approvals is greater than the number appearing in the approvers email inbox (e.g. the user may have accidentally deleted an email message).  Also, the approver can opt to receive alerts if documents have been awaiting approval for more than a day or two (user parameter).

Slingshot has migrated its mobile development environment from the Android native tools to the cross-platform Apache Cordova toolset (also known as Adobe PhoneGap).  This makes Slingshot’s applications available on all popular smartphones including those running Android, iOS, Windows Phone or Blackberry.  The new toolset promises to speed development as Slingshot broadens its mobile offerings.  The “Cordova based” versions of Slingshot’s mobile Apps will be included in release G2-7.3 which will be available in late December.

Slingshot currently offers two Apps. “Expense Capture” allows customers of Slingshot’s eRequest module to enter expense reports while traveling.  Expenses can be categorized, entered in multiple currencies, and charged to company charge cards.  Pictures can be attached for receipts.  Completed expense reports can be uploaded with one click and are immediately routed for approval.  Approved expense reports are automatically posted to accounts payable.  Email notifications are created when the expense report is approved and paid. 

The “Mobile Approvals” app allows employees to approve all types of Slingshot documents (Requisitions, Purchase Orders, Supplier Invoices, Expense Reports) from their mobile phones.  “Push Notifications” are generated when a document requires approval.  A count of documents queued for approval appears above the Mobile Approvals icon on the phone.  Employees can swipe through these documents and approve or deny approval with one click.  

Both Apps support offline processing, allowing the user to enter expenses or process approvals without an Internet connection.

Slingshot announces the ability to create search formulas for filtering on all search forms.  Search formulas allow the user to select a set of records by specifying filtering criteria at the top of the form.

Formerly, these fields allowed one operator (“<”, ”>” or “<>”) for dates and amounts.  This capability has been expanded to allow the user to specify a formula.  The formula can use operators plus a range or list of values.  Precedence can be controlled with parenthesis.

This capability is easy to use and provides the ability to get an instant answer to virtually any question relevant to the form.  Let’s say you want a list of both the “Blanket” and “Quote” purchase orders which will expire over the next 60 days. The example below shows how the user could create this list.

The operator button to the left of each field switches to ƒ when a formula is entered.

Note: The capability is also supported for fields in Dynamic Filters (as shown above).  Dynamic Filters are user-defined and are accessible for reuse.

Slingshot has announced support for “horizontal scalability” and failover support.  These changes will be part of release G2-7 scheduled for completion in November.  The new infrastructure provides an enterprise scale for all Slingshot applications.