A payout cannot be approved or finalised

Applies to: Primary Admins, Admins, Finance users, and Support
Prerequisites: An authorised role and access to the affected cycle state

Problem

Approve Payout or Finalize Cycle is unavailable, fails, or should not yet be used.

Likely causes

• The user’s role is not sufficient.
• Action Lock or an access approval is required.
• Validation remains pending.
• A row is rejected or has not been reviewed.
• An adjustment is unresolved.
• Recalculation is in progress or incomplete.
• The cycle status does not permit the action.

Checks to perform

1. Confirm that the signed-in user has an authorised role.
2. Check the cycle and row statuses.
3. Review visible validation messages.
4. Check whether an approval request is pending.
5. Note whether an Action Lock challenge appeared.
6. Review every employee state and the totals.

Never share an Action Lock code, one-time password, or approval link. Report only that the challenge appeared and provide sanitised error text.

Resolution steps

1. Complete the missing review or approved security step.
2. Correct the underlying issue.
3. Sign in as the authorised role. Never share credentials.
4. Reconcile the cycle before retrying.

When to contact support

Contact Support if an authorised user meets all visible conditions but the action still fails, or if reopening or recovery would be required.

Information to include

• Role, but never credentials.
• Cycle and row state.
• Time of the attempt.
• Visible validation or error text.
• Action Lock or Access Control state.
• Sanitised screenshot.

Last updated: August 2026