# Drafts and approvals

Source: https://docs.neropay.app/nerobooks/drafts-and-approvals
Last updated: 2026-09-21T16:42:20+00:00

Nothing records itself. Every route in gives you something to look at, you save a draft, and only your approval makes it count.

It is worth understanding before you record anything.

### The two states

| Status | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Draft | saved and visible, but changing nothing |
| Posted | approved by you; it counts in totals, reports and tax estimates |

You will also see **approved**. Same thing as posted.

### The journey

Step 1

A source

Payments, bank movements, receipts, or something you type in

→

Step 2

Your check

The real amount, the VAT, and whether it is already in there

→

Step 3

Draft saved

Nothing has changed yet

→

Step 4

You approve

It is posted

→

Step 5

Reports

Reports read posted entries only

### Where drafts come from

| Source | What you get | Does it record anything? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Payment inbox | NeroPay payments to confirm | no — you enter the real gross and VAT |
| Bank feeds | movements to match | no — importing is not recording |
| Receipts & Bills | a scanned document with a form filled in | no — you check it and save a draft |
| Bookkeeping | a blank income, bill or journal form | no — it saves as a draft |
| Payroll | a calculated pay record | no — the calculator makes a draft |

### What counts

- The three totals on **Overview** 
- Every report on **Reports** 
- The bookkeeping profit behind the **Corporation Tax** estimate

All three read posted entries only. If a figure looks low, it is usually drafts waiting for approval. The Overview counts them for you.

### Before you approve

| Check | Why |
| --- | --- |
| Is it already in the books? | one sale can arrive as a payment, a bank deposit and an invoice |
| Is the amount the real gross? | what NeroPay received is not always the full sale |
| Is the VAT right, and can you prove it? | what counts is the VAT on the document |
| Is it income at all? | transfers, loans and owner money are not sales |
| Is the category right? | reports are only as good as the categories under them |

> ⚠️ **Warning:** A transfer between your own accounts, a card settlement, a loan repayment and owner drawings are not sales or expenses. Recording them as such inflates your income and your costs.

### Where approvals are recorded

Approvals and access events go in **Activity & audit** with the date, the action, who did it and the detail. Documents and credentials are not in that log.

### If you approve something by mistake

Fix it with another entry rather than pretending it never happened. A **reversal** cancels an earlier entry. A journal can move an amount between accounts. If the period is locked in Settings, entries inside it can no longer change.

### Frequently asked questions

**Where do I approve an entry?**

On the Bookkeeping screen. Filter by **Status: Draft** to list what is waiting, then work down.

**Do drafts expire?**

No. They sit there until you approve or remove them, which is why the Overview counts them.

**My profit and loss is empty but I can see entries. Why?**

They are almost certainly still drafts. Filter Bookkeeping by Draft to check, then approve the ones that are right.

**Does approving pay anyone or send anything?**

No. Approving an entry only affects your records. No money moves, and approval on its own sends nothing to HMRC.

**Who can approve?**

Whoever the account owner has given bookkeeping access to. An outside practice can prepare drafts but cannot approve them.

*This article explains how NeroBooks works. It is general information about the software, not accounting, tax or financial advice. Nero Panda Ltd, trading as NeroPay, is not a tax agent, accountancy firm or financial adviser.*

*Still need help? Contact us at support@neropay.app or create a ticket.*