One of the key ways to make the most of our platform and manage your team members' orders is via the 'Allowance & Approvals' tab within a team's settings.
[ACCORDION] Approvals
Every team member needs a device to work from home, so laptops are excluded from a team's credit allowance - it costs them no credits to get a laptop.
On Hofy Entry or Hofy Lite, all requests (within or above allowance) will need to be approved by a Hofy Manager. However, orders directly placed by Hofy managers will automatically be approved.
On Hofy Pro or Hofy Enterprise, you have the added option of automatic approval of orders within allowance.
You can change your setting so that your team members' first laptop request will be approved automatically and their order will be placed without needing your approval.
For peripherals, accessories, furniture & other equipment, Hofy managers have the ability to automatically approve items in these sub-categories. Under 'Requests within allowance,' select 'Approve automatically' and you'll then have the ability to set an auto-approval limit for each sub-category. This means that for every category of approved equipment in a team's catalogue, requests would have automatic approval for a designated maximum limit of items from each category, provided that the request is within their available allowance.
With Hofy Pro, you can benefit from being able to automatically block any requests over your team members' allowance for the ultimate peace of mind!
[ACCORDION] Allowance
For other equipment (not laptops) such as peripherals, accessories, furniture and furniture accessories, you are able to add an allowance for each team. When submitting requests, team members see their allowance as available credits, rather than a monetary value.
Allowances are based on item's purchase price without multipliers, so that all the members of a team can order the same amount of items, even if they are located in different countries.
When a team member submits a request, our platform indicates whether their order is within allowance based on the base price of the equipment, before the store fee and applicable country multiplier are added.
It's important to note that an allowance does not equate to a firm set budget and it's only indicative.
A request may be within one's allowance based on the credits available for that team, but over the allowance once applicable fees and multipliers are added in the manager's view.
Example - Using an Allowance to Provide Full Kit
Your Finance Team understands that some countries simply cost more to procure equipment in - particularly within Latin America. Though cost is important, equipping the Product Team with the necessary equipment to carry out their job efficiently is paramount.
In this case, set an appropriate allowance for peripherals and accessories, then adjust down by your Store Fee.
| Brazil | The Philippines | |
| Basket subtotal | $500 | $500 |
| Store Fee | 25% | 25% |
| Country Multiplier | 2.0x | 1.2x |
| Total | $1250 | $750 |
In this example, team members in Brazil and The Philippines have selected the same equipment but due to the higher cost to procure equipment in Brazil, the total you'll see on your invoice is higher.
In many cases, team members may not utilise their full allowance, this will help to balance out the team members located in countries with a higher multiplier.
If needed, you have the option to decline equipment within a team member's request by toggling the item off before submitting the order.
If you'd like to utilise the Allowance feature like a strict budget, you'll want to scale back the allowance provided on the platform to account for store fees and country multipliers by at least 25%.
Example - Using an Allowance as a Strict Budget
Your Finance Team has approved a total spend of $1000 for your Engineering Team's peripherals and accessories. Your Store Fee is 25% and the bulk of your team is in Europe, where the multiplier is 1.02x. Adjusting your Allowance down to $780 would ensure that all requests within allowance would be within the $1000 approved budget.
| Basket subtotal | $780 | $780 |
| Store Fee | 25% | $195 |
| Country Multiplier | 1.02x | $975 x 1.02 |
| Total | $994.50 |
With an allowance, your team can then browse their approved Hofy catalogue and request the remote working equipment they need. Our help centre has you covered for more information on how to manage your team members' requests.
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Do you like the idea of automatic approvals and to upgrade to Hofy Pro? Please contact your dedicated Account Manager or Account Executive.