After submitting a New Vendor Request, requesters can monitor the progress of the approval workflow from a single location in Felix - the Approval Instances list under My Tasks. This article explains how requesters find their submitted vendor requests, understand what each status means, read the approval chain columns to see where a request is sitting, receive automatic notification emails as the workflow progresses, and use the Remind next in line action to nudge an approver who has not yet actioned their turn. Knowing how to track a New Vendor Request prevents duplicate submissions and helps requesters intervene quickly when an approval is stalled.

Who this article is for: Organisation users who have submitted a New Vendor Request and want to check its current status, understand where the request sits in the approval chain, or send a reminder to the next approver in line.

Context and Prerequisites

When a New Vendor Request is submitted, Felix automatically creates an approval instance - a record that tracks every step of the approval workflow from submission through to the vendor invitation being sent or the request being declined. The approval instance is visible in My Tasks > Approval Instances to the requester who created it and to all approvers assigned to the chain.

Before tracking your request, confirm you have already submitted a New Vendor Request (refer to How to Submit a New Vendor Request) and that you are logged in as the same user who submitted the request.

 

Navigate to My Tasks and Approval Instances

1. In the main Felix navigation, click My Tasks.
2. Select Approval Instances from the My Tasks submenu.
3. The Approval Instances table loads, showing all approval instances you have created or are participating in as an approver.

 

Find Your Vendor Request in the Table

1. Click the Type filter and select New vendor request to narrow the list to vendor request approvals only, removing sourcing approval types (RFQ, RFA, Variation) from the view.
2. Identify your request by its reference. Each New Vendor Request row displays its reference in the format: [Approval instance ID] – [Business name], BN: [Business number]. If no business number was provided at submission, the reference shows as [Approval instance ID] – [Business name] only.

 

Read the Approval Instance Columns

Each row contains columns that tell you exactly where your vendor request stands in the approval chain.

Column	What it shows
Reference / Title	The approval instance ID, business name, and business number. Click the reference link to open the full approval view for that instance.
Type	Displays New vendor request for all vendor request approvals.
Status	The current overall status of the approval workflow. See "Understand the Request Status" below for a full explanation of each status.
Originator	The name of the user who submitted the vendor request.
Approvals	How many approvers have approved out of the total (e.g. 1/3 means one of three approvers has approved so far.)
Awaiting	The name of the approver whose turn is currently active and the workflow is currently waiting on. If multiple approvers share the same approval level with simultaneous active turns, the first approver in that group is shown.
Waiting for	How long the approver shown in the Awaiting column has been the next in line, displayed as days, months, or years. Use the Waiting for column to identify requests that may need a reminder.
Created at	The date the request was submitted, displayed in your local timezone.

 

Understand the Request Status

Status	What it means	What to do next
Pending	The request has been submitted and the approval workflow is in progress. At least one approver still needs to action their turn.	Monitor the Awaiting and Waiting for columns. If the request has been sitting with the same approver longer than expected, use the Remind next in line action described in "Send a Reminder to the Next Approver in Line" below.
Sent	All approvers have approved and the vendor invitation email has been sent to the vendor. The workflow is complete.	No further action is needed. The vendor will receive a Felix onboarding invitation.
Declined	At least one approver declined the request. Any single decline concludes the entire workflow. The requester received a Request declined notification email containing the approver's decline reason.	Open the approval instance by clicking the reference link and review the decline reason. If the request should be resubmitted with corrections, contact your organisation administrator then create a new vendor request.

 

Open the Full Approval View for More Detail

1. Click the reference link in the title column of the relevant row, or click the More options (⋮) button at the end of the row and select View.
2. The approval view opens and displays a read-only breakdown of every approver in the chain - showing whose turn has been completed, whose turn is currently active, and who is still queued - along with any comments or decline reasons left by approvers.

 

 

Send a Reminder to the Next Approver in Line

If the approval workflow has been waiting on the same approver for longer than expected, you can send that approver a manual reminder email directly from the Approval Instances table without needing to contact them outside Felix.

When Remind next in line is available: The Remind next in line option only appears for approval instances with a status of Pending and only when at least one approver has an active turn. The option is hidden when the workflow has concluded (Sent or Declined), or when you are yourself the approver with the active turn. Felix does not allow a user to remind themselves.

1. In the Approval Instances table, locate the Pending New Vendor Request you want to follow up on. Note the name shown in the Awaiting column - this is the approver who will receive the reminder.
2. Click the More options (⋮) button at the end of the row.
3. Select Remind next in line from the dropdown.
4. Felix sends a reminder email to the approver (or all approvers) with an active turn at the current approval level. If multiple approvers share the same active level, all of them receive the reminder simultaneously - you do not need to send individual reminders to each approver at that level.
5. A confirmation modal is displayed after the reminder is sent successfully.

Sending a targeted reminder from within the approval view: If you have opened the full approval view for a specific instance, you can also send a reminder to a specific approver from the approvers table within that view. Locate the row for the approver you want to remind - the approver must have a status of "With approver" and click the Send remind button in that row. The Send remind button sends the reminder to that approver only, not to all approvers at the active level.

 

 

Automatic Notification Emails You Will Receive

Felix sends notification emails to the requester at key moments in the approval workflow. You do not need to monitor the Approval Instances table constantly - Felix emails you directly when your request is declined or approved.

When this happens	Notification sent to the requester
The New Vendor Request is submitted	A Request submitted notification email is sent to the requester with the vendor business name and the reference number of the approval instance for tracking.
An approver declines the request	A Request declined notification email is sent to the requester. The email includes the decline reason, the vendor business name, and the reference number of the approval instance.
The final approver approves and the vendor invitation is sent	A Request approved confirmation email is sent to the requester informing them that their vendor request has been approved and the vendor invitation has been sent. The email includes the vendor business name, the request reference number, and a link to view the newly created vendor profile.

TIP: For any Pending vendor requests, check the Waiting for column. If a request has been with the same approver for several days, use Remind next in line to prompt the approver without needing to escalate through a separate channel.

 

Troubleshooting

Issue	Likely cause	Resolution
The submitted vendor request does not appear in My Tasks > Approval Instances	The table is filtered to a different type or status, or the request was not successfully submitted	Clear all active filters and check again. If still not visible, confirm the Send request step completed with a success confirmation on screen. If no confirmation appeared, the request may not have been submitted - return to the Vendor List and submit a new request
The Remind next in line option does not appear in the More options dropdown	The status is not Pending, the workflow has concluded, or you are the approver with the active turn	Confirm the status in the Status column. If the workflow has concluded, no reminder is needed. If you are the active approver, action the request from the approval view instead
The Awaiting column is blank for a Pending request	The active-turn approver has been deactivated or deleted, stalling the workflow	Open the full approval view and contact your organisation administrator - a user with the Action on behalf of permission will need to approve or decline on behalf of the stalled approver to unblock the workflow
A Request declined notification email was not received after the request was declined	The email may have landed in the spam or junk folder, or the email address on the Felix account is incorrect	Check the spam or junk folder for an email from Felix. If the email is not there, contact your organisation administrator to verify the email address on your Felix account is correct

 

Related Resources

• How to Submit a New Vendor Request
• How to Review and Action a New Vendor Request (Approver Experience)
• How to Configure the New Vendor Request Approval Feature (Administrator Guide)
• Sourcing Approvals vs New Vendor Request Approvals: What's the Difference?
• How to Track and Expedite Approval Progress