Finance playbook · AI Employee: Fin

Zip Out-of-Office Delegation Setup

Approvals flow uninterrupted during PTO

Install this playbookBack to marketplace
The problem

Manager approvers going on vacation is a procurement bottleneck. Zip approvals stall for a week; urgent purchases wait; employees escalate to leaders who don't have context. Manual delegation setup means each approver's OOO handling is inconsistent; some delegate, some don't, some forget entirely and queues back up on their return.

At a glance
Trigger
Form
Approvals
None (self-service; audit-only)
What it does
Writes to your systems
Systems
Zip
How it feels in production

An hour-by-hour walkthrough.

Sarah messages Fin: "going on vacation Nov 15-22, need to delegate Zip approvals." Fin sets up the delegation: - Delegate: Kiran (peer manager, same authority tier) - Effective: 2026-11-15 to 2026-11-22 - Scope: all Sarah's Zip approvals, both same-authority and escalations Sarah would normally handle - Delegation notice: Kiran informed + accepted - Auto-revert: 2026-11-23 00:00 Sarah's Zip approvals route to Kiran during the OOO window. Kiran sees clear context: "delegating for Sarah while she's OOO through 2026-11-22." Requests continue moving; team not blocked. On return, Fin reverts delegation. Sarah sees summary of approvals Kiran handled while OOO for continuity awareness. Delegation reversion verified.
How it works

Step by step.

  1. 01

    Intake delegation request with dates + delegate

    Approver specifies OOO period + delegate. Delegate must have equal or higher approval authority.

    Slack · Web form · Approver preferences
  2. 02

    Verify delegate + notify

    Delegate is peer with equal authority. Notify delegate of pending delegation; require acceptance.

    Peer registry · Delegate notification
  3. 03

    Apply delegation in Zip

    Zip approver routing updated to delegate for OOO window. Delegation reason logged for context.

    Zip approval routing · Delegation config
  4. 04

    Notify affected requesters

    Anyone whose current requests will route to delegate informed of change. Prevents confusion.

    Slack · Zip notifications
  5. 05

    Auto-revert + summary on return

    Delegation ends automatically. Returning approver gets summary of approvals handled by delegate.

    Scheduler · Delegation summary
Systems and wiring

What you connect to make this run.

Zip · Procurement platform

read+write

Delegation configuration + approval routing during OOO period.

Google Calendar · Outlook

read

OOO detection from calendar. Auto-suggest delegation for detected OOO periods.

Slack · Teams

read+write

Delegation request + delegate acceptance + notifications.

Peer registry

read

Approver's peer with equal authority. Suggested delegates surfaced.

What changes

Before and after, honestly.

Time to set up delegation
Before
1-2 business days (or forgotten)
After
Under 5 minutes
% of OOO approvers with delegation set up
Before
40-60%
After
95%+ (calendar-triggered)
Zip approvals stalled during approver OOO
Before
20-40%
After
Under 3%
Fin ops hours per week on OOO handling
Before
3-8 hours
After
Under 1 hour
Related

Playbooks that pair with this one.

Finance

Zip Portfolio Owner Change

Permanent handoffs use similar delegation pattern.

HR

Time Off & Leave Requests

PTO approvals trigger delegation-need signal.

Finance

Bill Payment Approval

OOO delegation applies across approval systems, not just Zip.

Frequently asked

Answers about this playbook.

What if the delegate is also OOO?

Delegate-chain: if primary delegate OOO, cascade to next delegate. Prevents delegation-to-nowhere.

How does it handle unexpected OOO (illness, emergency)?

Same-day delegation supported. Approver or their manager can set delegation retroactively; already-routed approvals redirect.

What about long-term absences (parental leave, sabbatical)?

Extended delegation with longer expiry. Different from short-OOO; sometimes involves role coverage discussion.

Can we automate OOO detection from calendar?

Yes — calendar-detected OOO auto-suggests delegation. Approver confirms before applying.

How does it handle escalations during delegation (delegate can't approve)?

Delegation preserves escalation path. If delegate can't approve, escalation still goes to original chain's next level.

See it run on your data.

Free plan, no credit card. Connect the systems this playbook needs and run it against a past event first.

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