TrackerRMS Help

Your one-stop shop for help on TrackerRMS

Back to Topics

Help Topic: Placement Approval | Locked Assignments/Projects


Overview

Tracker Pro and Enterprise tiers.

When a placement is submitted for approval, any Assignment/Project record linked to it can be locked automatically. The lock is removed when the placement is approved or rejected.

Benefits

  • Linked Assignments/Projects cannot be changed while a placement is pending approval.

  • No manual unlocking is needed; records are released when approval concludes.

  • You control who can see locked records and who can lock or unlock them.

How automatic locking works

  1. A placement meets the requirements and is submitted for approval.

  2. Any Assignment/Project linked to that placement is locked automatically.

  3. When the placement is approved or rejected, the lock is removed automatically.

Note: If the linked Assignment/Project was locked manually, it is also unlocked when the placement is approved or rejected.

Automatic locking is controlled by a system-level setting that is off by default. Contact us if you would like it enabled.

Privileges and manual locking

Locking is a general Tracker feature, so the full steps are covered in a separate article rather than repeated here: Lock Records. It explains how to set the privileges, lock and unlock records manually, and what users see when a record is locked.

For Placement Approvals, you need to know three things:

  • Two User Group privileges control locking, and both are off by default for every group: View Locked Records and Lock/Unlock Records.

  • Tick View Locked Records for any group that needs to see Assignments/Projects while approval is pending. Users without it see an Oops! screen when they try to open a locked record.

  • Users with Lock/Unlock Records can unlock a record that was locked automatically, from the Action Menu in the record sidebar, if they need to.

Set the privileges in Administration > User Groups.

Example scenario and tips

Example: A consultant submits a placement linked to a project. The project locks straight away, so nobody can change its budget while the approver reviews the placement. Resourcing managers in a group with View Locked Records can still open it to check details. When the placement is approved, the project unlocks automatically.

Tips

  • Tick View Locked Records for every group that must see Assignments/Projects during approval.

  • Keep Lock/Unlock Records to a small group, since it applies to all record types.

  • If you lock a project manually, approval or rejection of the linked placement will unlock it.