← Help

Approval mode & graduation.

Approval Required is the default for new tenants: the safety wheel that lets you hear the teammate on real customer calls without it committing anything back to Xero without you. Here's what the approvals look like, when graduation unlocks, and how to step back down if you ever want to.

Two equivalent control surfaces. Every mode action (graduate, switch back, status) works both on the dashboard (Account → Onboarding mode card) and via SMS (GRADUATE, APPROVAL, MODE). Both paths write the same audit-log entry, so it doesn't matter which one you use: pick whichever's in arm's reach. Each dashboard control surfaces the equivalent SMS keyword inline.

The three modes at a glance

ModeAI commits to XeroYour involvementDefault for
Approval RequiredProvisionally: written back after your YESSMS per action, tap YES / NO / linkNew tenants, days 0–30
MonitoredDirectlyDaily SMS digest + 10% spot checksMost tenants
AutonomousDirectlyWeekly digest + 2% spot checksOpt-in only

What an SMS approval looks like

When the teammate agrees something on a call that writes back to Xero (marking a quote accepted, agreeing a payment plan) you get an SMS within a few seconds. They're designed to be actionable in one tap on a phone:

SMS · from your control number
Action pending. The teammate agreed a 3-instalment plan with Riverside Plumbing on INV-2094 ($11,600), $3,867/mo starting Fri 16 May. Reply YES to lock it in or NO to hold. Or tap office-voice.com/a/x4k2… to review the call.

What each reply does

  • YES: The action is committed. The provisional arrangement is written back and the follow-up cadence adjusts to it. The customer is not re-contacted (they already heard the teammate confirm on the call).
  • NO: The action is held. The teammate rings the customer back within a few minutes: "Hi, it's the team at [your business]. Quick one on that arrangement we discussed; I need to check a detail before we lock it in." with full context from the first call so it doesn't start from scratch.
  • Tap the link: opens a redacted transcript with the outcome chip and the linked invoice. Approve, reject, or leave a note for the team. Same effect as YES / NO, with more context for borderline cases.
Audit trail. Every approval is logged with the conversation id, the invoice or quote it relates to, who replied (which staff mobile), and when. Visible in Dashboard → Approvals.

Where approvals show up

  • SMS to your on-call mobile: the default, and the fastest path.
  • In-app inbox: full audit trail, bulk actions, useful when you've been off-grid for a few hours.
  • Email: fallback if SMS delivery fails or you've disabled SMS notifications.

You can choose which staff mobile(s) get the SMS in Dashboard → Approvals → Notifications. Multiple recipients are fine: the first YES wins.

When the Graduate prompt appears

Two thresholds combine into a soft suggestion that you're ready to graduate:

  • 30 days since the last mode change
  • 20 or more actions approved

Once both are true, the approval SMS appends a one-line hint ("You've approved 20+ actions. Reply GRADUATE to let the teammate commit directly" ), and the Graduate to Monitoredbutton on Account marks itself as "Ready to graduate".

Graduation is opt-in, any time

The 20 actions / 30 days is a suggestion, not a hard gate. The Graduate button works any time you're in Approval Required mode, including on day 1 if you want. Same for the SMS command. We never auto-promote.

Two paths to graduate

SurfaceWhat to do
DashboardAccount → Graduate to MONITORED button. Card shows current count, days remaining, and eligibility.
SMSText GRADUATE to your Twilio number from a phone on the allow-list. Both paths write the same audit-log entry.

Autonomous mode

Autonomous is defined in our enum as a terminal opt-in state past Monitored (lighter monitoring, weekly digest, 2% spot checks). It's not surfaced as a user-clickable option yet. We'll add a Take off the training wheels button when the data tells us tenants are asking for it. High-severity flags will continue to surface at 100% regardless.

Switching back to Approval Required

You can step back to Approval Required any time. Two paths, same effect (immediate, next call will go through the approval loop, and the 30-day graduation clock resets):

  • Dashboard: Account → Switch back to APPROVAL_REQUIRED button (only shown when you're currently in Monitored).
  • SMS: text APPROVAL to your Twilio number.

Reasons people step back

  • You've just made a meaningful prompt or knowledge-base change and want to review the first batch of calls before trusting it autonomously.
  • Seasonal: a busy or unusual period (end-of-quarter push, a big batch of newly-overdue invoices) where you want eyes on every commitment.
  • Quality regression: a couple of borderline calls and you want a few days of explicit oversight before re-graduating.

Automatic demotion (planned)

In the future, the system will demote you back to Approval Required automatically if the AI's quality regresses. Planned triggers:

  • Three consecutive calls flagged at high severity
  • Disclosure verification fails (AI line or recording line missing from the opener)
  • A customer is detected saying "stop calling me": that customer is flagged across channels for the tenant

Not active today. For now, quality flags surface on the dashboard for review, and you decide whether to step back manually. The audit log + the 100% post-call quality flag detection are both in place: auto-demotion is the next layer on top, due when we've calibrated the flag-detection false-positive rate.

What doesn't change between modes

  • Disclosure. Every call still discloses AI identity and recording, in every mode.
  • DNCR. Outbound calls still check the Do Not Call Register before dialling (except collections and quote follow-ups to existing customers).
  • Compliance audit log. Every AI decision affecting a customer is logged, in every mode.
  • Kill switches. Master toggle, SMS keywords, scheduled blackouts, panic forward: all identical across modes. See Compliance & privacy.

Related