# approve

URL: /business/nouns/bill/approve · Id: `verb:Bill.approve` · Call: `await $.Bill.approve({ … })` (SDK) or the `do` tool at `https://api.sb/mcp`. Inputs says what to pass, Outputs what returns, When it waits who approves.

> Approve accepts a coded Bill for payment within the approver’s Mandate and schedules it for its due date.

Approve accepts a coded [Bill](/business/nouns/bill) for payment within the approver’s [Mandate](/business/nouns/mandate) and schedules it for its due date.

## Inputs
| Input | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `bill` | [Bill](/business/nouns/bill) | Yes | The coded Bill. |

## Outputs
| Output | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `bill` | [Bill](/business/nouns/bill) | Yes | The approved Bill, scheduled for its due date. |

## Effects
- Emits [`Bill.approved`](/business/events/Bill.approved).
- Performed by the [Finance Lead](/agents/finance/finance-lead).
- One-way (money): it waits out its delay window, and runs in the `send` and `do` modes.
- Above the Mandate’s Limit, waits for an Approval from the Founder.
- Schedules `Bill.pay` for the due date.

## Refuses when
| Check | Error | Fix | Then call |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The key is valid, but its scopes do not allow this operation. | [`forbidden`](/code/api/errors/forbidden) | Use a key whose scopes cover the operation, or ask an owner of the namespace to grant them. | [Bill.approve](/business/nouns/bill/approve) |

## When it waits
| Gate | Default |
| --- | --- |
| Decision class | Medium: one-way, bounded (money) |
| [Delay window](/systems/trust-and-governance/controls/one-way-windows) | 1 business hour, in which a watcher can pause, redirect or cancel it; then it runs. |
| Limit | The spend [Limit](/business/nouns/limit) of the [Permission](/business/nouns/permission) or [Mandate](/business/nouns/mandate) it runs under. |
| Over the Limit | It waits `pending` for an [Approval](/business/nouns/approval) from the [Founder](/agents/founding/founder). Approved, it runs; refused, it ends `refused` with [`limit-exceeded`](/code/api/errors/limit-exceeded); unanswered by its deadline, it ends `canceled`. |

## Example

**Ask**

```text
Approve the latest bill.
```

**API**

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.sb/quietcopy.com/bills/bill_1/approve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY"
```

```json
{
  "api": "https://api.sb/quietcopy.com",
  "bill": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/quietcopy.com/bills/bill_1",
    "$type": "Bill",
    "organization": "organization_1",
    "amount": {
      "amount": 39,
      "currency": "USD"
    },
    "dueOn": "2026-10-22",
    "status": "received"
  },
  "action": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/quietcopy.com/actions/action_1",
    "operation": "Bill.approve",
    "status": "done"
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "https://api.sb/quietcopy.com/actions/action_1"
  }
}
```

**SDK**

```ts
import { $ } from 'startup-builder'

const bill = await $.Bill.approve({ bill: 'bill_1' })
```

**CLI**

```bash
npx startup-builder do Bill.approve --json '{"bill":"bill_1"}'
```

**MCP**

```json
{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "return await $.Bill.approve({ bill: 'bill_1' })"
  }
}
```

Next: [`Bill.pay`](/business/nouns/bill/pay) (in `guide:pay-a-supplier`).

Guides that call it: [Pay a supplier](/systems/finance/pay-a-supplier).