When creating a new approval policy or editing an existing one, the policy is applied to new payables and existing payables that have not yet been fully approved. For example:
You have an existing approval policy for bills ≥ $100
You have two existing bills:
Bill #1: $200. Already fully approved (in "Awaiting Payment" status)
Bill #2: $300. Not yet approved (in "Awaiting Approval" status)
You change your existing approval policy to apply for bills ≥ $500
Outcome:
Nothing will change for Bill #1 since it's already fully approved
Bill #2 will be approved automatically and move to "Awaiting Payment" status