3. Escalations
An escalation means "this is stuck and needs someone more senior to decide". DFFMS escalates in tiers.
| Tier | Who is told | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| Level 0: the case team | The people who normally act on the record | Normal |
| Level 1: Programme Administrator | Programme Administrators, and the people concerned | WARNING |
| Level 2: Client System Administrator | Client System Administrators, and the people concerned. This is the highest tier. | CRITICAL |
3.1 Automatic escalations (service levels)
DFFMS checks for stuck work every day at 06:00 UTC. You do not need to act for these. The timings below are the defaults, confirmed by the client on 25 October 2026.
| Setting (label on screen) | Default | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Approval reminder (hours) | 24 | A waiting approval gets a reminder after 24 hours |
| Escalate to Programme Administrator (hours) | 48 | After 48 hours, the approval goes to level 1 |
| Escalate to Client System Administrator (hours) | 96 | After 96 hours, the approval goes to level 2 |
| Application stage limit (working days) | 5 | At 5 working days in one review stage, level 1. At 10, level 2. |
| Repayment reminders (days overdue) | 1, 7, 30 | The borrower and case team are reminded at these points |
| Escalate unpaid instalment (days overdue) | 30 | An instalment 30 days overdue goes to level 1 |
| Scheme redemption | Pay-by date plus 3 working days | Fixed in the code. It cannot be changed on screen. |
Rules for changing these
- Only the Platform Super Administrator or the Client System Administrator can save them, with Save escalation service levels in Configuration.
- The numbers must climb in order: reminder, then level 1, then level 2. If they do not, DFFMS uses the defaults.
- Changes are recorded in the audit trail.
What the daily check does: it sends approval reminders and escalations, escalates stalled applications, reminds people about overdue instalments, checks the early warnings (Part 5), and checks scheme redemptions.
An escalation closes itself when the approval is decided, the application moves on, or the instalment is paid.
3.2 Raise a manual escalation
Who can do it: people who can update the record, such as Programme Administrators, Finance Approvers and Finance Entry Officers. Scheme administrators can escalate a redemption.
Steps
- Open the record: a finance application, a financing case, or a scheme page with a redemption.
- Find the Escalation panel. Its text reads: "Stalled decisions climb to the Programme Administrator and then the Client System Administrator."
- Click Escalate.
- In the dialog Escalate for a decision, choose the item in What needs a decision. This only appears when the record has more than one open item.
- Write the Reason. Use at least 10 characters. Say what is blocked and what decision is needed.
- Click Escalate.
What happens next
- The escalation moves one tier up from its current level. The first manual escalation goes to the Programme Administrator. The second goes to the Client System Administrator.
- The next tier, the people expected to act, and the person who raised it are told in-app, by email and by push.
- The action is recorded in the audit trail.
- A record already at the top tier cannot be escalated again. You will see: "This record is already escalated to the Client System Administrator."
Example
Ibrahim Sule sees that a finance application has waited for committee review for two weeks. He writes "The committee has not met since 3 October. We need a date set this week." He clicks Escalate.
3.3 Resolve an escalation
Who can do it: Platform Super Administrators, Client System Administrators, Programme Administrators, and the person who raised the escalation.
Steps
- Open the record. Find the row Escalated to {tier} in the Escalation panel.
- Check the Source and the reason.
- In the box How was this resolved?, type what was done. Use at least 5 characters.
- Click Resolve.
What happens next: the row closes, and the note stays on the record.
3.4 Where to see escalations
There is no separate escalations list in the menu. Open escalations appear in the Escalation panel on finance application pages, financing case pages and investment scheme pages (for redemptions). An empty panel shows "No open escalation."
Early-warning escalations, such as "Intervention required" on an infrastructure project, show as CRITICAL early warnings on the monitoring page, and as an escalation on the financing case.
Common problems
- No Escalate button. Your role cannot escalate that record, or the record is already decided or closed.
- "Already escalated". The top tier is already open. Work with the people at that level.
- No Resolve button. Only the people in 3.3 can resolve. Ask a Programme Administrator.