Due date field on approval table is populating created date

[Anupriya_11]

Hi Team , due date field on approval table  is populating created date , due to which  it is showing Overdue immediately after approval creation, how can we fix it . Can someone help me on this.

Thanks,

[ArpithaMenden]

Hi @Anupriya_11 

The root cause of your issue is due to

1. Due Date is not set properly 

   • Business Rule or Flow using current.sys_created_on instead of calculating a future time.

   • In the workflow Approval activity, the “Approval due” field may not be configured.

2. System behavior
   When the due_date field is empty, ServiceNow sometimes defaults it to the created date in UI calculations — making the record immediately show as “Overdue”.

Set via Business Rule on Insert

If approvals are being created outside a workflow (for example, Flow Designer or custom logic), create a Business Rule: on table sys_approval_approver:

When: Before Insert
Condition: current.due_date.nil()
Script:

(function executeRule(current, previous /*null when async*/)  {

// Set due date to 2 days after creation if empty

var gdt = new GlideDateTime(); gdt.addDays(2);

current.due_date = gdt;

}

)

(current, previous);

This automatically sets a due date 2 days from creation.

or 

Fix in the Workflow (if there is anything existing)

If you are using a workflow approval activity, open it and check:

• Go to your Workflow → Approval Action activity.

• Check the “Approval due” property.

• Set it to something like javascript: gs.daysAgoStart(-2) → meaning due 2 days from creation.

Example values you can use:

javascript: gs.daysAgoStart(-1) // 1 day from now
javascript: gs.daysAgoStart(-3) // 3 days from now

If your issue is resolved, please mark my response helpful.

Regards,

Arpitha Menden

[Sabrina Ethridg]

Depends on how the approval is getting created.  I would start by checking the following:

• Is this happening for every approval or just some of them?
  • if every record has someone modified the default value for the field on that table?
• if only some, how is the approval record getting created (flow/workflow)?  Is that activity setting a value in the due date field?

[jcmings]

How are you creating approvals? Is it OOTB or customized? Are there custom business rules firing on your approval table on insert? What happens if you manually enter a due date?