MDF Troubleshooting and FAQ
The problems that come up most often, and what actually causes them.
Access and Visibility
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|
| MDF is not in the Setup menu at all | Missing the MDF licence, or the partner portal product, or the user has neither administrator rights nor the Enable MDF Management Access permission. All are required. |
| A partner's MDF page is completely empty | The program must be shared with them to appear at all; without an allocation it appears with zero balances. This is the most common partner call. |
| A colleague can see MDF but not a particular program | They hold a program audience for other programs only. Add them to this program, or grant module-wide Enable MDF Management Access. |
| Someone with Enable MDF Management Access cannot issue a reimbursement | Expected. Reimbursement is administrator-only by design, keeping approval and payment separate. |
Activation
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|
| Activation stops partway with a permission error | The signed-in user cannot create fields, which the first activation requires. Ask your Magentrix representative to run the activation. |
| Activation failed and the module is off | Expected. MDF is only marked enabled once every step succeeds, so it never half-configures. Fix the failing step and activate again - it is safe to repeat. |
| A step shows as Not reached | An earlier step failed, so this one never ran. Fix the earlier failure first. |
| Only the activity-type migration failed | That step is optional and never blocks activation. MDF works; finish the migration later from the Settings tab. |
Programs, Requests and Approvals
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|
| Partners cannot add any activity to a request | The program has no eligible activity types selected. An empty selection means nothing is allowed, not everything. |
| Everything is being auto-approved | The auto-approve threshold is above your typical request value. Lower it, or set it to 0 to review everything. |
| A request skipped a step you expected | The step's conditions did not match, or no approver could be resolved for it and it was skipped. |
| A step routed to someone unexpected | A program-owner step falls back to the escalation user when the program has no owner, or the owner is not an active eligible approver. |
| You cannot save a step that routes to the program owner | Such a step requires an escalation user as its fallback. Set one. |
| An approval is blocked as exceeding the allocation | Expected. Reduce the approved amount or increase the allocation. |
| A request cannot be finalized | Activities within it are still awaiting a decision. Decide each one first. |
| Editing the approval chain did not re-route an in-flight request | By design - a request keeps the chain it entered with. Decide it, or reject it back for resubmission. |
Balances
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|
| Available did not increase after paying a partner | Correct. The money left available at approval. Payment moves it from committed to spent. |
| Available is negative | The allocation is over-committed, usually because it was reduced after commitments were made. Shown deliberately rather than hidden. Raise the allocation or release commitments. |
| A program shows as over-committed | Committed across its allocations exceeds the program budget. Existing commitments always stand - raise the budget or release commitments no longer real. |
| Budget is stuck on an activity nobody claimed | Unclaimed funds never return automatically. Release the commitment or cancel the activity. Do not post an adjustment - that leaves the activity looking funded. |
Claims and Proof
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|
| A claim is refused as too large | A claim cannot exceed the approved amount. A partial approval lowers that ceiling. |
| A partner cannot claim at all | The activity is not approved, the claim deadline has passed, or the activity allows just one claim and one exists. |
| A partner is asked for evidence they already sent | Proof requirements live on the activity type and apply immediately to activities in flight. Something was added to the required list. |
| A reimbursed claim cannot be edited | Expected. Once money has gone out, the record is locked. |
Reporting and Attribution
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|
| ROI figures look out of date | Expected. Attribution figures recalculate when attributions change, not as leads and opportunities progress. Re-check the activity's attributions before quoting numbers. |
| Totals across programs look wrong | Programs can hold different currencies. Confirm whether the figure is converted before comparing. |
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