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Automation & Orchestration

Approval workflows: a decision with an owner, a deadline and the evidence

Discounts, refunds, big quotes and change orders all wait for someone's yes. When that yes lives in an email thread, work stops whenever the approver is busy or away. An approval workflow makes the decision a visible state: the approver gets the evidence, the clock is running, and if nobody answers, the rule already names who decides instead.
Discuss your systemSee who approves what ↓
Discount request · Q-240from T615% off $4,180repeat customer · 6 jobscompeting quote attachedrule: over 10% → operations managerOperations manageraway until Monno answer · 2 h → delegateOffice lead · delegateapproved at 12%draftedwaiting for approval · 2 h 10 msent at 12%

Approvals don't belong in an inbox

Most approvals are a message: “can I give them 15%?” It sits in someone's inbox with half the context, nobody else can see it's waiting, and when the approver is on a job or on holiday, the work behind it simply stops.

An approval workflow turns the question into a saved state with an owner, a deadline and the evidence attached. The work it holds up waits visibly. Reminders and delegation are part of the rule. And the decision, with who made it and why, is recorded where the work continues.

Who approves what

The rules are written down once, so nobody has to remember who to ask.
Discount over 10%Operations managerOffice lead after 2 working hours
Quote over $10,000Operations manager, then financeReminder at 4 hours; the owner is told next morning
RefundFinanceReminder the next morning
Credit terms for a new commercial accountFinanceThe account owner is told after one day
Change order on an open jobThe customer, in their portalThe office lead calls after 24 hours

Every decision is recorded

Whatever the answer, it's saved with the request and the evidence, and the work picks up from there.

Q-240 · discount request

  1. Request created

    T6, 15% off

    done

  2. Evidence attached

    repeat customer, competing quote

    done

  3. Operations manager decides

    approved 09:40

    done

  4. Quote sent

    15% off

    done

Approved as asked. The quote went out with the decision and the approver recorded on it.

Five parts of every approval

  1. 01

    Owner

    Who decides

    One named approver, chosen by the rule, not whoever happens to see the message.

  2. 02

    Evidence

    What they need

    The request, the numbers and the attachments that justify it, in one place.

  3. 03

    Deadline

    How long it may wait

    When the reminder goes, and when waiting becomes a problem.

  4. 04

    Delegate

    Who decides instead

    The backup when the approver is away or doesn't answer, named in advance.

  5. 05

    Record

    What was decided

    Who decided, when, what changed and why, kept with the work.

What approval workflows hand off

In

Request
what, for whom, how much
Evidence
numbers and attachments
Rules
limits, approvers, deadlines
Approval state
waiting → decided → resumed

Out

Decision
who, when, why
Reminders
and delegation
Resumed work
from where it stopped

Worth building when work waits on someone's yes

Good fit

  • The same kinds of decisions come up every week.
  • Work stops when the approver is busy or away.
  • You need to know later who approved what, and why.

Not the right fit

  • Approvals are rare and the approver is always at hand.
  • The rules for who may approve haven't been agreed. Settle them first.

Where it's built in

Next to approval workflows

Questions about approval workflows

Can approvers decide from their phone?

Yes. The notification carries the evidence and the decision buttons. Anything that needs a closer look opens the full request.

What if two people need to approve?

The rule says whether it's one after the other or both at once. Each decision is recorded separately.

What happens when the approver is away?

The rule names a delegate, either while they're marked away or after a set time without an answer. Nothing waits on a holiday.

Can we see everything that's waiting?

Yes. Open approvals are listed with their age and their owner, so a stuck one is visible before a customer asks about it.