Approvals

What are Approvals?

The Approval system lets you route records through a review/sign-off process before they move forward. It ensures that important actions like discounts, high-value deals, or expenses are reviewed by authorized managers.

When to Use Approvals

Common approval scenarios:

• Quotes with discounts above a threshold
• Deals above a certain value
• Custom pricing requests
• Expense reimbursements
• Contract modifications
• Invoice write-offs

Setting Up Approval Workflows

Creating an Approval Rule

1. Go to Settings → Workflows
2. Create a workflow with Action: Submit for Approval
3. Configure:
   • Entity — Which module (Deal, Quote, Invoice, etc.)
   • Trigger — When approval is needed (e.g., discount > 20%)
   • Approver — Who reviews it (Manager, specific user, role)
   • Escalation — What happens if no action in X hours

Approval Chain

For multi-level approvals:

1. First approver (Team Lead)
2. Second approver (Manager) — if amount > threshold
3. Final approver (Director) — if amount > higher threshold

Submitting for Approval

From the CRM

1. Open a record (Deal, Quote, etc.)
2. Click Submit for Approval
3. Add a comment/reason for the request
4. The record status changes to "Pending Approval"
5. Approver receives a notification

What the Submitter Sees

• Record shows "Pending Approval" badge
• Cannot edit the record while pending
• Can view approval status and history
• Gets notified when approved/rejected

Approving / Rejecting

From the Approvals Inbox

1. Go to Approvals in the sidebar
2. See all pending approvals assigned to you
3. Click on an approval to review:
   • Record details
   • Submitter's comment
   • History/timeline
4. Actions:
   • Approve — Accept with optional comment
   • Reject — Decline with required reason
   • Delegate — Forward to someone else

From Notifications

• Click the approval notification
• Review and take action directly

Approval States

Status	Description
Pending	Waiting for approver action
Approved	Accepted by approver
Rejected	Declined by approver
Delegated	Forwarded to another person
Expired	No action taken within time limit
Cancelled	Submitter withdrew the request

After Approval

Approved

• Record unlocks for editing
• Status updates (e.g., Quote → "Approved")
• Next actions available (Send to customer, Create invoice)
• Workflow continues (auto-send email, etc.)

Rejected

• Submitter notified with rejection reason
• Record returns to draft status
• Submitter can modify and resubmit

Approval History

Every approval tracks:

• Who submitted and when
• Who approved/rejected and when
• Comments at each step
• Time taken for each approval
• Complete audit trail

Approval Permissions

Role	Can Do
Any User	Submit records for approval
Approver	Approve/Reject/Delegate assigned requests
Admin	View all approvals, configure rules, override
Manager	View team's approvals

Tips

• Keep approval chains short — 1-2 levels maximum for speed
• Set time limits — Auto-escalate if no action in 24 hours
• Add clear criteria — Specify exactly when approval is needed (not everything)
• Use comments — Context helps approvers make faster decisions
• Monitor bottlenecks — Track average approval time
• Delegate when OOO — Set up delegation before going on leave