Approval Rules

Approval rules ensure that important decisions (discounts, large deals, budget overruns) go through a review process before being finalized. The approval system supports sequential chains, parallel approvals, approval groups, and escalation.

Navigate to Admin > Approval Rules.

Approval System Overview

An approval rule has three parts:

1. Trigger — what causes the approval request (e.g., discount exceeds 20%)
2. Chain — who must approve and in what order
3. Escalation — what happens if approval is not completed in time

Creating Approval Rules

1. Click Create Approval Rule.
2. Configure the rule:
   • Name (required) — e.g., "High Discount Approval", "Large Deal Review"
   • Module — which module this rule applies to (Opportunities, Deals, etc.)
   • Active — whether the rule is currently enforced
3. Continue to configure the trigger, chain, and escalation.

Triggers

Triggers define the condition that initiates the approval process.

Trigger Type	Description	Example
Discount Threshold	Fires when a discount percentage exceeds a limit	Discount > 20%
Amount Threshold	Fires when a deal amount exceeds a limit	Amount > $100,000
Manual	User explicitly requests approval	Click "Request Approval" button
Field Value	Fires when a field reaches a specific value	Priority = "Critical"

Configuring a Trigger

1. Select the trigger type.
2. Set the threshold value or condition.
3. Optionally, add additional conditions (e.g., discount > 20% AND amount > $50K).

info

Multiple triggers can exist on the same module. The system evaluates all active rules and initiates approval for any rule whose trigger conditions are met.

Approval Chains

Chains define the sequence of approvers.

Sequential Chains

Approvers are requested one at a time, in order. The next approver is only notified after the previous one approves.

Step 1: Sales Manager → (approves) →
Step 2: Finance Director → (approves) →
Step 3: VP Sales → (approves) → APPROVED

If any approver rejects, the chain stops and the request is marked as Rejected.

Parallel Chains

All approvers are notified simultaneously. The rule is approved when the required number of approvals is received.

Notified simultaneously:
├── Sales Manager → approves ✓
├── Finance Director → approves ✓     → APPROVED (2 of 3 required)
└── VP Sales → (pending, not needed)

Configure:

• Required approvals — how many approvers must approve (e.g., 2 out of 3)
• Rejection threshold — how many rejections constitute a denial

Configuring a Chain

1. Select Sequential or Parallel.
2. Click Add Step (sequential) or Add Approver (parallel).
3. For each step/approver, select:
   • A specific user
   • A role (any user with that role can approve)
   • An approval group
4. For parallel chains, set the required approvals count.
5. Save.

Approval Groups

Approval groups are named collections of users who can act as approvers. Any member of the group can approve on behalf of the group.

Creating an Approval Group

1. Click Manage Groups.
2. Click Create Group.
3. Enter:
   • Group Name — e.g., "Finance Approvers", "Legal Review Board", "Executive Committee"
   • Members — select users to include
4. Save.

tip

Use approval groups for departments or committees where any member can act as the approver. This prevents bottlenecks when a specific individual is unavailable.

Escalation Rules

Escalation ensures approvals do not stall indefinitely.

Configuring Escalation

1. Open the approval rule.
2. Switch to the Escalation tab.
3. Configure:
   • Timeout Period — how long to wait before escalating (e.g., 24 hours, 48 hours)
   • Escalation Action:
     • Remind — send a reminder to the current approver
     • Escalate — move to the next person in the approver's reporting chain
     • Auto-approve — automatically approve if no response within timeout
     • Auto-reject — automatically reject if no response
   • Max Escalation Levels — how many times to escalate before taking final action
4. Save.

Example Escalation Flow

0h: Approval requested → Sales Manager notified
24h: No response → Reminder sent to Sales Manager
48h: Still no response → Escalated to Sales Director
72h: Sales Director approves → APPROVED

warning

Be cautious with auto-approve escalation. It can bypass important controls if the timeout is too short. Use auto-approve only for low-risk approvals with generous timeout periods.

Custom Approval Comments

When approving or rejecting, users can add comments explaining their decision:

• Comments are visible to the requester and all approvers.
• Comments are stored in the audit log.
• Rejection comments are especially important — they tell the requester what needs to change.

Monitoring the Approval Queue

Approval Dashboard

The approval queue shows all pending, approved, and rejected requests:

1. Navigate to the Approval Queue tab.
2. Filter by:
   • Status — Pending, Approved, Rejected
   • Rule — which approval rule triggered the request
   • Date range — when the request was initiated
   • Requester — who initiated the request
3. Click on a request to view details, chain progress, and comments.

info

Admins can see all approval requests. Regular users see only requests they submitted or need to approve.

Best Practices

1. Keep chains short — 2-3 approval steps is usually sufficient. Longer chains slow down business.
2. Use groups for coverage — approval groups prevent single-point bottlenecks.
3. Set reasonable timeouts — 24-48 hours per step balances urgency with availability.
4. Escalate, do not auto-approve — escalation to a manager is safer than automatic approval.
5. Document thresholds — communicate to the team what triggers approval (e.g., "Any discount above 20% requires manager approval").
6. Review approval analytics — look at average approval time, rejection rates, and escalation frequency. Optimize accordingly.

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