Approval Rules

Approval rules ensure that important actions go through a review process before being finalized. The approval system supports multiple entity types, various trigger events, multi-step sequential chains, optional conditions, and priority ordering.

Navigate to Admin > Approval Rules.

Approval System Overview

An approval rule consists of:

1. Entity Type — which type of record the rule applies to
2. Trigger Event — what action initiates the approval request
3. Conditions (optional) — additional filters to narrow when the rule fires
4. Approval Chain — one or more steps defining who must approve and in what order
5. Priority — determines which rule takes precedence when multiple rules match
6. Active/Inactive toggle — whether the rule is currently enforced

Supported Entity Types

Entity Type	Description
proposals	Proposal documents requiring review before sending
opportunities	Opportunity records (e.g., discount approval, close approval)
deals	Deal records requiring sign-off
leads	Lead records (e.g., qualification approval)
projects	Project records (e.g., budget approval, completion sign-off)
custom	Custom entity type for flexible use cases

Trigger Events

Trigger events define what action causes the approval process to start.

Trigger Event	Description	Typical Use
publish	A record is published or submitted	Proposals sent to clients
close_won	A deal or opportunity is marked as won	Final review before closing
discount_threshold	A discount exceeds a configured percentage	Manager approval for large discounts
manual	A user explicitly requests approval	Ad-hoc review requests
project_created	A new project is created	Budget and scope approval
project_completed	A project is marked as complete	Deliverable sign-off
budget_exceeded	A project or deal exceeds its budget	Financial oversight

Creating an Approval Rule

Step 1: Basic Information

1. Click Create Approval Rule.
2. Fill in:
   • Name (required) — a descriptive name, e.g., "High Discount Approval", "Proposal Review"
   • Entity Type — select from the supported entity types above
   • Trigger Event — select the event that initiates this rule
   • Priority — a number determining evaluation order (lower numbers are evaluated first)
   • Active — toggle whether the rule is currently enforced

Step 2: Conditions (Optional)

Conditions let you narrow when a rule fires beyond just the trigger event. For example, you may want the rule to fire only when the discount exceeds a specific threshold, or only for opportunities above a certain amount.

Conditions are optional. If no conditions are set, the rule fires every time the trigger event occurs for the selected entity type.

tip

Use conditions to avoid unnecessary approval requests. A rule that fires on every opportunity close would slow down your team. Instead, add a condition like "discount > 20%" to target only the cases that need oversight.

Step 3: Approval Chain (Steps)

The approval chain defines who must approve and in what order. Steps are processed sequentially — the next approver is only notified after the previous step is approved.

For each step, configure:

Field	Description
Step Order	The sequence number (1, 2, 3...). Steps are processed in ascending order.
Approver Type	Either user (a specific person) or role (any user with that role can approve)
Approver	The specific user or role selected as the approver

Adding Steps

1. In the approval rule form, scroll to the Approval Steps section.
2. Click Add Step.
3. Select the Approver Type: User or Role.
4. Select the specific User or Role from the dropdown.
5. The step order is assigned automatically but can be reordered.
6. Add additional steps as needed.

Sequential Processing

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

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

Step 4: Save

Click Save to create the rule. It takes effect immediately if marked as Active.

Priority Ordering

When multiple approval rules match the same event (e.g., two rules both trigger on close_won for opportunities), the system evaluates them by priority number:

• Lower priority numbers are evaluated first
• All matching active rules are applied — if multiple rules match, the record must pass all of them
• Use priority to control which rule's chain runs first

note

If you have overlapping rules, ensure the priority ordering makes sense. For example, a "High Discount" rule (priority 1) should run before a "Standard Close" rule (priority 5) so the more restrictive check happens first.

Active / Inactive Toggle

Each rule has an Active toggle:

• Active — the rule is enforced and will trigger when conditions are met
• Inactive — the rule is saved but does not trigger; useful for temporarily disabling a rule without deleting it

Toggle the status from the rules list page or from within the rule editor.

Example: Manager Approval for High Discount

Scenario: Require manager approval when an opportunity is closed as won with a discount greater than 20%.

Setting	Value
Name	High Discount Approval
Entity Type	opportunities
Trigger Event	close_won
Priority	1
Active	Yes
Condition	Discount % > 20

Approval Steps:

Step	Approver Type	Approver
1	Role	Sales Manager
2	User	VP of Sales

Flow:

1. A sales rep closes an opportunity as "Won" with a 25% discount.
2. The system detects the close_won trigger and evaluates conditions.
3. Since discount (25%) > 20%, the rule matches.
4. Step 1: The Sales Manager is notified and must approve or reject.
5. If approved, Step 2: The VP of Sales is notified.
6. If the VP approves, the opportunity is officially closed as won.
7. If either approver rejects, the close is blocked and the rep is notified.

Monitoring Approvals

Approval Queue

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.

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.

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 roles over specific users — assigning a role (e.g., "Sales Manager") instead of a specific user prevents bottlenecks when someone is unavailable.
3. Set meaningful priorities — if you have multiple rules on the same entity type, use priority numbers to ensure the correct evaluation order.
4. Use conditions to reduce noise — a rule without conditions fires on every trigger event, which can overwhelm approvers.
5. Document thresholds — communicate to the team what triggers approval (e.g., "Any discount above 20% requires manager approval").
6. Review inactive rules periodically — clean up rules that are no longer needed instead of leaving them inactive indefinitely.
7. Test before activating — create a rule as inactive, verify the configuration, then toggle it to active.

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