Approval Flows

Understand how approval flows are created and processed

When a subscription or quote triggers approval rules, an approval flow is created. This guide explains how flows work, how to manage them, and how to handle edge cases.

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Flow Lifecycle

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Flow Creation

Automatic Creation

Flows are automatically created when:

1. A subscription is created and matches approval rules
2. A subscription is updated in ways that trigger new rules
3. A quote is submitted for approval

Viewing Flows

1. Navigate to Approvals in the main sidebar
2. View all flows in the approval queue
3. Click any flow to see details including:
   • Triggering rules
   • Required approvals
   • Current status
   • Decision history

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Approval Strategies

Any Strategy

Any single group member can approve:

Group: Sales Managers (Alice, Bob, Carol)
Required: 1 approval

Alice approves → Request approved

All Strategy

All group members must approve:

Group: Executive Team (CEO, CFO, CRO)
Required: 3 approvals

CEO approves → Still pending
CFO approves → Still pending
CRO approves → Request approved

Minimum Strategy

A minimum number of approvals required:

Group: Deal Desk (5 members)
Required: 2 approvals

Member 1 approves → Still pending
Member 2 approves → Request approved

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Making Decisions

For Approvers

1. Navigate to Approvals in the main sidebar
2. Click on a pending approval request
3. Review the subscription/quote details:
   • Products and pricing
   • Discount amounts
   • Contract terms
   • Customer information
4. Choose an action:
   • Approve: grant approval, with an optional decision reason
   • Reject: reject, with a decision reason explaining what would make it approvable

Decision Reasons

Record a decision reason on every call. For approvals, note why this deal is acceptable — a strategic account, a competitive situation. For rejections, say what would make it approvable, such as a lower discount or a longer term. The reason is kept with the flow, so the next person to look at the deal can see the reasoning.

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Bulk Actions

When a flow raised several requests for you, you can decide them together rather than one at a time:

1. Open the approval flow
2. Select the pending requests using the checkboxes
3. Approve or reject the selection
4. Add a decision reason that applies to all of them
5. Confirm

Bulk decisions apply within a single approval flow, up to 100 requests at a time.

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Notifications

Approvers are notified by email when a request is assigned to them, and when a flow reaches a decision.

Slack

Approval requests can also be posted to Slack, where approvers can act on them without leaving the channel. Connect a workspace and pick a channel under Settings → Approvals.

Webhooks

To drive your own notifications, subscribe to the approval events:

Event	Fires when
approval_request.created	A request is raised for an approver
approval_request.approved	An approver approves
approval_request.rejected	An approver rejects
approval_flow.completed	The flow reaches a final state

See Webhooks.

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Canceling Flows

Automatic Cancellation

Flows are automatically canceled when:

• Subscription is deleted
• Quote is voided
• Subscription is reverted to draft

Manual Cancellation

Sales reps can cancel pending approval requests:

1. Navigate to the subscription or quote
2. Click Cancel Approval Request
3. Provide a reason
4. Confirm cancellation

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Viewing Flow History

From Subscription

1. Navigate to Subscriptions → [Subscription]
2. Click Approval History tab
3. View all past approval flows

Audit Trail

Each approval flow maintains a complete audit trail:

• When the flow was created
• Which rules triggered
• Which groups were asked
• Each decision and its reason
• Timestamps for all actions

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Re-evaluation

When Re-evaluation Occurs

Flows are re-evaluated when:

• Subscription is updated (price, discount, terms change)
• Approval rules are modified
• Products are added or removed

What Happens

1. System re-evaluates against current rules
2. New requirements may be added if changes trigger additional rules
3. Existing approvals are preserved when possible
4. Notifications sent for any new requirements

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Best Practices

Record decision reasons

The reason is the audit trail. Require one on rejections.

Size groups for absence

A group with one named approver stalls when they are away. Use the approver role, or name several people with an Any strategy.

Keep rules in one ruleset

Each enabled ruleset contributes an approval. Related rules belong together.

Review what fires

A rule that fires on nearly every deal has the wrong threshold.

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Troubleshooting

Flow Stuck in Pending

1. Check which group is still outstanding on the flow
2. A group with the All strategy waits for every named approver
3. A group with no named approvers waits for any user holding the approver role — confirm at least one user has it
4. Verify the approver has an active user account

Unexpected Rules Triggered

1. Review the conditions and priorities of the rules in each enabled ruleset
2. Check the subscription’s discounts against the thresholds, including the discount type
3. Remember that every enabled ruleset contributes its own first matching rule

Approver Not Receiving Notifications

1. Verify the approver’s email address is correct
2. Check spam and junk folders
3. If you use Slack, check the connection is enabled rather than needing reconnection
4. Ensure the user is an active member of the approver group

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Next Steps

Approval Rules

Configure approval rules.

Overview

Return to approvals overview.