Approval workflows — Requests reach the right approver, with a record of every decision
An approval workflow sends a request to the person who can say yes, with the details they need to decide. They approve or decline from email, chat or their phone, and the decision is recorded. It suits businesses where approvals happen in hallway chats and texts, and nobody can find out later who agreed to what.
By Julia Ja, Owner
Approval request
Sent to the property ownerRepair bid over your limit
- Unit
- Maple St · Unit 3
- Submitted by
- Maintenance coordinator
- Bid
- $1,650 · plumber
- Your limit
- $500
Note
Tenant reports no hot water. The water heater needs replacing.
Then
Once approved, the work order is released to the plumber, and the decision, time and bid are saved.
Why it matters
The problem it solves
In small businesses, approvals happen in passing: a text to the owner, a note on the desk, a quick yes in the hallway. It works when the owner is nearby and stalls when they're not.
Later, nobody can find out who agreed to a discount or a purchase. Some changes go through with no sign-off at all, and staff lose time chasing answers they need to finish a job.
Example · illustrative
A property manager and a broken water heater
- Wednesday a tenant reports no hot waterAnd the plumber's repair bid is above the owner's limit.
- The maintenance coordinator submits it with the bid and a note about the unit.
- The request reaches the property owner by email with approve and decline buttons.
- Owner taps approve that eveningAnd the work order is released to the plumber.
- The approval, time and bid are saved with the property's records.
How it works
How approval workflows works
- Starts whenSomeone submits a request that needs sign-off, such as a discount, purchase or price change
- 1Step 1Collect the detailsThe request form or source system supplies the amount, the reason and any quote or document.
- 2Step 2Route by rulesThe request goes to the right approver based on its type, amount or department.
- A person decidesApprove or declineThe approver says yes, no or asks a question, from email, Slack or their phone.
- 4Step 4Apply the decisionApproved changes go through in the source system, such as an updated price or a released purchase order.
- 5Step 5Keep the recordEach request, decision, approver and time is logged where it can be searched later.
Before · by hand
- Requests come by text, hallway chat or a note on the desk.
- Staff wait and chase the owner for an answer.
- Nobody remembers later who approved a discount.
- Some changes go through without anyone signing off.
With approval workflows
- Every request arrives in one place with the details attached.
- Approvers decide from their phone with one tap.
- A reminder goes out when a request sits unanswered.
- A searchable log shows who approved what, and when.
What we build
The parts of approval workflows
Your systems
- Slack
- Microsoft 365
- DocuSign
- QuickBooks Online
- NetSuite
- Airtable
What we build
1Request capture
A short form, or a trigger in the source system, that collects the amount, reason and documents for each request type.
2Routing rules
Who approves what, by type, amount, department or property, with a backup for each approver.
3Approval messages
Requests arrive by email, Slack, Teams or text with buttons, the details needed to decide, and a way to ask a question.
4Write-back to the source
Approved changes are applied in the system they belong to, such as a price, a purchase order or a refund.
5Reminders and decision log
Nudges for requests that wait too long, and a searchable record of every request and decision.
Your team decides
- The approver makes every decision; the workflow only routes and records it.
- The business sets who approves what, and can change it at any time.
Industries it fits
What approval workflows looks like in each industry
Glass processing & fabrication
Any change to a glass or processing price goes to the director before it can appear on a quote. The quote tool keeps using the old price until the change is approved.
Everything for glass processing & fabricationYour industry isn’t listed, or works differently? Describe it and get an answer in a minute.
Getting started
What you need first
We go through these with you in the audit, before anything is built.
Before we start
5 things to have ready- A list of the request types that need sign-off, and who approves each one.
- The limits or amounts that decide routing, and a backup for each approver.
- Access to the systems where approved changes should land, such as accounting or the order system.
- Where approvers want to decide: email, Slack, Teams or text.
- A decision on what happens when a request waits too long.
How a rollout runs
- 1List the decisionsWe collect the approvals that happen today, who makes them, and where they get stuck or go unrecorded.
- 2Write the routing rulesWe turn that into rules by type and amount, with backups, and confirm them with the owner.
- 3Build the request and messageWe set up the form or trigger and the approval message, and choose what details each approver sees.
- 4Test every pathWe send test requests through each rule, including declines, questions and an approver who's away.
- 5Connect write-back and go liveApproved changes start flowing into the source system, one request type at a time.
What to measure
How to know it's working
Weekly report · approval workflows
IllustrationTime from request to decision
Shows whether approvals still stall, and with which approver.
Requests waiting past the reminder
Points to an overloaded approver or a rule that routes to the wrong person.
Changes made without a request
Edits in the source system with no approval behind them show where the workflow is being bypassed.
Declines and questions by request type
Frequent questions on one type suggest the request form is missing information.
Requests per approver
Shows whether limits are set so the owner sees only the decisions that need them.
We measure the baseline before building, so the change can be compared afterwards.
When it’s not a fit
- If one person makes every decision and sits next to the team, a workflow may add steps without much benefit.
- It only works if requests go through it. Changes made directly in the source system skip it unless those edits are locked.
- Too many approval steps slow work down. Start with the decisions that cause the most trouble today.
- It can't judge a request. Approvers still need enough context in the message to decide well.
Tool or custom build
Do you need a custom build?
Option A · a ready-made tool
An off-the-shelf tool may be enough
Microsoft Power Automate, Slack Workflow Builder and the approval features in spend tools like Ramp cover simple approvals. They fit when requests and approvers live in one system.
Option B · built around your systems
When a custom build is worth it
A custom build makes sense when requests start in one system and changes apply in another. It also fits when rules depend on amount and type, or you need one log for everything.
Not sure which fits?
What it typically costs
Typical ranges as of October 2026. Not a quote.
Ready-made tool, set up by us
An existing platform on your own account, configured for your business.
- Setup, one timepaid to Lorryn
- $750–$1,500
- Tool subscriptionpaid to the provider
- $15–$75 / month
Fits when your process matches what the platform already does.
Custom build
Built around how you work, with no platform subscription. You own it.
- Build, one timebasic version to full version
- $2,000–$5,000
- Running costshosting and usage, on your accounts
- ~$5–$25 / month
Fits when your systems, rules or exceptions don't match a ready tool.
Optional Automation Care: $125 · $250 · $375 / month
1, 2 or 3 hours of support a month, with monitoring and alerts included. Without it, you run it yourself after handover.
Typically works with Slack, Microsoft 365, DocuSign, QuickBooks Online.
Booking into or writing to your field-service, practice or shop software adds up to $500 to the ready-made tool (often a built-in feature) and $500–$1,500 to a custom build.
Your price depends on volume, the systems involved and how many exceptions need a person. Our team confirms a fixed price before any work starts.
Proof and who stays in charge
From our results · Glass processing plantLiveAt a glass processing plant, every price change is approved by the director.Read the case studyWho does what
The automation does the routine steps. A person makes the call.
- 1Collect the detailsAutomated
- 2Route by rulesAutomated
- 3Approve or declineA person
- 4Apply the decisionAutomated
- 5Keep the recordAutomated
FAQ
Questions about approval workflows
Yes. Most approvals arrive by email, Slack or text with approve and decline buttons.
A backup approver can be set, and requests that wait too long can move to them automatically.
Yes. Small requests can go to a manager and larger ones to the owner, using rules you set.
In most cases. Approved changes can be written back to QuickBooks Online, NetSuite or the system where the request started.
Yes. Every request keeps who asked, who decided, when, and any comments.
They can approve, decline or send a question back. Where you allow it, they can approve a different amount, and the change is logged.
Yes. Routing rules sit in a table you control, so approvers and limits can change without a rebuild.
Where the source system allows it, edits are locked until approval. Elsewhere, changes made without a request are flagged on a report.
Related use cases
Often built together
- Billing & paymentsSupplier invoice processingReads supplier invoices from email, matches them to orders, and drafts bills in your accounting software.
- Billing & paymentsExpense receipt routingReads receipt photos from staff, matches them to card charges and codes them to the right job or category.
- Calls & leadsQuote & proposal builderBuilds a draft quote from the request, your price list and your rules, for a person to review and send.
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