--- title: "Approval workflow: what it is and how to design it | attendo" description: "What an approval workflow is, four decisions to design one, a purchase request example, why approving is not signing and the mistake of approving by email." url: "https://attendo.me/en/glossary/approval-workflow" lang: "en" --- # Approval workflow: how to design one that does not get stuck Also known as: Approval process · sign-off workflow An approval workflow is the path a request follows until someone with authority accepts or rejects it: who approves, in what order, within what limits and by when. ## The four design decisions 1. **Who approves**: a role, not a named person. People go on vacation. 2. **Within what limits**: up to $3,000 the department head approves; above that, leadership too. 3. **What is needed to ask for it**: three quotes, the receipt or the budget attached. 4. **What happens if nobody answers**: a reminder and, after the deadline, a stand-in. ## An example A $4,500 purchase request comes in through a form with three supplier quotes attached. The purchasing manager approves it and, since it is over $3,000, so does leadership. Once approved, the purchase order to the supplier is created. If leadership does not answer within two days, they get a reminder. ## Approving is not signing An approval is an internal record that someone authorized something. A contract with a third party usually also needs an [electronic signature](https://attendo.me/en/glossary/qualified-electronic-signature), which carries different legal weight. ## The usual mistake Approving by email. The “OK” stays in someone’s inbox, nobody knows which version was approved and, when that person leaves, the trail leaves with them. The approval has to live on the document being approved. ## In attendo With Business Process Flow (BPF), part of [attendo Flows](https://attendo.me/en/modules/flows), each stage has its requirements and its approver. The approver gets a link and approves from their phone, with a code and no login, and who did it and when is recorded. - [attendo Flows](https://attendo.me/en/flows) [Calculator](https://attendo.me/en/calculators/roi): attendo ROI The hours and money your team gets back when it stops hunting for data, retyping service reports and chasing approvals. ## Where it is used in attendo ### Modules - [Flows and AI-Flows](https://attendo.me/en/modules/flows): Flows, phased processes with approvals, and AI inside the flow - [attendo Forms](https://attendo.me/en/modules/forms): Public and QR forms that create the document, no account needed - [attendo eSign](https://attendo.me/en/modules/esign): E-signature for the quote or the contract, right from its record ### Industries that use these modules - [Compliance for consulting firms](https://attendo.me/en/industries/compliance) - [Facility maintenance and services](https://attendo.me/en/industries/facility-maintenance) - [HVAC and refrigeration](https://attendo.me/en/industries/hvac) - [Repair and after-sales service](https://attendo.me/en/industries/after-sales-repair) - [And any other business](https://attendo.me/en/industries) ## Related terms Processes and automation ### BPM Business process management BPM (business process management) is the practice of describing how each process in an organization is done, running it the same way every time, measuring it and improving it. Compliance ### Qualified electronic signature QES A qualified electronic signature is the highest level of signature under the EU eIDAS regulation: it is created with a qualified certificate and a secure device, and it is equivalent to a handwritten signature across the European Union. Support and service ### Escalation Ticket escalation Escalation is handing a case over to a higher level, because of its technical complexity or because it is running late. ### On the blog #### Approvals without email: an approval process that does not stall Approving by email works until someone asks who approved what, and when. Then the search through other people’s inboxes begins. A well-built approval process answers that question in seconds. 4 min read [See all 53 glossary terms](https://attendo.me/en/glossary) ## Shall we look at it with your data? We will show you how what you just read works in attendo, with your own assets, tickets and customers. If it is not a fit, we will tell you. - With your operation, not a generic demo - A real person from our team replies - No cold calls afterwards Would you rather talk first? - Phone [+34 910 053 530](tel:+34910053530) - Email [sales@attendo.me](mailto:sales@attendo.me) - Monday to Thursday 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Friday 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM (Spain time)