Approval Management: Streamline Critical Approvals with Automation

This article was first published in February 2018 and was updated in November 2024.

Automate and Streamline Your Critical Approval Processes Quickly with Nutrient Workflow

Managing approvals can be difficult when it’s handled by emails, spreadsheets, paper, or other old-school methods. Emails get missed, spreadsheets are cumbersome, and paper is…well, paper. Yet many businesses still handle approvals with these methods. Approval Management (also known as Approval Management Engines or AME) seeks to replace these tired, manual approval processes with approval workflow automation.
 

The risk is low when an approval request is for how much to spend on a cake for the next office party. The risk is very high when the approval is for a critical piece of production equipment or a new hire. When does approval management make sense? Any of these situations requires a dedicated approval management system:

• Risk is significant.

• Speed is critical.

• Transparency is required.

• Approvals may be audited.

• The approval structure is complex.

Consider Your Current Approval Management “System”

Consider how you currently manage approvals and how it impacts you, your department, and the rest of your organization.

• Are critical deadlines missed or put in jeopardy because a critical approval is sitting on someone’s desk?

• Do people spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find the status of an approval?

• Do people even know what the approval process is and who needs to approve various requests?

• If needed, could you provide a complete audit trail of every approval?

• Are requests sometimes approved improperly?

Nutrient Workflow’s approval management software provides a system to manage approval workflow transparently, effectively, and accurately. Approval requests are submitted through a self-service portal, routed based on preset business rules and tracked every step of the way. Tracking means submitters can see where approvals are, and auditors can see a complete history of who approved what and when.

Build Your Automated Approval Process with Nutrient Workflow

Administrators can quickly build approval forms and workflows in a drag-and-drop interface and then make changes as the business changes. Need to assign a stand-in approver in case the main approver is unavailable? No problem. Need to configure alerts to keep an approval request moving forward? It’s easy with our drag-and-drop approval process builder.

Create custom approval processes with drag-and-drop ease.

Plus, you don’t need to know how to write code to add business logic or design approval matrices to ensure the right person is making decisions at the right time. Nutrient Workflow is designed to handle any approval process right out of the box.

Managers can check process status anytime using our unique “Flow View” (click for larger).

All-In-One Approval Management Software

Our approval software has everything you could need to manage approval requests for everything from check approvals to leave of absence requests. Here is a list of just some of the approval processes our customers have built with Nutrient Workflow.

• Capital Expense Approvals

• Leave of Absence Approvals

• Document Approvals

• Contract Review Approvals

• IT Project Requests

• Pricing Discount Requests

• New Hire Requests

• Logo and Branding Approvals

• New Product Requests

Interested in Automating Your Approval Processes?

We have a variety of resources to help you on your journey to automate approvals.

• Workflow Tools and eBooks

• Workflow Ideas Weekly eMail Newsletter

• Recorded Demonstration of our Workflow Automation Software

• Request a Live Demonstration

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Automate Approval Management to Streamline Critical Processes

Approval management is vital when business processes require risk mitigation, speed, and transparency. Traditional methods like emails, spreadsheets, or paper are outdated and prone to delays, miscommunication, and inefficiency. Automating approval workflows can solve these challenges, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in every approval request.

Approval Management (AME) replaces outdated manual approval processes with streamlined approval workflow automation, reducing human error and enhancing accountability. Whether it’s approving high-risk decisions or ensuring transparency, automated approval management systems are crucial for operational efficiency.

When Does Approval Management Make Sense?

Approval management is necessary in situations where:

• Significant risk is involved

• Speed is essential for decision-making

• Transparency is a requirement

• Approvals may be audited for compliance

• The approval process structure is complex

Assess Your Current Approval Management System

Evaluate how your organization handles approval processes:

• Are critical approvals causing missed deadlines?

• Are team members spending excessive time tracking approval statuses?

• Is the approval process clear to everyone involved?

• Can you provide a complete audit trail for every approval?

• Are requests ever improperly approved due to unclear workflows?

Nutrient Workflow automates approval management, ensuring requests are tracked, transparent, and compliant with company rules. Submitters and auditors can easily view approval statuses and histories.

Build Your Automated Approval Process with Nutrient Workflow

With Nutrient Workflow, administrators can design customized approval workflows using a simple drag-and-drop interface. Modify processes easily as your business evolves and ensure approvals are routed to the right person, at the right time, without any code.

Create custom approval workflows with ease using Nutrient Workflow.

Features of Nutrient Workflow Approval Management

Nutrient Workflow’s all-in-one approval management software handles a wide range of approval processes efficiently:

• Capital Expense Approvals

• Leave of Absence Approvals

• Document Approvals

• Contract Review Approvals

• IT Project Requests

• Pricing Discount Requests

• New Hire Requests

• Logo and Branding Approvals

• New Product Requests

Why Automate Your Approval Processes?

Automating your approval processes with Nutrient Workflow offers:

• Faster approval times and decision-making

• Reduced administrative workload

• Increased accuracy and transparency

• Easy auditing and compliance tracking

Get Started with Workflow Automation

Explore our resources to start automating approval workflows:

• Workflow Tools and eBooks

• Workflow Ideas Weekly Newsletter

• Recorded Demonstrations

• Request a Live Demo

FAQ

What is Approval Management?

Approval Management refers to the process of automating approval workflows to streamline critical business decisions, enhance efficiency, and ensure transparency.

Why should businesses automate approval processes?

Automation minimizes human error, speeds up decision-making, and ensures compliance and accountability in business operations.

How can approval management improve operational efficiency?

By eliminating bottlenecks, reducing administrative workload, and improving communication, approval management systems speed up approvals and streamline operations.

What types of approvals can be automated with Nutrient Workflow?

You can automate approvals for capital expenses, leave requests, document reviews, new hires, pricing discounts, and more.

How does Nutrient Workflow simplify approval tracking?

Nutrient Workflow provides real-time tracking of approvals and maintains a transparent audit trail, ensuring all approvals are documented for compliance.