Approval workflows can be incorporated into any type of business because every business has workflows whether they realize it or not. Approvals are used to ensure proper procedures are followed when asking for reimbursement, renewing a contract, or purchasing tools or equipment, for example.
When you automate approval workflows, replacing paper forms and manual processes with electronic forms and automated online processes, you can expect three main benefits. For one thing, productivity goes up, since routine tasks can be done significantly faster. For another, costs drop due to higher productivity. Finally, when approval workflows are automated, errors are less likely, so fewer processes have to be reworked or pored over to locate mistakes. Examples of Approval Workflows That Can Be Automated There's really no limit to the types of approval workflows that can be automated. Some of the most popular approval workflows to automate include: • Expense reports • Paid time off requests • New employee onboarding • Contract renewal • Approval of discounts • Publication of documents The only real limit is your team's imagination and the power and flexibility of your workflow software. Innovations in workflow automation happen every day, in businesses of all sizes. You may find a completely new and innovative way to automate workflow and reap the benefits in terms of improved efficiency, lower costs, and greater revenues. Designating Approval Actions and Approval Options When you create an automated approval workflow, you may want any number of possible actions to be taken. You may want an automatic notification email to be triggered at certain points in the process. You may need for tasks to be assigned or fields in a database to be updated. You may need for a field in a form to be locked (like when you lock in a special rate for a customer). Additionally, you can customize approval workflows to conform to your particular way of completing processes. For instance, some processes may require multiple approvers. A request may be approved, rejected, or recalled for more information. Once approval or rejection has been issued, you may want that approval or rejection to be automatically transmitted via email to all affected parties. An Example of Approval Workflows: Document Approval
