Approving a purchase order sometimes takes longer than fulfilling the order itself. An invoice sits waiting for a signature while the person responsible is on holiday. A request for new company access gets buried in an overflowing inbox, and nobody knows whose desk it's on. Automating approval processes solves exactly these situations – it replaces scattered communication with a clearly defined procedure in which every participant knows what to do, by when, and who decides next.
Why approval processes get stuck in companies
Most companies build their approvals on a mix of emails, shared spreadsheets and paper forms. While the number of requests stays low, the system just about works. The problem appears with growth – more people, more departments, more exceptions, and with them, more places where the process can stall.
Typical causes:
- Lack of visibility – the requester doesn't know where their request currently stands or who is responsible for it.
- A single point of failure – if the approver is on holiday or sick leave and has no deputy, the process grinds to a complete halt.
- Unclear rules – there's no definition of who may approve what amount or type of request, so decisions are made ad hoc.
- No audit trail – over time it becomes unclear who approved what and when, which complicates inspections and internal audits.
These problems can be partially addressed – with a better template, a more precise email chain. But the real difference comes from a system that routes the request to the right person on its own and reminds them that it's waiting. If you're looking for a broader view of which processes to automate first, the article business process automation: where to start and what to prioritise offers an overview.
Automating approval processes: three concrete scenarios
Approving purchase orders
An employee creates a purchase request – for materials, a software licence, a service. Instead of an email to their manager, the system automatically routes the request according to pre-set rules: amounts up to a certain limit go straight to the department head, higher amounts also go to finance or the managing director. The approver receives a notification with full context – supplier, amount, reason for the purchase – and decides directly in the system. Both rejections and approvals are logged with a timestamp, so it's clear afterwards who decided and why.
Approving invoices before payment
An incoming invoice is matched against the purchase order or contract, the system checks the amount and supplier, and only then sends it to the responsible person for approval. Routine, recurring invoices can follow simpler rules, while amounts above a certain limit trigger multi-stage approval. The article on invoicing and accounting automation for small and medium businesses covers the topic of linking approvals with payments in more detail, and the piece on zero-touch invoicing discusses the concept of a fully connected flow from order to payment.
Internal employee requests
Holiday requests, expense reimbursements, requests for access to internal systems or new work equipment – these are all processes with clear logic that can be managed just as well through a structured workflow. The benefit is that the employee can check the status of their request at any time, and HR or IT don't have to manually track down who approved what.
What digital document approval looks like in practice
Digital document approval means that the request and its supporting materials – invoice, quote, contract – exist in the system as a single record with an attached history of decisions. Instead of printing, signing and scanning, the document is approved electronically, with a clear record of who decided, when, and with what comment.
In practice, this usually includes:
- A digital form or automatic capture of the document (for example, from an email or accounting system).
- Routing rules based on amount, department or request type.
- Notifications and reminders for the approver.
- A record of the decision and, where relevant, a connection to another system – ERP, accounting, an HR tool.
What good approval process software should do
Not every approval tool suits every company. When choosing or designing a solution, it's worth checking for a few key features:
| Feature | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Conditional routing by amount and request type | Ensures simple requests don't travel needlessly through multiple levels |
| A deputy for when the approver is unavailable | Prevents holidays or sick leave from stopping the whole process |
| Automatic reminders | Reduces the risk of a request "falling through the cracks" unnoticed |
| Audit log and decision history | Makes it possible to document afterwards who approved what and why |
| Integration with ERP, accounting or HR systems via API | Removes the need to manually re-enter data between systems |
Connecting the approval process with existing company systems is often the most demanding, yet also the most valuable, part of the solution. The article connecting company systems via API: how to automate data exchange describes how to approach integrating systems via API.
How many steps an approval workflow really removes
The chart below illustrates a general principle – not measured data from a specific company. It shows that a manual process usually involves more intermediate steps (finding the approver, repeated reminders, manually recording the decision) than a workflow where the system takes over these steps.
The actual scale of simplification varies by company, number of approval levels and the quality of input data – specific figures therefore always depend on how a given process is configured.
What to watch out for when implementing
- Define the rules clearly before implementation. The system can only route requests according to what you configure – unclear internal rules will simply carry over into the automated process.
- Address access rights. An approval workflow handles sensitive data – amounts, contracts, employees' personal data. Setting up access and security deserves separate attention; you can find more on this area under cybersecurity.
- Consider whether you need an off-the-shelf tool or a custom solution. Ready-made approval tools are quick to set up, but they can run into limits with specific company rules. The article custom software vs. SaaS: which pays off more for your company compares the two approaches.
- Expect a change in habits. Even the best-configured workflow fails if employees bypass it with an email "just to be safe". Rolling it out should be accompanied by a clear explanation of why the process is changing.
Getting started
Automating approval processes isn't a one-off project but a gradual replacement of confusing steps with clear rules – first for one type of request, then for others. The key is to know your own processes well enough to write them down as unambiguous rules, and to choose an approach that can connect with what your company already uses. If you're considering where exactly to bring in elements of artificial intelligence in this area – for example, automatically extracting data from invoices or requests – you'll find content on this topic in the AI and automation section. It's best to go through the specific steps for your company individually – you can arrange a no-obligation consultation via the contact form.