Approval workflow
Workspace approvals route orders to a named approver before payment runs. They give procurement and finance teams oversight without slowing the day-to-day.
When approvals trigger
An approval rule fires when one of the following is true:
- Order total above a threshold. Default GBP 500; configurable per workspace.
- Per-member budget exceeded. Where members have monthly or annual budgets.
- Specific product category. Some workspaces require approval for any custom-designed item.
- Specific recipient. Approval required for orders to external addresses (client gifts).
Workspace admins set the rules at "Workspace settings > Approval rules".
The approval flow
- Member places the order.
- Order pauses at the approval step.
- Approver gets an email and a Slack ping (if Slack is connected).
- Approver opens the order page, reviews, and clicks Approve or Decline.
- If approved, payment runs; production starts on the next working day.
- If declined, the order is cancelled; the member is notified with the reason.
How fast
Approvers see the request immediately. The typical decision time is under 24 hours. We send a reminder if the approval has not been actioned after 48 hours; another at 96 hours. After 7 days with no decision, the order is auto-declined.
Multiple approvers
A rule can require any one of a named list (single approval) or all of a named list (consensus). Default is single-approval.
For orders over a higher threshold (default GBP 10,000), a workspace can set a two-step rule: first approval by a manager, second by a director. The order moves to the second only after the first approves.
Approver permissions
Approvers can:
- Approve or decline.
- Request changes (member sees a note, can resubmit).
- Add an internal note visible to the approver chain.
Approvers cannot:
- Edit the order line items. The member resubmits with changes.
- Approve their own orders. The next approver in the chain takes over.
Audit trail
Every approval action writes to the workspace audit log:
- Who approved or declined.
- When (timestamp).
- The reason note, if provided.
- The order state at the time of decision.
The audit log is exportable as CSV from the workspace admin page.
Edge cases
- Member leaves the workspace before approval. Orders pending approval from a departed member auto-cancel after 7 days. The workspace admin gets an email.
- Approver leaves the workspace. Pending approvals reroute to the workspace owner; the rule is paused until reconfigured.
- Order partially refunded after approval. The refund does not re-trigger approval. The approval covers the original total.
Disabling approvals
Approval rules can be paused or disabled by the workspace owner. We do not turn them off automatically.