How to build an effective approval workflow: steps, rules & automation tips
Why approval workflows need structure
Too often, approvals happen over email or chat threads. This creates bottlenecks, lost context, and compliance risks. A study by IDC highlights that knowledge workers spend up to 30 percent of their time searching for or recreating information, often caused by poorly structured processes.
A structured approval workflow addresses these challenges by ensuring every decision follows a clear path with traceable accountability. Whether you are handling invoices, contracts, or project sign-offs, defining structured steps, routing rules, and exception handling is what makes a workflow resilient.
Step 1: Map the process
Every workflow begins with a clear map. Identify the documents involved, the sequence of decisions, and the business goals behind the process.
Start by answering:
- What document types need approval?
- Which departments are involved?
- What triggers the workflow to start?
Mapping provides visibility. For example, a purchase order may start in procurement, move through finance, and then require executive approval if above a spending threshold.
Visual mapping tools help teams see dependencies and spot bottlenecks before they become issues. With Moxo, processes can be modeled visually, making it easier for both technical and non-technical users to align on the workflow.
Step 2: Define approvers and thresholds
The second step is to clarify who approves what, and under what conditions. This is where thresholds play an important role.
- Role-based assignment: Each step should be tied to a role, not an individual, ensuring continuity if someone is unavailable.
- Conditional thresholds: Approvals often depend on values such as contract size or budget. For example:
{
"if_amount": ">50000",
"route_to": "CFO"
}
This logic makes workflows more intelligent. A manager can approve small expenses, but larger ones automatically escalate to senior leadership.
In Moxo, these rules can be created directly within the flow builder, ensuring business logic is embedded without writing complex code.
Step 3: Route and escalate
Routing rules determine how documents move between approvers. Effective routing ensures decisions happen quickly without confusion.
- Sequential routing: One approval after another, ensuring accountability at each stage.
- Parallel routing: Multiple stakeholders approve simultaneously, cutting down waiting time.
- Hybrid models: A mix of sequential and parallel, often used in cross-functional projects.
Escalation policies prevent delays. For instance, if an approver has not acted within three business days, the workflow can escalate to their manager. In JSON-like terms:
{
"approver": "Manager",
"sla_days": 3,
"escalate_to": "Director"
}
Escalations ensure accountability and reduce bottlenecks. Moxo’s AI agents can also detect patterns, such as consistent delays with certain approvers, and recommend adjustments.
Step 4: Handle exceptions
No workflow is perfect. Exception handling ensures the system adapts when things do not go as planned.
- Missed deadlines: Automatic reassignment or escalation.
- Unavailable approvers: Alternate approvers are pre-defined to keep the process moving.
- Disputes or rejections: Workflows should allow comments, revision loops, or conditional approvals.
Strong exception handling not only improves efficiency but also reduces compliance risks. According to AIIM, organizations that embed exception management into workflows report 40% faster resolution times.
Moxo’s workflows support exception paths natively, providing audit-ready logs whenever a deviation occurs.
Step 5: Test and roll out
Before launching, test workflows with real documents and simulated scenarios. Common checks include:
- Do approvals route correctly for different thresholds?
- Are escalations triggered on time?
- Are exception paths functioning?
Piloting with a small team ensures logic is sound before wider rollout. Once live, continuous monitoring with analytics helps refine the workflow over time.
Moxo provides built-in reporting so teams can see average approval times, identify bottlenecks, and continuously improve.
Example build in Moxo
To see these principles in action, consider how a contract approval process is built in Moxo:
- Process mapped visually: Contract initiation triggers the workflow.
- Roles and thresholds applied: Contracts under $10,000 route to managers; those above $10,000 go to directors.
- Routing defined: Legal and finance receive documents in parallel, with final executive sign-off sequentially.
- Exception paths included: If legal review is delayed beyond five days, it escalates to the general counsel.
- Testing completed: The workflow is piloted with a small group, adjustments are made, and then it is rolled out firmwide.
With Moxo’s Flow Builder, rules can be configured using simple drag-and-drop logic, while AI agents handle anomaly detection and reminders. This eliminates the complexity of building approval workflows from scratch.
Conclusion: Approval workflows that scale
Approval workflows are more than a sequence of signatures. They are frameworks that ensure accountability, compliance, and efficiency. By mapping processes, defining approvers and thresholds, building routing and escalation rules, handling exceptions, and testing before rollout, organizations can avoid the pitfalls of ad hoc approvals.
Moxo provides a platform that combines visual workflow building, AI-driven exception handling, and external-friendly access. This allows businesses to deploy approval workflows that scale with growth and adapt to complex scenarios.
Ready to streamline your approvals? Book a demo with Moxo today.
FAQs
What are the basic steps in an approval workflow?
The core steps include mapping the process, defining approvers and thresholds, creating routing rules, adding exception handling, and testing before rollout.
How do routing rules improve approval cycles?
Routing rules ensure documents flow to the right approvers automatically, cutting down manual coordination and reducing delays.
What happens when an approver is unavailable?
Exception paths assign alternate approvers or escalate to higher authority, preventing bottlenecks.
Can approval workflows support multiple approvers in parallel?
Yes. Parallel routing allows multiple stakeholders to review simultaneously, speeding up approvals without sacrificing accountability.
Why are exception paths important?
Exception paths handle missed deadlines, rejections, or unavailable approvers. They ensure the process keeps moving and compliance requirements are met.
