Configure approval workflow

PowerTable sheets can connect to your database live for real-time data updates and synchronization. While row and column-level access permissions ensure data integrity, you can go one step further to secure your data by setting up approval workflows.

To ensure accuracy and correctness, users might need management's approval before making any changes to the data. There can be scenarios like multiple users accidentally changing the same data, entering incorrect values, and so on. You can streamline such scenarios by setting up an approval workflow process in PowerTable sheets.

Approval flow sequence#

When a change is submitted, the following actions occur:

1. Approvers receive an email notification with a link to the table.
2. The changes are highlighted in the table.
3. Approvers review the changes in the Approvals tab and approve, reject, or request changes.
4. The author is notified by email when a request is approved or rejected.
5. Approvers can also request changes or provide suggestions.
6. The author can apply or skip the suggested changes and resubmit the request for review.
7. Once approved, the changes are synchronized with the source database.

The rest of this article explains each step of the approval workflow in detail.

Set up approval workflow#

Setting up an approval workflow in PowerTable sheets involves two steps:

1. Enable approvals
2. Select a method of choosing approvers

Once the workflow is enabled, every change made by users undergoes an approval process before getting saved and synced to the source.

Enable approvals

You can turn on the approval workflow by following these steps:

1. Select PowerTable > Approvals.
2. Enable approvals by toggling the button for Requires Approval for All Changes.

Select approvers

Next, select the approvers who review and approve any changes made to the table.

There are currently two ways to select approvers in PowerTable sheets.

• User-based approvals: Manually enter the email addresses of approvers or the IDs of Active Directory groups
• Rule-based approvals: Configure a rule-based system to identify the approvers

User-based approvals

User-based approvals is a straightforward method where you manually specify individuals who act as approvers.

1. Choose the option, Specific users.
2. Select specific users in the workspace who are responsible for reviewing and approving the changes. Search for them by entering their names or email addresses.
3. Select Save.

Rule-based approvals

Define approvers for specific columns or records in the table based on set rules and criteria. Enter the rule name, the filter criteria, and the designated approvers for that rule. You can set as many rules as required and assign corresponding approvers for each.

Start by adding a rule and assigning approvers:

1. Select Users based on rules.
2. Select Add Rule to add a rule.
3. Enter a name for the rule, configure the filter criteria, and add approvers for the criteria.
4. Select Create.

Next, add multiple filter criteria:

1. Select Add filter to add multiple filter criteria within a rule and combine them using And or Or operators.
2. To delete a filter criterion, use the bin icon.
3. Select Create.

4. You can now find the rule added to the list of rules. You can add more rules by selecting Add Rule.

5. Edit or delete rules as needed, using the Edit and Delete options available next to each rule.

Finally, add a default approver:

1. In the final step, add one or more default approvers who review changes for records that don't meet the configured rules or criteria.
2. Select Save to apply the configuration.

Multi-level approvals#

Multi-level approvals require a change request to go through multiple levels of review before it's finally approved, ensuring compliance, oversight, and better decision-making. Each level corresponds to a different approver, who reviews and approves the request at that level.

You can create up to three levels of approval using PowerTable sheets.

1. Enable multi-level approvals by toggling on the highlighted button below.
2. Configure the required number of approval levels.
3. Enter the name of the approvers for each level.
4. Select Save.