Zoho CRM approval processes: setup, limits and pitfalls

What an approval process is for

Per Zoho, an approval process automatically submits records that meet a rule's criteria for approval, which shortens the time needed to get approvals from several departments when closing deals. Zoho's examples are purchase orders, billing discounts and project budgets.

Source: Zoho Help: Adding an approval process

Setting one up, per Zoho

• Go to Setup, Process Management, Approval Processes and click Create Approval Process.
• Enter a name, select the module, and choose the trigger: Create Record, Edit Record, or Create or Edit Record.
• Define the approval criteria; Zoho says criteria must be set before stages can be added.
• Add stages and choose approvers; optionally assign a task or add field updates on approval.
• Set which fields can be edited while a record is pending or after rejection, the actions on overall approval and rejection, and the rule admins. Save, then save again to activate the rule.

Source: Zoho Help: Adding an approval process

Who can approve

Zoho lists these approver types: specific users, roles, groups, levels based on the organization's hierarchy, the record owner's manager, the record owner, and a user lookup field (marked Early Access). For roles and groups you can choose whether anyone or everyone must approve.

Source: Zoho Help: Adding an approval process

Stages, rejection and limits

Each rule supports up to 10 stages. The overall flow can end when at least one stage is approved, or only when all stages are approved, in parallel or sequential order. On rejection you can reject all previous stages, only the current one, or let the approver choose. Zoho states that up to 25 fields can be selected as editable, up to 15 users can be rule admins, and rejected records can be resubmitted for 180 days.

On approval or rejection, Zoho says you can update fields, send email alerts to the record owner, call webhooks or run functions, and assign tasks on approval.

Source: Zoho Help: Adding an approval process

Behaviours worth knowing before you go live

• While a record waits for approval, Convert and Delete are disabled.
• If the record owner's account is inactive or deleted, Zoho says the record is auto-approved.
• If a selected role has no users, the record is auto-approved at that level and the associated actions run.
• Changes to a rule do not affect records already waiting for approval.
• Deleting an approval process unlocks waiting records, and the associated approve and reject actions are not executed.
• A record matching several rules follows the first matching rule in the list.
• Zoho's page does not state which editions include approval processes; check Zoho's feature availability information for your edition.

Source: Zoho Help: Adding an approval process

Designing approvals that people use (practical advice)

This section is advice from experience, not vendor documentation.

• Write down who approves what, and at which threshold, before touching the CRM.
• Keep the number of stages to what the business genuinely needs; each extra stage is a place for a deal to stall.
• Plan for absence: decide who covers when the named approver is away, and check the role-with-no-users and inactive-owner behaviours cannot silently approve something.
• Test with dummy records covering approval, rejection and resubmission before switching it on.
• Make the fields that drive criteria, such as discount, required and validated so the rule fires reliably.

Want approvals built around how you sell?

Skyfall Labs configures approval processes and the surrounding fields and automation in Zoho CRM. Because we are a Zoho Partner, treat our view with the interest we have disclosed.