Managing approval requests

This page covers what happens after you submit an approval request, how you can track it's progress and how you can respond to approval requests you have been assigned.

Tracking your request as a drafter

Once submitted, your request appears under My Documents → Submitted. Click on it and open the Head tab to see a full picture of where the request stands; the approval line, each approver's status, and the date they acted.

Understanding request statuses

Each person in the approval line has an individual status that updates as the request moves forward.

Waiting	The request has not yet reached this person.
Pending	The request has reached this approver and is currently waiting for their action.
Completed	This person has approved the request. The date and time of their action is recorded alongside their name.

If an approver approves your request, their status will update to completed, and the request will move to the next approver in the line of approval.
If your request is rejected, you'll find it in My Documents → Rejected. The approver's reason for rejecting will appear as a comment icon alongside their date & time of rejection in the approval line, which you can view.

Click on "Edit" to make the necessary changes, and resubmit.
Once resubmitted, the request returns to the first approver again, and moves through the approval line in order.

If a request has been edited and resubmitted by you or updated by approvers during the process, the Version dropdown lets you view and compare earlier versions of the document.

Responding to a request as an approver

When a request reaches your turn in the approval line, you will be notified. You will find it in:

To Be Processed → Internal Approval if a user from your institution assigned it to you, or
To Be Processed → External Approval if a user from another institution assigned it to you.

Open the request and review its content before taking any of the following actions:

Approve

Approves the request and moves it to the next approver in the line.

If you are the final approver, the request moves to Processed → Completed.

If not, it moves to Processed → Ongoing on your end until everyone has approved.

Reject

Rejects the request and sends it back to the drafter's Rejected folder.

You will be asked to leave a comment explaining the reason.

The request will also appear in your Rejected folder until the drafter edits and resubmits.

On Hold

Moves the request to your On Hold folder for quick access when you are not ready to act on it yet. The drafter is not notified. You can take it off hold at any time to approve or reject it. (Click on the More dropdown to see this option).

Editing before approving

Some form templates are configured as editable by your administrator. When this is enabled, you can make changes to the request's details or content before approving. When you edit and update a request, the version updates automatically, click the Version dropdown to compare with earlier versions.

How to edit a request as an approver

Open the request and click the More dropdown, then click Edit.

Make any necessary changes on the Head or Document tab, then click Update.

A confirmation dialog will appear. Click Proceed to save the changes and approve the document, or Cancel to save the changes without approving.

Drafter's final check

Some forms are configured with a Drafter's Final Check. When enabled, the request returns to the drafter after all approvers have approved for confirmation, before it is marked as completed. You will find it in To Be Processed → Internal Approval with your role listed as Confirmer. Review the document and click Confirm to finalize it.

Completed requests

Once fully approved, the reference number, date of completion, and each approver's signature with their date and time of signing are all visible on the document at this point.

For outgoing requests, once completed the document appears in the Sender Manager's Outgoing folder to be dispatched to the recipients.

The Sender Manager of your institution can edit the details of the request before sending, i.e. Attachments, Title, and Assigned institutions or individuals.

Follow up

The Follow Up tab is available on any request to everyone in the approval line. Use it to ask questions or provide additional context at any point during the process.

Only completed documents can be shared with other users within your institution, either with a single user or with a group. The recipient will find the document in their Processed → Shared with Me folder.