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, it gets updated to a new version. The Version dropdown lets you view and compare with 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 line. |
| Reject |
Rejects the request after you leave a mandatory comment explaining the reason. The request will be in your Rejected folder until the drafter resubmits. |
| On Hold | Moves the request to your On Hold folder for quick access if you are not ready to act on it yet. The drafter is not notified. You can approve or reject it from the on hold folder at any time. (Click on the More dropdown to see this option). |
→ Editing before approving
| Note: Some form templates are configured as editable by your admin. When forms are editable, you can make changes to the request's details or content before approving. When you edit and update a request, its version updates. 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. Once it is returned to the drafter, they will find it in To Be Processed → Internal Approval with their role listed as Confirmer. They can then review the document and click Confirm to finalize it.
Completed requests
Once a request is 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.
- 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.
Forwarded requests
- These are requests received from external institutions that your institution's Receiver Manager has forwarded to you for action
- You will find them in your External Approval folder. As a recipient you can; Forward to any other relevant parties, Confirm receipt or Reply with a request of your own.
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.
Sharing a completed request
Once a document is completed, everyone with access to it (drafters, approvers) can share it with other users within their institution, either with a single user or a group. Recipients will find it in their Processed → Shared with Me folder, and they will also be able to share it. All people with access to the document will see who it has been shared with.