If you’ve ever watched a document approval process stall for days—or weeks—because someone missed an email or “forgot” to sign off, you know how painful manual workflows can be. This guide is for anyone stuck wrangling approvals in Xait, whether you’re a proposal manager, a technical writer, or just tired of chasing signatures. We’ll walk through how to actually automate approvals in Xait, trim the fat from your process, and avoid common traps that slow teams down.
Why automating approvals in Xait actually matters
Let’s be honest: most “collaborative” document tools promise streamlined workflows, but they rarely deliver unless you set them up right. With Xait, you get solid built-in approval features—but just using the defaults won’t magically fix delays or confusion. Automating your approval flow means:
- Fewer reminders and less nagging
- Clear visibility into who needs to do what, and when
- Cut-and-dried audit trails (no more “I thought you approved it” debates)
- More time to focus on real work, not chasing emails
But automation isn’t a magic wand. You’ll need to set it up thoughtfully and keep it as simple as possible.
Step 1: Map out your real approval process (don’t skip this)
Before you even touch Xait’s settings, map out how approvals actually work in your team—not how they should work, but how they do. This step sounds boring, but it saves you from building the wrong workflow.
How to do it: - List every person or role that must sign off (be ruthless—does everyone really need a say?) - Note the order of approvals (sequential, parallel, or a mix) - Write down the typical pain points (e.g., approvals stall with Legal, people ignore emails, etc.)
Pro Tip:
If you’re not sure where bottlenecks happen, look at past projects. Where did things get stuck? That’s where better automation will help most.
Step 2: Set up approval roles and permissions in Xait
Now, jump into Xait and set up your team roles and permissions. Xait lets you assign different permissions to users or groups, so only the right people can approve, edit, or just view.
To do this: 1. Go to your Xait workspace and open the document or template you want to automate. 2. Head to the User Management or Access Control section. 3. Assign clear roles: - Approvers: Can review and approve documents. - Contributors: Can edit but not approve. - Observers: Can view but not edit or approve.
What works:
- Using roles instead of individuals makes your process flexible (people change jobs, roles don’t).
- Limit the number of approvers. The more people you add, the slower it gets.
What to ignore:
- Don’t bother giving edit access to approvers if they never actually edit. Less access = fewer mistakes.
Step 3: Build your approval workflow in Xait
This is where the magic (and the headaches, if you’re not careful) happen. Xait supports both sequential and parallel approvals.
To set up automated approvals: 1. Open your document and find the Approval Workflow settings (location may change depending on version). 2. Choose the workflow type: - Sequential: One person approves, then it moves to the next. - Parallel: Everyone can approve at once. 3. Add approvers by role or name, in the order needed. 4. Set due dates for each step if you want automated reminders (highly recommended). 5. Customize notification settings so approvers get pinged—email, in-app, or both.
What works:
- Use sequential for legal or compliance docs where order matters.
- Use parallel if you just need a group thumbs-up—much faster.
What doesn’t:
- Over-complicating with too many branches or conditions. The fancier your workflow, the more likely it’ll break or confuse people.
Pro Tip:
Set up a fallback approver for when someone’s out of office. Xait lets you delegate or reassign approvals; use it so you’re not stuck waiting on vacationers.
Step 4: Automate reminders and escalation
Automated reminders are the secret sauce. Xait can nag people for you—which is honestly the main reason to automate.
How to do it: - In your workflow settings, enable automatic reminders (daily, every few days, etc.). - Set escalation rules: If an approver doesn’t respond by the deadline, Xait can notify their manager or escalate to someone else.
What works:
- Escalation is great for tight deadlines. Use it sparingly—otherwise, managers get numb to the alerts.
- Keep reminders short and actionable (“Approve by Friday or it’ll escalate”).
What to ignore:
- Don’t turn on every notification option. People ignore generic emails; only notify about what actually matters.
Step 5: Test your automated workflow (with a real document)
Don’t assume your setup works—test it like you’re a new user. Run through the process with a real (but low-stakes) document.
Checklist: - Does every approver get notified? - Can they approve (or reject) easily, without hunting for buttons? - Does the process finish as expected, or does it get stuck? - Is the audit trail clear?
If something breaks:
- Keep troubleshooting simple. Nine times out of ten, issues come from permissions or missing steps in your workflow.
Step 6: Train your team—quickly
The best workflow in the world flops if nobody knows how it works. But you don’t need a big training program. Just show your team:
- Where to find their approval tasks (dashboard, email, etc.)
- How to approve or reject (demo this live if you can)
- What to do if they’re out of office (delegate or reassign)
Pro Tip:
Make a one-page cheat sheet. Nobody reads lengthy guides, but they will scan a screenshot.
Step 7: Review, tweak, and keep it simple
After a few cycles, review how things are going:
- Are approvals faster?
- Are people ignoring notifications?
- Are you still chasing approvals, or has Xait’s automation picked up the slack?
Trim any steps or notifications that don’t add value. If you hear grumbling about too many emails or confusing steps, simplify.
Common mistakes (and how to dodge them)
- Too many approvers: If everyone is responsible, nobody is. Only include people who truly need to sign off.
- Overcomplicated workflows: Fancy branching logic sounds cool, but it’s a pain to maintain. Start simple.
- Notification overload: When everyone gets every email, important stuff gets ignored.
- Ignoring out-of-office scenarios: Always have backup approvers.
Reality check: What Xait automation can’t do
A few things to keep in mind:
- Xait’s automation won’t fix a broken process. If your team loves to stall, no tool will change that.
- You’ll still need humans to actually read and approve—no AI or automation will do the thinking for you.
- Some advanced integrations (e.g., with external signing tools or Slack) might require extra setup or even custom work.
Keep it simple, tweak as you go
Automating document approvals in Xait isn’t about chasing the fanciest workflow—it’s about giving your team less to remember and fewer excuses to stall. Start simple, watch how it works, and only add complexity if you absolutely need it. Remember: the best automation is the one people actually use.
Now, go automate something boring—so you can focus on work that actually matters.