If you’re buried in email threads and “just checking in” Slack messages every time a contract needs approval, you’re not alone. Manual contract approvals slow everything down, introduce errors, and frustrate everyone—especially as deals heat up. This guide is for sales ops, contract managers, and anyone who wants to get out of approval purgatory by automating contract workflows in Apparound.
Let’s get your approval process humming, with less chasing and more closing.
What is Apparound—and why automate approvals there?
Apparound is a sales platform that lets you generate quotes and contracts, track deals, and (crucially) build workflows for approvals. If you’re already using it for quotes or proposals, automating contract approvals is the next logical step.
Manual approvals might work when you’re small, but they don’t scale, and mistakes get expensive fast (think expired pricing, missed signatures, or rogue discounting). Automating the approval flow means:
- No more “who’s got the contract now?” emails
- Audit trails you don’t have to cobble together
- Faster deal cycles (less waiting, more selling)
- Fewer compliance headaches
But—let’s be honest—not every workflow should be automated. If your process changes every other week, or you have complex edge cases, start simple and build from there.
Step 1: Map Your Contract Approval Process (Don’t Skip This)
Before you touch Apparound, sketch out (on paper, whiteboard, napkin—whatever) how your approvals should work. If you automate a broken process, you just get faster at making mistakes.
Questions to answer:
- Who needs to approve which contracts? (Legal, finance, sales manager, etc.)
- Are there thresholds? (e.g., discounts over 20% need VP approval)
- Does the order matter? Can people approve in parallel?
- What should happen if someone rejects a contract?
Pro tip: Keep it simple to start. “If-then” logic is great, but don’t build a Rube Goldberg machine.
Step 2: Set Up Approval Roles and Permissions in Apparound
Now you’re ready to get your hands dirty. Inside Apparound, you’ll need to define who can do what.
How to do it:
- Log in as an admin. If you don’t have admin rights, stop here and get them—most approval features are locked down.
- Go to the Admin Console.
- Navigate to Users & Roles.
- Set up groups (e.g., “Sales Managers,” “Legal Team,” “Finance”).
- Assign users to groups—don’t skip this, or you’ll end up emailing people for approvals anyway.
- Assign permissions:
- Who can view, edit, or approve contracts?
- Who gets notified when it’s their turn?
What to watch out for:
Don’t give blanket approval rights to everyone. It’s tempting, but it defeats the purpose. If you’re unsure, start restrictive and open up later.
Step 3: Build the Approval Workflow
This is where the magic (and sometimes the headaches) happen.
To create a workflow in Apparound:
- Go to Workflow Settings (usually under “Contracts” or “Approvals”).
- Create a new workflow for the contract type you want to automate.
- Define approval steps:
- Add each approver or group.
- Set the order: sequential (one after another) or parallel (all at once).
- Add conditions (e.g., “If discount > 15%, add Finance approval”).
- Set escalation rules:
- Who gets notified if someone doesn’t respond?
- After how many hours/days?
Example:
- Step 1: Sales Manager approves all contracts
- Step 2: If contract value > $50k, Legal also approves
- Step 3: If discount > 20%, VP Sales approves
Pro tip: Start with your most common scenario. Add edge cases later, or you’ll spend weeks tweaking before you ever automate a single contract.
Step 4: Configure Notifications and Reminders
No one loves more notifications, but too few and things stall. Strike a balance.
Inside Apparound:
- Set email or in-app alerts for each approval step.
- Configure reminders if someone hasn’t approved in a set time.
- Decide who gets CC’d (if anyone) on each contract’s progress.
What works:
Clear, actionable notifications (“Contract #12345 is waiting for your approval”) get results.
What doesn’t:
Generic “something needs your attention” emails. People tune them out fast.
Step 5: Test the Workflow (Break It On Purpose)
Before you roll it out to the whole team, run through a few contract approval cycles yourself.
Checklist:
- Submit a contract as a regular user—does it route correctly?
- Approve/reject at each step—does the workflow react as expected?
- Try an edge case (e.g., contract with a big discount)—does it trigger the extra approval?
- Check that notifications arrive at the right times.
Don’t skip testing.
There’s always something weird: an approver who never gets notifications, a contract that gets stuck, or a step that’s too strict. Find it now, not in the middle of quarter-end chaos.
Step 6: Roll Out Gradually and Train Your Team
People hate surprise process changes, especially if they find out during a live deal.
How to avoid drama:
- Start with one team or contract type.
- Send a quick guide (screenshots help) so people know what to expect.
- Be available for questions—there will be questions.
- Collect feedback and tweak the workflow as needed.
Real talk:
If you try to flip a switch company-wide on day one, expect confusion and pushback. It’s not failure—just iterate.
Honest Takes: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works:
- Simple, clear workflows that don’t try to handle every exception.
- Strong permissions—not everyone should approve everything.
- Testing with real users before full rollout.
- Automated reminders—just enough to keep things moving.
What doesn’t:
- Overcomplicating with too many steps. You’ll slow things down.
- Ignoring edge cases. Someone will find a way to break the process.
- Assuming Apparound can fix a broken offline process. Garbage in, garbage out.
What to ignore:
- Fancy dashboards and reports—at first. Focus on making approvals actually happen; you can analyze later.
- Any “AI-powered” features that promise to read contracts for you (for now, at least). Stick to human approvals until you trust the automation.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Even with automation, things go sideways. Here’s what to watch for:
- Approvals get stuck: Usually a permissions issue or someone’s on vacation. Set up backup approvers or escalation.
- People ignore notifications: Make sure the notifications are specific and actionable. Too many generic alerts = ignored.
- Workflow changes needed: Don’t be afraid to tweak. Just make sure to communicate changes clearly.
- Edge cases break the flow: Log them, fix them, and resist the urge to handle every “what if” up front.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Overthink It
Automating contract approvals in Apparound can save you tons of time and headaches—but only if you keep it straightforward and adapt as you go. Start with your most common contracts, get the team on board, and don’t try to automate every edge case from day one. You’ll fix more by actually using the workflow than by theorizing for weeks.
Keep it light, keep it clear, and let the software do the chasing for you.