If you’re stuck chasing signatures or corralling managers to approve proposals, you know how much time gets wasted. Automating approvals isn’t just a “nice-to-have” — it’s a sanity-saver for sales teams, agencies, or anyone who sends out documents for review. This guide is for you if you want to use Proposify to cut out the back-and-forth, keep things moving, and avoid screw-ups that come from manual tracking.
Let’s get to it: here’s how to actually set up automated proposal approvals in Proposify, what works, what’s pointless, and a few pitfalls to watch for.
Step 1: Understand What Proposify’s Workflow Tools Actually Do
Before you start clicking around, know what you’re getting. Proposify’s workflow tools are built for two things:
- Making sure proposals follow a set process before they go out
- Keeping track of approvals, edits, and who’s allowed to send what
What works:
- You can set up approval rules, assign approvers, and get notified when something needs your okay.
- It’ll stop proposals from being sent out until someone signs off — a real safety net.
What doesn’t:
- It won’t magically know who should approve what unless you set it up.
- If your approval chains are a mess, automating them isn’t going to fix that.
Ignore:
- Fancy workflow charts or over-complicated approval paths. Unless you have 500-person teams, simpler is better.
Step 2: Map Out Your Approval Process (On Paper First)
I know, you’re here for automation — but before you click a single setting, grab a notepad (or a doc) and answer:
- Who actually needs to approve proposals? (List names/roles, not “everyone.”)
- Are there different approval steps for different proposal types or dollar amounts?
- What’s the minimum approval you can get away with?
Pro tip:
If you can’t explain your approval process in one sentence, neither will Proposify.
Step 3: Set Up Roles and Permissions in Proposify
Log into Proposify and head to your account settings. You’ll want to:
- Create Roles: Salesperson, Manager, Legal, etc.
- Assign Permissions: Who can edit, who can approve, who can send.
How to do it:
- Go to “Users & Roles” in your Proposify account.
- Create roles that match your approval map.
- Assign each user the right role. Don’t just make everyone an Admin.
What works:
- Locking down who can send proposals keeps mistakes to a minimum.
- Assigning permissions by role (not person) makes things easier to update later.
What doesn’t:
- Letting everyone have “approve” rights. This defeats the point.
Step 4: Turn On Proposal Approval Workflows
Now for the actual automation. In Proposify, go to the Workflow or Approval settings. Here’s what to do:
-
Enable Approvals:
There’s usually a toggle or checkbox for “Require Approval Before Sending.” Flip it on. -
Set Approval Rules:
- You can make all proposals need approval, or only those over a certain value.
- Choose who the approver(s) are for each rule.
-
Set up backup approvers if someone’s on vacation.
-
Customize Notifications:
- Decide who gets emailed or pinged when a proposal needs approval.
- Make sure the approver actually checks their email (seriously).
What works:
- Routing approvals based on value or client. You don’t need the CEO blessing every $500 job.
- Setting up backup approvers for when the regular person’s out.
What doesn’t:
- Over-complicating the rules. The more exceptions you add, the more likely something breaks or stalls.
Step 5: Test Your Workflow With a Dummy Proposal
Don’t trust that it’s all working — check for yourself.
- Create a fake proposal, assign it to a test client, and set the value to trigger approval.
- Walk through the process as both the sender and the approver.
- Reject the proposal once, too — see what happens. Can the sender fix and re-submit?
Look for: - Did the right person get notified? - Was the proposal locked until approved? - Was it easy to approve (or deny) from mobile/email?
If something’s off:
Go back to your rules and permissions. Nine times out of ten, it’s a missed setting or a role that isn’t assigned right.
Step 6: Roll It Out to the Team (Slowly)
Even the best automation falls apart if no one knows how it works.
- Show your team the new flow in a quick meeting or screen share.
- Make it clear: No more sending proposals without approval.
- Ask for feedback — but don’t let people argue for “the old way” just because change feels weird.
Pro tip:
Write a one-page doc (or Slack post) on “How we send proposals now” and pin it. Saves headaches.
Step 7: Keep an Eye on the Bottlenecks
The point of automating isn’t to create new delays — it’s to get proposals out faster without mistakes.
- After a week or two, check: Are proposals getting stuck waiting for approval?
- Is the same person always the holdup? Maybe you need a backup or more approvers.
- Are people finding workarounds? That’s a sign it’s too strict or confusing.
What works:
- Reviewing stuck proposals weekly, not monthly.
- Making small tweaks (like adding another approver) instead of big process resets.
What doesn’t:
- Ignoring complaints. If everyone’s grumbling, something’s off.
Step 8: Ignore the Fluff, Focus on What Matters
Proposify has a lot of bells and whistles — custom statuses, multi-step approvals, integrations with other tools. Some are useful, but don’t get distracted.
You need: - Clear roles and permissions - Simple, enforceable approval rules - Reliable notifications
You don’t need: - Ten different approval paths for edge cases - Overly complex automations you’ll forget how to fix
If you’re spending more time fiddling with settings than actually sending proposals, you’ve gone too far.
Real-World Tips & Gotchas
- Set expectations: Approvers should know same-day turnaround is the goal. Otherwise, proposals pile up.
- Mobile approval matters: If your approvers are always on the go, make sure they can approve from their phone.
- Audit logs: Proposify tracks approvals — handy if someone says “I never saw that.” But don’t rely on it to resolve every dispute.
- Legal approvals: If you need legal to review, set them as the first approver. Don’t make sales wait until the end.
- Notifications can get noisy: Tweak your settings so only the right people get pinged, or you’ll all start ignoring them.
Wrapping Up
Automating proposal approvals in Proposify isn’t about building an ironclad bureaucracy — it’s about getting deals out the door faster, with fewer mistakes. Keep your process as simple as possible. Start basic, see where things snag, and improve from there. The less you have to think about approvals, the more time you’ll have for actual work.