When your company sends gifts—whether it’s swag, snacks, or something fancier—there’s a fine line between “nice gesture” and “compliance headache.” If you’re using Reachdesk to send these gifts, you need a process that keeps things moving but doesn’t land you in hot water with legal or finance.
This guide is for anyone setting up or wrangling with gift approval workflows in Reachdesk. Maybe you’re in ops, compliance, or just the person everyone asks, “Is this okay to send?” Either way, let’s make sure your process is tight, your team knows what’s up, and you’re not stuck approving mugs at midnight.
Why Bother With Gift Approval Workflows?
Let’s be honest—most gifts aren’t going to be a big deal. But the few that cross a line (think: expensive wine, gifts to government folks, or anything wildly off-brand) can cause trouble. Here’s why a workflow matters:
- Compliance: Some industries (finance, healthcare, government) have strict rules about what you can give and to whom.
- Brand Protection: You don’t want a rep sending something cringe-worthy or inappropriate.
- Budget Control: Approval stops people from going rogue with company funds.
- Audit Trail: If someone asks, “Who sent this and why?” you’ve got receipts.
Reachdesk can help, but only if you set things up right.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Company’s Gift Policy
Before you touch Reachdesk, know your own rules. If you don’t have a policy, now’s the time to create one—even a simple doc is better than nothing.
Key questions to answer: - What’s the max value for a gift (per person, per year)? - Are there certain people or companies you can’t send gifts to? - Do gifts need manager or legal sign-off? When? - Any “hard no” items (alcohol, gift cards, etc.)?
Pro tip: If your policy is buried in a 30-page code of conduct, summarize it. Your team won’t read the whole thing, but they will check a one-pager.
Step 2: Map Out Your Workflow (Don’t Skip This)
Before you start clicking around in Reachdesk, sketch out what a good approval process looks like for your team. Keep it as simple as you can—complexity slows things down and leads to mistakes.
Typical workflow: 1. Sender picks a gift in Reachdesk. 2. If the gift needs approval: Request goes to approver (manager, compliance, legal, etc.). 3. Approver reviews: Approve, reject, or send back for edits. 4. Gift goes out: If approved, Reachdesk handles the rest.
Questions to answer: - Who approves which gifts? (By team, value, region, etc.) - What triggers an approval? (Value, type of gift, recipient type) - Who covers for out-of-office approvers?
Don’t overcomplicate it: If 90% of gifts are fine, only require approval for edge cases.
Step 3: Set Up Approval Workflows in Reachdesk
Now for the hands-on part. Reachdesk lets you set up approval workflows that (mostly) do what you want—if you configure them thoughtfully.
A. Access the Approval Workflow Settings
- Log into Reachdesk as an admin.
- Go to Settings > Approval Workflows (sometimes called "Gift Approvals" depending on your version).
B. Create a New Workflow
- Click Create Workflow or Add Approval Rule.
- Name your workflow something clear (e.g., “US Sales Gifts Over $100”).
C. Define the Rules
Here’s where you set the triggers for requiring approval. You can usually filter by:
- Gift value: E.g., require approval for anything over $50.
- Gift type: Alcohol, gift cards, or custom items.
- Recipient type: Government, healthcare, or certain companies.
- Sender group: Maybe only new hires need approval, or just the marketing team.
Example:
If your policy says “All gifts over $100 need manager approval,” set your rule for “Gift value greater than $100—send to manager for approval.”
D. Assign Approvers
- Choose who gets the approval request (manager, compliance, legal, etc.).
- You can set up backups or escalation rules (highly recommended—no one wants a stuck gift because someone’s on PTO).
E. Save and Test
- Save your workflow.
- Run a test scenario—send a sample gift that requires approval and make sure it routes correctly.
Pro tip: Approval emails can get lost or ignored. Remind approvers to check their Reachdesk or email notifications.
Step 4: Train Your Team (Seriously, Don’t Skip This)
Even the best workflow fails if your team doesn’t know about it or just clicks “bypass.” Here’s what actually works:
- Short training: 15-minute walk-through beats a 50-slide deck.
- One-pager: Send out a cheat sheet (“When do I need approval?” “Who approves my gifts?”).
- Keep it public: Post the rules where people work—Slack, intranet, wherever.
Pro tip: If you find yourself answering the same approval questions over and over, add those to your cheat sheet.
Step 5: Monitor, Adjust, and Don’t Get Stuck in Approval Hell
Set it and forget it? Not quite. Approval workflows should make compliance easier, not grind everything to a halt. Here’s what to watch for:
- Bottlenecks: Are gifts piling up waiting for one person to approve? Fix that fast—add backups or reduce what needs approval.
- False positives: Are simple gifts getting flagged? Loosen your triggers.
- Audit logs: Reachdesk tracks who approved what, but check that it’s working as you expect.
Pro tip: Run a monthly or quarterly spot-check. See what’s getting flagged, what’s getting through, and whether it matches your policy.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Clear rules: Everyone knows when they need approval and who to ask. - Simple triggers: Value-based or recipient-based approvals catch 99% of real issues. - Backup approvers: Avoids delays when someone’s on vacation.
What doesn’t: - Approval for everything: Slows things down, annoys your team, and leads to “approval fatigue.” - Unclear ownership: If people don’t know who approves what, gifts get stuck. - Ignoring the process: If leadership skips approvals, so will everyone else.
Ignore: - Overly complex “matrix” workflows unless you’re in a highly regulated industry. - Manual tracking outside of Reachdesk—use the built-in logs.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Gift approval workflows in Reachdesk aren’t magic—they’re just guardrails. Start with the minimum rules you need, see where things break, and tweak as you go. Don’t let compliance become a full-time job (unless it’s literally your job). The simpler and clearer your process, the less you’ll hear about it—and that’s a good thing.
If you’re stuck or something isn’t working, ask around. Odds are someone else has already solved your exact problem. Keep it moving, keep it simple, and you’ll be the hero who kept everyone compliant and got gifts out the door on time.