How to set up approval workflows for content sharing in Flipdeck

If you’re responsible for keeping your team’s shared content clean, compliant, and not a total mess, this guide’s for you. Flipdeck’s a handy tool for organizing and sharing content, but if you need people to stop sending out half-baked slides or the wrong price sheets, you’ll want to set up approval workflows. Here’s how to do it without making your life harder than it needs to be.

Why Bother With Approval Workflows?

Let’s be honest: most people skip steps if you let them. If anyone can share anything, mistakes happen — wrong info goes out, ugly typos sneak through, and sometimes, sensitive stuff leaks. Approval workflows put a gate in front of the “share” button, so you (or someone you trust) can sanity-check things before they go public.

But don’t overcomplicate it. The goal: control the chaos without drowning in notifications or endless review loops.

Step 1: Get Clear on What Needs Approving

Not every bit of content needs to go through an approval wringer. Before you even touch Flipdeck, figure out:

  • What actually needs review? (Think: anything customer-facing, regulated, or high-risk.)
  • Who should approve it? (Limit it to a couple of key people. More approvers = more headaches.)
  • What’s the “done” standard? (Is spelling enough, or are you checking branding, legal, accuracy?)

Pro tip: If you make everything need approval, you’ll become a bottleneck. Start small.

Step 2: Set Up Teams and Roles in Flipdeck

First things first, log in to Flipdeck. Approval workflows only work if you’re using the Teams feature (not just the basic, solo user setup). Here’s what you need:

  1. Create or organize your Teams.
  2. If you’re not using Teams, set them up. Group people logically—by department, use case, whatever makes sense.
  3. Assign Roles.
  4. Flipdeck has two main roles: Admins and Team Members. Admins can set up workflows and approve content; Members usually can’t.

Honest take: Flipdeck’s roles are pretty basic. If you need granular permissions (like “Sally can approve PDFs but not videos”), you’re out of luck for now.

Step 3: Enable Approval Workflow Settings

Now to the meat and potatoes:

  1. Go to Team Settings.
  2. Click into the Team you want. Look for “Settings” (gear icon, usually top right).
  3. Find Approval Workflow.
  4. There should be a toggle or section labeled “Content Approval” or similar.
  5. Turn It On.
  6. Flip the switch to require approval before certain content can be shared.

You can usually specify: - All new content - Only content in certain decks or categories - Only content from non-admins

Don’t see these options? You might need to upgrade your plan. Flipdeck sometimes puts these features behind higher-tier subscriptions.

Step 4: Choose Your Approvers

Here’s where you decide who has the final say:

  1. Assign Approvers.
  2. Most setups let you pick one or more people as approvers for each Team or deck.
  3. Keep it lean.
  4. One or two approvers is plenty. Too many cooks = nothing gets done.
  5. Set backup approvers if possible.
  6. People go on vacation. Don’t let content rot in review limbo.

Pitfall to avoid: Don’t make your only approver the CEO. Unless you want to chase signatures all day.

Step 5: Test the Approval Flow

Before rolling this out to everyone, test it yourself:

  1. Upload or create some dummy content as a regular Team Member.
  2. Try to share it.
  3. You should see a “pending approval” message.
  4. As the Approver, check your notifications or approval queue.
  5. Approve or reject the content and see what happens.
  6. Check what the user sees.
  7. Are they notified when it’s approved or rejected? Is the feedback clear?

What works: Flipdeck’s notifications are decent, but they can get buried if you’re not paying attention. Encourage your team to check Flipdeck, not just their email.

Step 6: Roll It Out — and Train Your Team

Don’t just flip the switch and expect magic. Walk your team through:

  • What needs approval and why
  • Who approves what
  • How fast they can expect a turnaround
  • How to check status or get feedback

Do a quick demo. Answer questions. Set expectations for turnaround time (if you don’t, you’ll get “Is my thing approved yet?” Slack messages at 7am).

Pro tip: Document the process in a quick FAQ or one-pager. Pin it somewhere obvious.

Step 7: Review and Tweak (Because Something Will Break)

Let’s be real: the first version of any approval setup is clunky. After a couple weeks:

  • Ask your team what’s working (and what isn’t).
  • Watch for slowdowns. Are things piling up in the queue? Did you make the process too strict?
  • Adjust. Remove unnecessary steps, swap approvers if needed, and make sure the workflow fits your actual needs.

Ignore: Requests to approve everything just because someone’s nervous. Trust your team on low-risk stuff.

What Flipdeck Approval Workflows Actually Do Well

  • Simple, clear process: No crazy branching logic or “choose your own adventure” rules.
  • Decent audit trail: You can see who approved what, if you need to check later.
  • Keeps the wrong stuff from getting out: If you set it up right, mistakes drop fast.

Where Flipdeck Approval Workflows Fall Short

Let’s set expectations:

  • Limited customization: You can’t set multi-step approvals or custom reviewer roles.
  • Notifications can get noisy: If you’re approving for several teams, expect a lot of pings.
  • No deep analytics: You’re not going to get fancy charts showing approval times or bottlenecks.

If you need complex review chains, conditional logic, or deep reporting, Flipdeck’s probably not the tool for you.

Tips to Keep Your Sanity

  • Start with the minimum: Only require approval where it’s truly needed.
  • Automate what you can: Use template content, predefined decks, or standardized cards to reduce errors.
  • Rotate approvers: Don’t burn out your one detail-oriented person.
  • Review the workflow quarterly: Needs change; old rules get stale.

Keep It Simple, Iterate As You Go

Approval workflows in Flipdeck are best when they’re simple and transparent. Set up just enough process to catch mistakes, not so much that you slow everyone down. Stay open to feedback, tweak things when they get clunky, and don’t be afraid to cut steps that aren’t helping.

It’s about keeping your content sharp and your team moving — not building a bureaucracy for its own sake. Start small, improve as you go, and you’ll save yourself a whole lot of headaches.