If your organization has a mess of dotted lines, dotted-dotted lines, and more “special cases” than you can count, setting up approval hierarchies in Agiloft might sound intimidating. But you’re not alone—most real-world teams don’t fit a neat org chart. This guide is for admins, IT, and operations folks who need to set up flexible, reliable approvals in Agiloft without losing their minds (or breaking their workflows).
We’ll cover the nuts and bolts of building approval chains that work for actual organizations, not just the ones in PowerPoint slides. No hype, no “digital transformation” talk—just real tips you can use.
Why Approval Hierarchies Get Complicated Fast
Before we jump in, let’s call out what makes approvals tricky:
- Multi-level signoff: Most orgs don’t stop at a single manager’s OK.
- Conditional logic: Approvals often depend on spend amount, contract type, or region.
- Delegation and out-of-office: People go on vacation, get promoted, or quit.
- Audit trails: Compliance teams want a record of who approved what, and when.
- Exceptions: There’s always one team or process that’s “just a little different.”
Agiloft can handle this, but only if you’re clear about what you need—and ruthless about what you don’t.
Step 1: Map Out Your Approval Logic (Don’t Skip This)
You can’t automate what you can’t describe. Before you build anything in Agiloft, sketch out your real approval process. This saves hours of rework later.
What to do:
- List every step where someone needs to approve, and who that is (job title, not names).
- Note exceptions: Are there thresholds? Does legal only review certain contracts?
- Decide what happens when someone’s away—can it auto-escalate or delegate?
- Write out the “happy path” (what should usually happen) and the pain points (what goes wrong now).
Pro tip: If you’re getting blank stares or “it depends” from business users, write out 2-3 real examples. Get them to walk you through what happens now, not what they wish would happen.
Step 2: Lay the Foundations in Agiloft
Now, open up Agiloft and get your base tables and fields sorted. If you skip this, you’ll be fighting the system later.
Key building blocks:
- Tables: Typically, you’re working with Contracts, Requests, or similar records.
- User/Group fields: Create fields for each approval role (e.g., Requester Manager, Legal Reviewer, Finance Approver).
- Approval status fields: You’ll want a status for each stage (“Pending Finance Approval,” “Legal Review Complete,” etc.).
- History/audit fields: Set up fields to log who approved and when.
What works well:
Agiloft’s table and field system is flexible. You can create as many user/group fields or status fields as you need. Don’t try to jam everything into a single “Approver” field unless your process is genuinely that simple.
What to ignore:
Don’t get lost in custom code or scripts yet. Stick to out-of-the-box fields and relationships for now.
Step 3: Build Approval Teams and Roles
Who approves is often more important than what’s being approved. Set up user groups and roles that match your real org, not the fantasy org chart.
How to do it:
- Use Agiloft’s Groups feature to create logical teams (e.g., Legal, Finance, Regional Managers).
- Assign users to groups based on their current role, not what HR thinks they do.
- Set up Roles to control what each group can see or change during approvals.
- For fallback scenarios, set up a “Delegate” or “Backup Approver” group.
Honest take:
Don’t try to automate org politics. If approval responsibility is unclear in real life, your workflow will break. Get buy-in on who does what before you automate.
Step 4: Configure Approval Rules and Triggers
Now for the meat of the process. Approval workflows in Agiloft are powered by rules, actions, and (optionally) workflow diagrams.
Core steps:
- Define approval sequences:
- Use state diagrams or workflow rules to set the order (e.g., Manager → Finance → Legal).
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For each stage, set up a Rule that checks if the approval is complete before moving on.
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Add conditional logic:
- Use If/Then rules to branch based on contract value, department, or other fields.
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Example: “If contract > $100,000, add CFO approval.”
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Set up notifications:
- Configure email alerts or dashboard alerts for each approval step.
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Reminders for overdue approvals help keep things moving.
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Handle exceptions and escalations:
- Set up escalation rules if approvals aren’t acted on within X days.
- Allow for delegation if someone’s out of office.
What works well:
Agiloft’s rule engine is powerful. You can chain approvals, create parallel paths (e.g., Legal and Finance at the same time), and build in escalations without code.
What doesn’t:
Don’t try to make one giant, all-encompassing rule. Break things into smaller, named rules and test as you go. The more steps you cram into one rule, the harder it is to troubleshoot.
Step 5: Build the Approval Workflow (Visual or Not)
Agiloft lets you map out workflows visually, but you don’t have to use the diagram tool if you prefer lists and rules.
- Visual workflow:
Drag-and-drop interface to lay out states and transitions. Good for simple or medium-complexity chains. - Workflow rules only:
For complex or highly conditional flows, many admins stick with rule-based logic and skip the diagram.
Pro tip:
You can mix and match—use the visual diagram for the main steps, and use rules for exceptions or parallel approvals.
What to ignore:
Don’t obsess over the perfect diagram. You’ll probably need to tweak it once real users get involved.
Step 6: Test with Real-World Scenarios
Before you unleash your workflow on the whole company, run through actual examples.
- Create test records for each major approval path, including exceptions.
- Use actual users and groups—don’t just test as admin.
- Check that notifications, escalations, and audit history work as expected.
- Try to break it: What happens if someone’s out, or a step is skipped?
Honest warning:
You will find edge cases you hadn’t thought of. Fix them before launch, not after.
Step 7: Roll Out, Train, and Iterate
Even the best-designed workflow will bump into reality. Plan for feedback and tweaks.
- Start small: Roll out to one department before company-wide.
- Train users: Most issues come from confusion, not system bugs.
- Have a feedback loop: Make it easy for users to report issues or request changes.
- Iterate: Expect to adjust rules and roles in the first month.
What works:
Quick wins. If people see their process is faster and approvals don’t get lost, they’ll use it.
What doesn’t:
Trying to build the “final” process from day one. You’ll never get all the exceptions right the first time.
A Few Things to Watch Out For
- Too many cooks: If every department wants a custom path, your workflow will be unmanageable. Push for common patterns.
- Manual workarounds: If people start emailing approvals outside Agiloft, either the workflow is too slow or too confusing.
- Notifications overload: Don’t spam people with emails for every step. Be selective.
- Audit trail gaps: Make sure every approval is logged—compliance will care, even if you don’t today.
Keep It Simple—And Keep Improving
Approval hierarchies aren’t ever “done” in big organizations. Start with what works for most people, automate the obvious stuff, and document your exceptions. If a step or rule feels too clever, it’ll probably break. Keep it simple, get feedback, and adjust as your org changes. Agiloft’s flexibility is its strength, but don’t let that tempt you into building a monster. Ship something that works, then make it better.
Now go make approvals less painful for everyone.