Want to stop chasing signatures and tracking “approval” emails across five inboxes? You’re in the right place. This guide is for legal professionals—paralegals, attorneys, legal ops folks—who need a practical, no-fluff way to automate document approvals using Moxo. If you’re buried in paperwork and sick of manual status updates, read on.
Why Automate Document Approvals Anyway?
Legal work is already slow enough. If you’re still moving documents by email, things fall through the cracks—signatures get missed, deadlines slip, and nobody knows who’s holding things up. Automation means:
- No more “Did you see my email?” follow-ups
- Clear approval status at a glance
- Audit trails for compliance
- Less grunt work for everyone
But let’s be real: automating isn’t magic. You need to set it up right, or you’ll just replace email chaos with workflow chaos. Moxo can help, but only if you keep things straightforward.
Step 1: Map Out Your Approval Workflow First (Don’t Skip This)
Before you touch any software, figure out what you actually need. Most failed automations start with “let’s just set up the tool” instead of “what’s our actual process?”
Ask yourself: - Who needs to approve which documents? - Are approvals sequential (A, then B, then C) or parallel (A, B, and C all at once)? - What happens if someone rejects or requests changes? - What notifications do people want (and which will they ignore)?
Pro tip:
Draw it out on a whiteboard or scrap paper. If it looks like a bowl of spaghetti, simplify. You can always add complexity later.
Step 2: Set Up Your Moxo Workspace
Assuming you’ve got a Moxo account, start by creating a workspace for your legal team or practice area. (If you don’t, sign up and poke around—it’s pretty self-explanatory.)
To create a workspace: 1. Log in to Moxo. 2. Go to “Workspaces” and click “Create.” 3. Name it something obvious, like “Legal Approvals” or “Client Docs.” 4. Add your team members—start small, you can scale up later. 5. Set permissions. Be careful here—don’t give everyone admin rights unless you like chaos.
What works:
Moxo’s workspace model keeps things contained. You can see all the docs, threads, and actions tied to a project or client in one place.
What doesn’t:
Don’t try to cram everything into one workspace. If you do, it’ll get noisy and hard to manage.
Step 3: Build Your Approval Workflow Using Moxo Flows
Moxo’s “flows” is where the automation happens. Think of a flow as a step-by-step recipe: upload a doc → assign to approvers → collect approvals → notify when done.
To build an approval flow: 1. In your workspace, click “Create Flow.” 2. Choose “Document Approval” (or start from scratch if you’re feeling adventurous). 3. Add steps: - Upload Document: Who uploads? (You, client, paralegal?) - Assign Approvers: List people in the right order. You can set sequential or parallel approvals. - Approval Steps: For each approver, add a step. Set deadlines (but be realistic—people hate daily reminder emails). - Notifications: Decide who gets pinged and when. - Final Step: What happens when everyone approves? (Send to client? Archive? Trigger another flow?)
Pro tips: - Use templates for repeatable processes (like contract reviews). - Add clear instructions at each step—don’t assume everyone knows what “review” means. - Test with a real document before rolling out to the whole team.
What to ignore:
Moxo has lots of bells and whistles (custom branding, chat bots). Focus on just getting documents approved efficiently. You can add frills later.
Step 4: Set Up Document Templates and Placeholders
If you’re always moving the same types of documents (NDAs, engagement letters, etc.), use Moxo’s document templates.
Why bother? - Consistent formatting - Fewer mistakes - Faster turnaround
How to create a template: 1. Go to “Templates” in Moxo. 2. Upload a clean version of your doc (leave placeholders for names, dates, etc.). 3. Add fields for signatures, dates, and comments. 4. Save and test by creating a sample approval flow.
Pro tip:
Label everything clearly. “2024 NDA Template (Client)” beats “Doc1_v2_final_FINAL.pdf” every time.
Step 5: Bring Clients (or External Approvers) Into the Loop
If your approval chain includes clients, outside counsel, or third parties, you’ll want to keep it simple for them.
- Use guest access—don’t force clients to sign up for yet another platform if they don’t have to.
- Send clear, direct invites with context (“Please review and sign the attached contract”).
- Limit their permissions. Only give access to what they actually need.
What works:
Moxo keeps a full audit trail, so you can prove who saw and signed what, when. That’s gold if there’s ever a dispute.
What doesn’t:
Don’t expect clients to learn your process. Spell it out. If they stall, follow up with a quick phone call instead of more notifications.
Step 6: Set Up Automated Reminders and Escalations
Approvals stall when people forget or ignore requests. Moxo lets you set up reminders and, if needed, escalation paths (like bumping it up to a manager after X days).
- Set reasonable reminder intervals (daily is overkill; every 2-3 days is good).
- Escalate only when it matters (don’t CC the whole firm on every late approval).
- Keep notifications actionable—“Click here to approve/reject” is better than “You have a task.”
Pro tip:
Check your notification settings before going live. Too many pings and people will ignore them; too few and things get stuck.
Step 7: Test the Whole Flow (Seriously, Don’t Skip This)
Run a dry run with a couple of teammates. Use fake docs if you want. Check for:
- Missing steps or unclear instructions
- People getting stuck or confused
- Delays in notifications
- Audit trail accuracy
Fix the gotchas before using this with actual clients or live contracts. Trust me, it’s easier to tweak now than after something critical falls through.
Step 8: Train Your Team—But Keep It Simple
You don’t need a 50-slide PowerPoint. Just show people: - How to start a flow - How to review and approve/reject - Where to find finished documents - Who to ask if they hit a snag
Maybe record a 5-minute screen share or write a quick cheat sheet. Most folks just need the basics.
What works:
Short, real-world demos. People learn by doing.
What doesn’t:
Long policy documents nobody reads.
Step 9: Review and Adjust Your Workflow as You Go
No process is perfect out of the box. Check back after a few weeks:
- Are things actually moving faster?
- Where are approvals getting stuck?
- Any steps nobody uses (or that everyone skips)?
Tweak your flows. Remove steps that don’t add value. Add clarity where people get tripped up.
Pro tip:
Ask for honest feedback. If your team hates a part of the process, they’ll find workarounds—better to fix it now.
A Few Honest Observations
- Moxo is solid for approvals, but it’s not a magic bullet. If your underlying process is junk, automating it just makes the junk faster.
- Don’t over-automate. If you have a five-person firm, you probably don’t need a flow for every single document type. Start with your biggest pain point.
- Compliance features are handy. Audit trails, timestamps, and version history are built-in. But always double-check if you have specific regulatory requirements.
- Integration is limited. Moxo plays well with email and some file storage, but don’t expect deep connections to every tool you use. Sometimes, you’ll still have to download, upload, or manually enter info.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Automating document approvals in Moxo can save your team hours and prevent costly mistakes—but only if you keep things straightforward. Start small. Nail down one workflow, then expand. Don’t get distracted by shiny features you’ll never use. Tighten up what matters, and keep listening to your team.
If you stick to the basics and don’t overcomplicate things, you’ll wonder why you ever did approvals any other way.