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Custom Approvals Use Case

This article walks you through how to set up a secondary approval flow using tables, permissions, and automations.

Written by Ben Feldman
Updated over 4 months ago

In some cases, employee requests need to go through multiple levels of approval. For example, when employees apply for additional training, the request may need approval from their manager and then the finance team.

Step 1: Create a Training Request Table

  1. Go to your People Directory.

  2. Click the three dots in the top-right corner and select Manage Employee Fields.

  3. Navigate to the relevant tab.

  4. Add a new section → choose Table.

    • Name the table.

  5. Add the following columns:

    • Training Name (Text field) – to be completed by the employee.

    • Manager Approval (Checkbox).

    • Finance Approval (Checkbox).

This table will act as the central place where requests and approvals are recorded.

Step 2: Set Permissions

You’ll need to configure permissions so each role can access only what they need e.g.

  • Employees:

    • Edit: Training Name.

    • View only: Manager Approval, Finance Approval.

  • Managers:

    • Edit: Manager Approval.

  • Finance:

    • Edit: Finance Approval.

To set this up:

  1. Go to Permissions.

  2. Select the relevant permission role.

  3. Under the relevant tab, adjust each column’s access level.

  4. Save your changes.

Step 3: Build Automations

Now that the table and permissions are ready, you can set up notifications to ensure the right people are alerted at the right time.

Automation 1: Notify Manager

  • Trigger: When Training Name changes.

  • Action: Send an email to the employee’s Manager (dynamic person field).

This ensures the correct manager is notified for each employee.

Automation 2: Notify Finance

  • Trigger: When Manager Approval changes.

  • Action: Send an email to the Finance team (or a specific finance approver).

This way, once the manager approves, Finance is automatically notified to complete their part.

Final Result

Here’s how the flow works end-to-end:

  1. Employee enters a Training Name.

  2. The Manager receives a notification and updates the Manager Approval checkbox.

  3. Once approved, the Finance team receives a notification and updates the Finance Approval checkbox.

This ensures a smooth, step-by-step approval process without manual chasing. You’ve now set up a secondary approval workflow for training requests!

For any questions, feel free to reach out to support@shapes.co

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