Introduction:
Sales teams, HR departments, and finance units face repetitive manual approval steps that slow operations. The Salesforce Approval Process is a powerful automation tool enabling you to automate complex review flows. It streamlines decisions—such as discount approvals, expense claims, leave requests—making your operations more efficient, transparent, and auditable.
This guide will walk you through everything: from planning requirements to building multi-step logic, integrating with Flows, ensuring permissions, reporting dashboards, and advanced error handling—all optimized for both user understanding and search visibility.
Why Use Salesforce Approval Processes?
Implementing an Approval Process in Salesforce is more than just automating record approvals. It brings efficiency, transparency, and governance to your business workflows. Instead of relying on manual emails, chats, or spreadsheets, approvals are handled in a systematic and auditable manner.
Here are the key benefits:
1. Efficiency
- Eliminates manual email chains and follow‑ups
- Automatically routes records to the right approvers based on criteria
- Reduces approval cycle time, accelerating sales, HR, or finance operations
2. Accuracy
- Enforces standardized decision logic for all approvals
- Reduces human errors by following predefined rules
- Ensures that approvals always match business policies
3. Auditability
- Every approver, action, and timestamp is recorded in the Approval History
- Simplifies audit processes and provides clear visibility into decision‑making
- Supports regulatory and compliance reporting
4. Compliance
- Automatically enforces company policies and approval thresholds
- Helps meet legal and regulatory requirements by maintaining traceable approvals
- Ensures unauthorized changes are prevented through record locking
5. Scalability
- Works across standard objects (e.g., Opportunity, Case) and custom objects
- Supports multi‑step, parallel, and conditional approvals as your business grows
Flexible enough to integrate with Flows, Process Builder, and external systems.
Planning & Prerequisites
Before building an approval process in Salesforce, it’s important to set up the essentials. Proper planning ensures the process runs smoothly and meets business goals.
1. Define the Use Case
Clearly outline when and why the approval is needed.
Example: Approvals for Opportunity discounts over $100K.
2. Choose the Right Object
Decide if you’re using a:
- Standard Object (e.g., Opportunity, Case)
- Custom Object (e.g., Leave_Request__c)
3. Create Key Fields
Add custom fields for tracking and assignment:
- Approval Status (Picklist: Draft, Pending, Approved, Rejected, Recalled)
- Approver Lookup Fields (e.g., Manager__c, Finance_Head__c)
4. Prepare Supporting Elements
Make sure the following are ready:
- Email Templates for approval alerts
- Validation Rules to prevent unauthorized changes
- Page Layout Updates to show approval fields
Flow or Process Builder (if pre-checks are needed)
Step‑by‑Step Setup of Approval Process in Salesforce
Setting up an approval process in Salesforce involves a series of steps to define when a record should be routed, who approves it, and what actions should occur at each stage. Follow these steps to create a smooth and compliant approval workflow.
1. Define Entry Criteria
Decide when a record should enter the approval process.
Example:Amount > 100000 AND Stage = “Proposal/Price Quote”
Only records meeting this condition will trigger the process.
2. Set Initial Submission Actions
When a record is submitted:
- Update Approval_Status__c to Pending
- Notify the first approver via email alert
Lock the record to prevent edits (optional)
3. Defining Approval Steps
Use Standard Setup Wizard for fixed flows; Jump Start Wizard for simple one‑step cases. For complex logic, use sequential or parallel steps:
- Step 1: Manager approval if amount ≤ $250K, else goes to Step 2
- Step 2: Finance approval for amounts > $250K
4 Configure Actions for Approval & Rejection
At each step configure:
- Approval Actions (field updates, email, task)
- Rejection Actions (set status, notify owner)
- Final Actions:
- On full approval: set status = Approved, send notification, unlock record
- On final rejection: set status = Rejected, flag record.
Ensure recall functionality is enabled if users may withdraw submissions.
5. Test and Activate
Always test in Sandbox before production:
- Submit a test record
- Approve and reject paths
- Verify email alerts, escalations, and delegated approvals.
After testing, activate the process in production
Advanced Configuration
Salesforce Approval Processes can be enhanced with advanced features to handle complex business scenarios efficiently. These settings help automate multi‑team approvals, fallback logic, and integration with flows for full process control.
Multi‑Step & Parallel Approvals
Use multi‑step or parallel approvals to allow different departments (e.g., Sales, Engineering, Finance) to review records:
- Sequential approvals: Each step occurs after the previous one is approved.
- Parallel approvals: Multiple teams approve simultaneously to save time.
- Conditional branching: Route approvals based on criteria like deal size or region.
Delegated Approvers & Escalation Rules
Ensure no approval request gets stuck by configuring fallback logic:
- Delegated Approvers: Assign a backup approver if the primary is unavailable.
- Escalation Rules: Use time‑based logic or flows to auto‑reassign requests after X hours/days.
Flow / Process Builder Integration
Integrate Flow or Process Builder to automate tasks before and after approval:
- Pre‑approval: Auto‑submit for approval or update fields (e.g., update Discount__c if > 40% before submission).
- Post‑approval: Trigger follow‑up actions like creating tasks, sending emails, or dispatching outbound messages.
This advanced setup ensures your Salesforce Approval Process is robust, scalable, and aligned with complex enterprise requirements.
Security & Permissions
Configuring security and permissions is crucial to ensure that only the right users can access and act on approval records in Salesforce. Proper settings also maintain data integrity and compliance.
Field‑Level Security (FLS)
Make sure approvers can view all required fields to make informed decisions.
- Grant Read access to critical fields like Amount, Status, and Comments.
- Restrict sensitive fields to only the necessary profiles or permission sets.
Sharing Rules
Set up sharing rules so that approvers can access submitted records:
- Open access for managers, finance teams, or other approvers.
- Use role hierarchy and sharing rules to maintain visibility without overexposure.
Administrator Override Controls
Define who can edit or override records during the approval process:
- Typically, only Admins or record owners can unlock or recall submissions.
- Prevents accidental changes and maintains process integrity.
Approval History & Transparency
Add the Approval History related list to the page layout:
- Displays submission dates, approvers, and decision outcomes.
- Increases auditability and transparency for compliance reporting.
Monitoring, Reporting & Troubleshooting
Monitoring your Salesforce Approval Process ensures smooth operation, fast approvals, and better compliance. Reporting and troubleshooting help you identify bottlenecks and fix issues proactively.
Approval History & Dashboards
Use Approval History and Dashboards to track performance:
- Approval History Related List
- Add it to record layouts to track submission date, approvers, and actions.
- Helps identify where approvals are delayed.
- Reports for Insights
Build reports to monitor:- Pending approvals by user
- Average time to approval
- Volume of approvals by stage
- Dashboards for Management
Create dashboards with widgets to:- Visualize bottlenecks
- Track high‑value pending approvals
- Monitor overall approval efficiency
Common Issues & Fixes
Use the table below to troubleshoot frequent approval process issues:
| Problem | Solution |
| Approval not triggered | Review entry criteria and submit permissions |
| No notification email | Check email template is active, and alerts enabled |
| Approver is unavailable | Set delegated approver or escalation logic |
| Status field not updated | Verify field update actions in the workflow |
Use Cases & Examples
a) Sales – High Value Deal Approval
Entry criteria: Amount > 100K, Stage = Proposal Steps: Sales Manager → VP of Sales Actions: Status updates, email notifications, email chained reminders.b) HR – Leave or Expense Approval
Custom object Leave_Request__c Entry: Request length > 5 days → Manager review; > 10 days → HR Approver dynamic from lookup field Manager__c Multi-step serial depending on duration.c) Finance – Budget Approval
Budget_Request__c Entry: Amount > 50K Parallel approval by Finance Manager and Compliance Team (queue-based).Entry‑Criteria Mapping Table
| Object | Criteria | Approver(s) |
| Opportunity | Amount > 100K | Manager → VP Sales |
| Expense_Request__c | Amount > 5K | Manager → Finance Director |
| Leave_Request__c | Days > 5 | Manager only |
Conclusion
A well‑designed Salesforce Approval Process ensures that approvals are consistent, timely, and compliant with your organization’s governance policies. It reduces operational delays, enforces approval hierarchy, and improves user satisfaction.
By combining:
- Clear entry criteria
- Structured approval steps
- Flow/Process Builder integration
- Robust monitoring and reporting
your business gains built‑in transparency, audit readiness, and seamless decision‑making.
At SDLC Corp, we help organizations design, optimize, and implement Salesforce Approval Processes tailored to Sales, HR, Finance, and enterprise workflows. With our expertise, your approvals become smarter, faster, and fully aligned with business needs.
FAQ'S
Q1: Can I create multiple approval processes on one object?
Yes. You can create multiple approval processes for the same object by using distinct entry criteria. This ensures that each process handles different scenarios without overlapping approvals.
Q2: What happens if an approver is unavailable?
Use delegated approvers or escalation rules. Salesforce can automatically reassign pending approvals after a defined period to avoid delays and maintain business continuity.
Q3: Can users recall their submission?
Yes. Enable the Recall Approval Request option in the approval process settings. This allows record owners to withdraw and resubmit requests if changes are needed before final approval.
Q4: Can approval steps be conditional?
Absolutely. Salesforce allows step‑specific criteria, such as deal size, record type, or region, to determine which approvers are required for each stage.
Q5: Does it work with custom objects?
Yes. Approval processes fully support both standard objects (like Opportunity or Case) and custom objects created for your specific business workflows.
Q6: How can I integrate Flows into approval logic?
Use Flow Builder to:
- Auto‑submit records meeting specific conditions
- Pre‑process data before routing approvals
- Trigger post‑approval actions like tasks, notifications, or outbound messages
This makes your approval process dynamic and fully automated.
Q7: How can I track and report on approval progress?
Use the Approval History related list and custom reports to monitor progress:
- Track pending approvals, average approval time, and rejection reasons
- Build dashboards to visualize bottlenecks and efficiency metrics
- Combine reporting with time-based reminders for proactive follow‑ups
