If you’re looking to simplify decision-making in your business processes, FormAssembly’s approvals feature in Workflow is a powerful tool that brings clarity, consistency, and automation to complex steps.
Watch the clip below from our annual virtual user conference, FormFest 2025, to learn how to set up approvals, or read on for a step-by-step overview.
Who Uses Approvals in Workflows?
Before diving in, it’s helpful to understand the two main user roles involved in building workflows:
- Workflow Builders: These are FormAssembly users responsible for designing and configuring the workflow, including the approval step itself.
- Approvers: These are designated users within your FormAssembly instance who are responsible for approving or denying specific steps in a workflow via their dashboard.
Now let’s break down how to configure this feature.
Step 1: Add Your Form to a Workflow
To get started, navigate to your FormAssembly home screen. Any user on a Teams or higher plan will have access to the Workflow builder.
- Choose to create a new workflow or clone an existing one.
- Name your workflow and select the form you’d like to use.
- When configuring the form step, you can import existing settings from the form — such as thank you messages, redirect URLs, and email notifications — to save time and avoid redundant setup.
Step 2: Insert an Approval Step
Once your form is added to the workflow:
- Hover over the workflow line and click the blue plus icon to insert a new step.
- Select the Approval step.
- You’ll see two paths branch out — one for approval and one for denial. This setup lets you control what happens based on the approver’s response, whether it’s triggering another form, sending data elsewhere, or continuing the process seamlessly within FormAssembly.
Step 3: Configure the Approval Settings
Now it’s time to set the approval conditions:
- Form Selection: Choose which form data the approver will review.
- Data Visibility: Workflow allows data to flow between forms, so approvers can see relevant information collected earlier.
- Comments: Enable and require approver comments if needed.
- Approver Assignment:
- Assign one or multiple approvers.
- Choose whether the first response resolves the request or set an approval threshold (e.g., 2 out of 3 must approve).
This flexibility allows you to match the workflow to your organization’s exact decision-making process.
Step 4: Customize Approver Notifications
Next, set up the email notification approvers will receive:
- Customize fields like requester name, reply-to address, and email body.
- Use the formula editor (noted by the blue “f” icon) to include dynamic values from the form – such as the name of the person who submitted the request – for added clarity and context.
Step 5: Approve or Deny in the Dashboard
Once the approval step is live:
- Approvers will receive a notification email with a link to the approval task.
- They can log in (or use an active session) to view and respond to the request immediately.
- All pending and completed approvals are tracked in a centralized approvals dashboard, making it easy for approvers to manage their tasks in one place.
Simplify Decision-Making with Approvals
With FormAssembly approvals, you no longer need to rely on external systems or manual follow-ups for mission-critical decisions. You can build efficient, dynamic workflows that involve the right people at the right time, all within the FormAssembly platform.
Ready to streamline your approval process? Start building your next workflow today!
