Why Zoho Contracts Prefers Structured Approvals Over Ad-hoc Approvals

Why Zoho Contracts Prefers Structured Approvals Over Ad-hoc Approvals

Approvals are one of the most important stages in a contract’s lifecycle. They determine whether a contract moves forward, gets revised, or needs further discussion. The approval process also defines accountability within the organization.

Zoho Contracts uses structured approval workflows instead of ad-hoc approvals. This decision was made to maintain consistency, control, and compliance as organizations grow.

1. The Pitfalls of Ad-hoc Approvals

In an ad-hoc process, the contract owner decides who will approve the document and in what order. While this may seem flexible at first, it often creates several challenges:
  1. Different contract owners may set up different approval paths.
  2. There is no fixed standard for review, leading to inconsistency.
  3. Unpredictable timelines when the right stakeholders are not included early.
  4. Skipped approvals caused by the bypassing of key reviewers for convenience or urgency
  5. Inconsistent decision quality creating bias across similar contracts.
  6. Tracking approvals becomes difficult as the organization scales.
  7. Compliance risks increase due to lack of traceable workflows.
  8. Reduced trust in the process as approvers begin to feel arbitrary.
Over time, this flexibility can result in confusion, delays, and missed accountability, especially in larger teams.

2. The Benefits of Structured Approval Workflows

To overcome these issues, Zoho Contracts allows administrators to define approval workflows at the organization level. Each workflow specifies the approval path, the approvers involved, and whether the process should be sequential or parallel.

This structured approach ensures that:
  1. Every contract follows a consistent review process.
  2. Approvals are properly recorded and auditable.
  3. Decision-making is faster and more transparent.
  4. Compliance standards are automatically enforced.
By standardizing approvals, organizations can grow without worrying about loss of control or uneven processes.

3. Balancing Flexibility and Governance

While structured workflows create order, Zoho Contracts still allows controlled flexibility.

Administrators can configure multiple workflow variations for different contract types. This allows room for flexibility without losing oversight. In other words, governance remains consistent while still meeting diverse business needs.

Ad-hoc approvals may look convenient, but they create inconsistencies and accountability gaps.

Zoho Contracts uses structured workflows to bring:
  1. Uniformity across contract approvals.
  2. Clear audit trails for compliance.
  3. Scalable processes that work across teams and departments.

This approach ensures every approval decision is transparent, traceable, and in line with organizational policies. As organizations scale, approval processes need to shift from “whoever decides” to “what the system enforces.” Because when structure supports speed, you get both efficiency and confidence. And when approvals are traceable, accountable, and consistent, the business moves forward with far less risk.

The system already supports governed approval paths through parallel and sequential workflows. Moving toward conditional approvals is part of strengthening this design philosophy.


Stay tuned for How Zoho Contracts Makes Negotiations Clear, Secure, and Transparent.