Manage Approvals like Never Before: More Control and Flexibility in your Approval Processes

Manage Approvals like Never Before: More Control and Flexibility in your Approval Processes

Hello Everyone,

We hope you are doing well!

We are here with exciting enhancements to the approval process of Zoho CRM. The updates provide greater flexibility, transparency, and control over record approvals, empowering you to ensure the right data enters your CRM system.

Here's what's new :
  • Editable Records in Approval : You can now edit records that are pending approval, ensuring their accuracy and up-to-date information before finalizing. Furthermore, you can choose Process Admins to approve records now, adding an extra layer of oversight.

  • Role or Group Approval Flexibility : Selecting roles or groups to approve records now provides the option to grant approval from any user in a group or from all users in the group. When set to Anyone, any user from the group can approve records, and when set to Everyone, approval will be required from every user in the group.

  • Hierarchical Approval Options : When the "Reporting To" hierarchy is selected for your organization, you can now specify whether Anyone or Everyone at higher levels can approve records if the user does not have a reporting manager in your approval processes. This flexible setting lets you align approval flows more precisely with your organization’s hierarchy.
Let's take a look at each of these enhancements in more detail.

Edit records waiting for approval and grant process admins privileges to approve records

Previously, you could not edit any records that's been submitted for approval in the approval process.

Now, you can edit the records that are waiting for approval. This ensures data accuracy can be maintained during the approval process. Updating key details, correcting errors, or adding new information – this enhancement enables you to keep records current before final approval, ensuring the final record reflects the most accurate and up-to-date data. This feature enables teams to work more smoothly, reducing issues caused by locked records. This helps ensure quality and completeness without restarting the approval process.

You can also assign process admins to oversee and approve records in your approval processes, providing a higher level of oversight and control. This capability is especially beneficial for larger teams or complex processes, reducing dependency on specific individuals and enhancing team flexibility, ensuring that approvals are not delayed due to limited access. These process admins can also edit records that are waiting for approval if needed.

If process admin settings are not configured, then any user with the Administrator profile will be able to take over records submitted for approval; however, if process admin settings are configured, only those users selected as process admins can take over a record submitted for approval.

Role or group approval flexibility

You can choose users of different roles or from groups from your organization to approve records in an approval process. Previously, if you select users from Roles or Groups to approve records, then ANYONE can approve the record and it is moved to the next stage.

Now, however, we have introduced an additional option where EVERYONE in the group or with the same role can approve records when the need arises.

For example, in the Zylker Tech organization, there is one CEO, five managers, and 10 executives. Additionally, there is a group of users from various roles. When selecting roles and groups to approve records, and you set the overall approval method as Everyone, you have two options:
  • Choose Anyone from your organization to approve records and move them to the next stage, such as adding new leads from a specific website would require any user's approval.
  • Choose Everyone from a group or with the same role in your organization to approve records, ensuring the entire team's approval is required for the record to move to the next stage, such as a quality check.

Configuring the approval process so that everyone in a group or role must approve a record before it progresses to the next stage helps ensure quality, compliance, and accountability.

Align your records approvals to your organization's hierarchy

You can choose to have either role hierarchy or reporting hierarchy for your organization from Company Settings in your Setup menu. This choice will also have an effect on your approval processes. This means, all existing and new approval processes will adhere to the selected organization's hierarchy.

When your organization follows the 'Reporting' hierarchy, the approval process will also follow the same hierarchy. This means, when you select levels to approve records, the system will choose users from the reporting hierarchy to approve the records.

For example, if your organization has two levels of reporting, and you choose 1st Level, then the user's immediate reporting manager or CEO and Administrators will have to approve the records. However, if you choose the 2nd Level, the user's immediate reporting manager's manager will have to approve the records.

In case you have two or more levels for approvals and you set the overall approval method as Everyone, then for users who do not have a reporting manager, you can choose to select Anyone or Everyone higher up in the hierarchy to approve records or select Anyone or Everyone from the CEO and Administrators to approve records.

Similarly, when your organization follows the 'Role' hierarchy, the approval process will also follow the same hierarchy. This means, when you select levels to approve records, the system will choose users from the role hierarchy to approve the records.

That's it for today, folks! We hope these enhancements provide you with greater control and transparency in managing approvals, simplifying the maintenance of accuracy and accountability across your CRM workflows.

Explore these new features today, and elevate your approval processes to new heights. Read more on how to add approval processes to your workflows from here.

Please feel free to comment below your queries, and we will get back to you at the earliest.

Info
Availability : This enhancement is available for all users in all DCs.



    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts





                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner







                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                              Zoho Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                              • Recent Topics

                                                                                                              • Feature Request: Dynamic Dimension Control for zc_LoadIn Popups

                                                                                                                As detailed in this community discussion, Zoho Creator's zc_LoadIn parameter is a vital tool for opening components (forms, reports, or pages) in modal dialogs via HTML snippets, Notes, or Rich Text Fields. While powerful, this feature suffers from a
                                                                                                              • Process between CRM and Campaigns to ensure double opt-in contacts?

                                                                                                                I would like to ask for a few clarifications to ensure we fully comply with best practices and legal requirements: According to the documentation (Zoho Campaigns CRM sync – Default option), the best and recommended way to sync contacts is by using the
                                                                                                              • Zoho Books - New Interface keep details with PDF View

                                                                                                                Hello, The Zoho Books Interface has changed for estimates etc... One thing is causing issues though. Before the change, in PDF view you could see the detail information including custom fields entered for the estimate. Now, you have to switch between
                                                                                                              • Tip #52- Zoho Assist Downloads: Everything You Need in One Place- 'Insider Insights'

                                                                                                                Looking to start remote support sessions faster, manage unattended devices effortlessly, or join sessions without any hassle? The Zoho Assist Downloads Center has all the tools you need—across desktop, mobile, IoT, and browser environments. With our range
                                                                                                              • Condition based aggregate fields in subforms

                                                                                                                Hello everyone, We're excited to inform you about the latest enhancements made to our aggregate field capabilities in subforms; create aggregate fields based on conditions! An aggregate field is a column on which a mathematical function has been applied.
                                                                                                              • SalesInbox

                                                                                                                Sorry for saying this but SalesInbox is a really mess. BIG FAIL. Bad UX and VERY bad IMAP sync. I don't know how can someone use this to be more productive. It's just the oposite. I'm trying to use SalesInbox for a while but sales people do not have just sales activities so we still have to came back to the mail app anyway. Folders of SalesInbox are not in sync with folders of mail server (wich syncs Ok to mobile) and vice-versa wich leads to double work as now you have to cleanup 3 inboxes (Mail
                                                                                                              • Print labels on selected view

                                                                                                                How can I print labels for select view. Always defaults to ALL contacts when I select View = Mailing Labels. Thanks!!
                                                                                                              • Update CRM Price Books to include volume discounts as per Zoho Books/Inventory

                                                                                                                Once again, Zoho has 3 great products that all store information in different ways (which is not helpful when you attempt to integrate the 3 products - one of the best features of Zoho). Zoho CRM Price Books are basic at best. Zoho Books/Inventory Price
                                                                                                              • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

                                                                                                                The address field will be available exclusively for IN DC users. We'll keep you updated on the DC-specific rollout soon. It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition. Latest update
                                                                                                              • Tip #40- Strengthen Remote Support with IP-based Restrictions in Zoho Assist– ‘Insider Insights’

                                                                                                                Protecting sensitive data and preventing unauthorized access is a top priority for any organization. With IP-based restrictions in Zoho Assist, you can ensure that only users from trusted networks can initiate remote support sessions. Say your IT team
                                                                                                              • Printing Client Lists

                                                                                                                I was looking for a way to print out client lists based on the account. For example if I want all my contacts from company A on one sheet, how would I do this. Moderation Update (3rd December 2025): There are two challenges discussed in this thread. 1.
                                                                                                              • Qwen to be the default open source Generative AI model in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                                Hello everyone, At Zoho Desk, we will make the latest Qwen (30B parameters) the default LLM for our Generative AI features, including Answer Bot, Reply Assistant, and others. As a subsequent step, we will discontinue support for Llama (8B parameters).
                                                                                                              • ZOHO Blueprint and Workflow

                                                                                                                Hi, Correct me if i'm wrong, Blueprint triggers when a record that meets the criteria is created. It follows a specific transition that you will be setting up. Does blueprint work if the first state was triggered by a workflow? For example, In my custom module 1, I have a field named status. The statuses are 1, 2, 3 and 4. As soon as I create a new record, a workflow triggers that updates the status field to 1. Can a blueprint start from 2? My other concern is, can blueprint transitions work at the
                                                                                                              • Is it possible to sync data every 5–10 minutes in Zoho Analytics (CRM or Excel imports)?

                                                                                                                Hello Team, I want to know if Zoho Analytics supports near real-time syncing of data from different sources. My requirements: I am importing data from Zoho CRM → Zoho Analytics I also have some datasets maintained in Excel/CSV I want both data sources
                                                                                                              • Zoho CRM Participants Automatic - Invite Using Deluge

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho! Is there a way to make the invitations automatic via API? I'm using this one but it doesn't work or reflect in the CRM: participantUser = Map(); participantUser.put("type","email"); participantUser.put("participant",email); participantUser.put("invited",
                                                                                                              • Whatsapp Connection Status still "Pending" after migration

                                                                                                                Hello, I migrated my WhatsApp API to Zoho from another provider a day ago. So far the connection status is still “Pending”. There is a problem? How long does it usually take?
                                                                                                              • Work Order Assignment for Engineers Handling Their Own Requests

                                                                                                                I’m setting up FSM for a business where there are multiple engineers, but each engineer handles their own process end-to-end receiving the service request, creating the work order, and completing the field service job. I noticed that I must create an
                                                                                                              • Experience Zoho Show on Mac now!

                                                                                                                Work today isn’t tied to a single place, time, or routine. It happens in cafes between meetings, on flights, or late at night when ideas strike. And when ins, your tools need to be ready, wherever you are. That’s why we built the Zoho Show app for Mac.
                                                                                                              • 【開催報告】東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.4 | Zoho CRM 自動化のコツ ・Bookings のビジネス活用シーンとおすすめ機能を紹介

                                                                                                                ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 11月28日(金)に新橋で「東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.4」を開催しました。ご参加くださったユーザーの皆さま、ありがとうございました。ユーザー交流会の年内開催は、今回が最後でした。 この投稿では、当日のセッションの様子や使用した資料を紹介しています。残念ながら当日お越しいただけなかった方も、ぜひチェックしてみてください😊 ユーザー活用事例セッション:関数やクライアントスクリプトまで、CRMをもっと便利に Zoho CRM には、ワークフローやブループリントなど、さまざまな自動化に役立つ標準機能が備わっています。さらに、関数(Deluge)のようにスクリプトを記述して高度な自動化を実現することもできます。
                                                                                                              • Kiosk Button Actions

                                                                                                                I need to add an action to a Kiosk Button to loop me back to start the kiosk again and I am not sure what that looks like (function, etc.).
                                                                                                              • [Webinar] Automate generation of wills, trusts, POAs, and other estate planning documents with Zoho Writer

                                                                                                                Managing the lifecycle of the estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, and POAs, from client intake to final storage, can be complex and time-consuming. Join our live webinar to learn how Zoho Writer transforms this process by automating document
                                                                                                              • Dependent drop-downs... how?

                                                                                                                Good day. I have 2 different situations where I need a dependent drop-down field. First is for a subform, where I want to show related fields for a specific customer on the main form. In my case it is a parent whose children make use of our school transport
                                                                                                              • Reporting Limitation on Lead–Product Relation in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                                I noticed that Zoho CRM has a default Products related list under Leads. However, when I try to create a report for Lead–Product association, I’m facing some limitations. To fix this, I’m considering adding a multi-lookup field along with a custom related
                                                                                                              • Series Label in the Legend

                                                                                                                My legend reads 'Series 1' and 'Series 2'. From everything I read online, Zoho is supposed to change the data names if it's formatted correctly. I have the proper labels on the top of the columns and the right range selected. I assume it's something in
                                                                                                              • Dynamic Signature - Record owner

                                                                                                                Hi everyone, I’m using Zoho Writer merge templates from Zoho CRM and have two questions: Owner signature: How can I automatically insert the CRM record owner’s signature in the merged document? I’m not sure where this signature is stored or how to reference
                                                                                                              • Set Warehouse based on Vendor

                                                                                                                Greetings. I would like to set automaticaly the Warehouse based on the Vendor. Context: I am working on an adaptation of a Purchase Order to be used as a Quotation. I have defined that when a user has to raise a quote the Vendor will be "PROCUREMENT" I would like to set the Warehouse to a predefined value when "PROCUREMENT" is set as Vendor. I have tried to do with the Automation feature using the Field Update option, but Warehouse does not is listed as a field. Can you help? Thanks in advance.
                                                                                                              • Printing from Zoho Creator hosted on my own server to printers hosted on my clients local network

                                                                                                                Hello. Fairly new to Zoho Creator and looking for best options to be able to print from my application hosted on my own server to any printer hosted on my clients own local network. Any advice is welcome. Thank you.
                                                                                                              • Add System Pre-Defined Lookup Field to Subform?

                                                                                                                Hi there! New to using Zoho, so this may already exist, but I'm having trouble figuring it out. Is there a way to get the system pre-defined Account Lookup field (in our case, renamed to Company Name), as the starting point for a subform? In our company,
                                                                                                              • Numbered / bullet point List in Zho Cliq

                                                                                                                Hi, is there a way to format chat messages in Cliq like this Topic 1 Hey, I finished this project yesterday etc... Topic 2 I am still working on this etc...
                                                                                                              • Cannot Access Subform Display Order in Deluge

                                                                                                                As highlighted in this community post, we still have to deal with the significant limitation of not being able to access the user-sorted order of subform rows through Deluge. This creates a major disconnect between the UI capabilities and backend automation,
                                                                                                              • How many groups in Zoho Mail can I make?

                                                                                                                I'm currently on the free plan, which has a limit of 10 users. Does that limit includes groups too? If not, what is the limit for groups? Thanks!
                                                                                                              • Feature Suggestion for Zoho Social: Auto-reply to Comments or Keywords

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho team, I'd like to suggest a very specific feature that would be extremely helpful for customer engagement: the ability to automatically send a reply to comments on posts — either all comments or those containing specific keywords. For example,
                                                                                                              • My domain did not activate

                                                                                                                Hi, my domain (apsaindustrial.com.ar) did not activate, and the phone verification message never arrived. Please would you solve this problem? Thanks.
                                                                                                              • Already have Zoho account. Not letting me log in

                                                                                                                I already have a Zoho account that is associated with my Google email and my phone number. Even though I'm already logged in to Zoho, when I click on the mail icon to access my email, it takes me to the pricing page. When I click on the free option, it
                                                                                                              • ZOHO Mail App Not working

                                                                                                                There seems to be an issue with Zoho Mail App today. It is not connecting to server, internet is working fine, tried uninstalling app and reinstalling, loading circle keeps spinning round. Is there an update on the way?
                                                                                                              • facing error 550 5.4.6 while sending emails

                                                                                                                Please help me fix this issue
                                                                                                              • Allow Itemization for Recurring Expenses

                                                                                                                For whatever reason, one cannot itemize a Recurring Expense. This capability should be added. The use cases to support this are largely the same as what they were to allow for itemization in Expenses. Anything that would need to be itemized for a regular
                                                                                                              • Zoho reply to not working. just reply to my self

                                                                                                                Hello. i using on my wordpress website a contact form from Wsform. i can set the reply to email there. normally it works. but since i am using your wordpress plugin zoho mail it doesn`t work. its not using the reply to (email from customer). I just can
                                                                                                              • Painfully Slow Zoho mail

                                                                                                                Since yesterday Zoho Mail seems to have starting functioning very slowly and having a few bugs. It's slow to open mails, slow to send, slow to change between email accounts. Sometimes clicking on a particular folder (eg Sent folder) stops working and
                                                                                                              • Can't receive any email from other platform

                                                                                                                Hello,everyone, i'm just join zoho and create two email accounts for my own business. I was using it to get a verified email from stripe, but can't receive it. and I use my private gmail account to send test email twice, first time show below reply, but
                                                                                                              • Next Page