Approval
Approval stops a run until someone says yes. The people asked get an email and a notification, open a page with the items and your note, and approve or decline, with a note of their own if they like. Approved, the run carries on; declined, it stops there, which is not a failure. Everything before the block has already run.
In the editor: Stops the run until someone says yes. They get an email and a notification, look at the items, and approve or decline: approved, the run carries on; declined, it stops here. Everything before this block has already run. A test run does not ask.
Settings
Who approves
Pick oneWho is asked. Any one of them can answer; the first answer counts.
- The flow’s owner The person who owns the flow.
- Organization admins Every admin of the organization; any one of them can answer.
- People I name Members of your organization, by email. Addresses that are not members are left out.
Their email addresses
TextMembers of your organization, separated by commas. Any one of them can answer.
Needed before the flow can run.
Approve
Pick oneOne answer for all the items: approved, they all go on; declined, the run stops here.
- All the items together
- Each item on its own
What to check (optional)
Text, several linesShown to the person who approves, above the items.
The approver can change (optional)
TextWith Each item on its own: the fields the person who approves can rewrite for each item on the approval page, such as email_subject and email_body from an xMap LLM block. Their words are what the blocks after it send.
Fields the person who approves can rewrite for each item before it goes on, such as the email a later step sends. Field names, separated by commas.
Wait for an answer
Pick oneHow long the run waits for an answer.
- 1 day
- 3 days
- 7 days
- 14 days
- 30 days
If nobody answers
Pick oneWhat happens when nobody answers in time.
- Stop the run The run stops at the block: nothing after it runs or is sent.
- Carry on The items go on as if someone had approved.
Also ask on
Pick one- Nowhere else
- Slack
- Telegram
Slack account
An account you connectTelegram bot
An account you connectWhatsApp account
An account you connectChannel or chat
TextThe channel name or ID. Invite the xMap Flows app to a private channel first.
Needed before the flow can run.
What comes out
Each item that leaves the block carries these fields, to use in the blocks after it as {{field}}.
The same items, once approved
Approved (or no answer, with Carry on): the items go on unchanged. Declined: nothing goes on and the run is stopped, not failed.
every field: As the items came in, except the fields the approver rewrote (The approver can change), which carry their new words.the step says: Approved by Sara M.: “Looks good”, Declined by Sara M., or Nobody answered in 3 days, so the run stopped here.
How to use it
The area manager checks before the team
A coffee chain sends a weekly list of new competitors to 40 store managers, but the area manager wants to remove closed or wrong places first.
Before: Store managers got lists with places that had closed.
With the flow: The list goes out once a person has looked at it, usually the same morning.
The head of sales approves the batch
A software company scores leads from events and creates CRM deals, but only after the head of sales has seen the batch.
One answer covers the whole batch; declined, no deal is created.
Check before it goes to the client
An agency sends each client a monthly map of competitors and wants an account manager to check it first.
Before a message goes to the public
A city team prepares a road closures update for a public channel and wants the duty officer to approve each one.
Approve new outlets before the reps call
Both the sheet and the WhatsApp brief wait behind the approval.
A second pair of eyes on a site offer
A developer’s flow drafts an offer email for each plot that scores well; a director approves each one.
Each webhook call is its own run and its own approval, with the plot as the only item.
Good to know
- The approval email has Approve and Decline buttons. Each opens a page that asks to confirm (a mail program that opens links by itself cannot answer), and answers as the person it was sent to. In an organization with an IP allow-list, required two-step sign-in or required company sign-on, the answer is given in the app.
- Only real runs ask. A test run goes straight through and says who a real run would ask.
- The people asked get an email (with a link to the approval page) and a notification in the bell. They can switch the email off in their notification settings; the bell always shows approvals.
- Members asked and organization admins can answer even if they cannot open the flow; others need to see the flow, and cannot answer.
- Who was asked and what they answered stays in the run’s history and the organization’s activity log.
- Carry on now on a waiting run cannot skip an approval. While the flow is paused, its own runs cannot be approved until it is live again.
- A flow with an Approval cannot be run by Run another flow. Items a waiting run holds count as found for Only new.
- Approval is free.
Works well with
- Wait: Holds the items for a while, then lets them carry on: a reminder two days after the first email, or nothing sent before 9 in the morning.
- Only new: Lets through only the items this flow has not found before, so a daily flow sends only what is new.
- Email: Sends one email per run with all the items, or one email per item.
- HubSpot: Powerful CRM that offers tools for sales, customer service, and marketing automation.
- Branch: Splits items in two.
- Filter: Keeps only the items that match a rule.
- xMap LLM: Tell the AI what to do in plain words.
- Run another flow: Runs one of your other flows with the items that reach this block, once with all of them or once for each (a loop), and can carry on with what that flow found.
Templates that use it
- What opened in my patch, on WhatsApp to my buyers: What opened in your patch this week, written up as a short update, approved by you, then sent to your buyers on WhatsApp.
- Full outbound engine: find, research, approve, send: A complete outbound engine: find, research, write the first email, approve, then HubSpot.
- Expansion committee pack, every month: A monthly expansion committee pack: every block scored, the best 20 investigated, approved, mapped.
- Where to build student housing: Universities with the fewest student residences nearby, screened by an AI agent, approved by you, then HubSpot deals.
- Where to open sample collection points: The blocks of your city with the most adults and the fewest labs, scored and approved every month.
- Launch targets: specialist clinics and their directors: Specialist clinics for a launch, prioritised, with the director, a visit note and a medical affairs check.
- Where to open serviced apartments: The blocks where business travellers need serviced apartments, scored and approved.
- Branch network review: which branches the area needs: A monthly review of which branches their area needs, with a note for the committee.
- Approved garage network for my claims team: Garages vetted by an AI agent and scored for your claims network, approved every month.
- Fast charger sites where drivers already stop: Places where drivers already stop, with the fewest chargers, scored and approved.
- Where to open the next phone shop: The most populated blocks with the fewest phone shops, scored and approved.
- Where to put scooter and bike hubs: The blocks for scooter and bike hubs, near stations and people, approved every month.
- Where to open a nursery: The blocks with the most young children and the fewest nurseries, scored and approved.
- Open day ads: the right blocks and the right words: The blocks to target with open day ads, and the ad line for each, approved.
- Where growers need a cold store: Grower areas with the fewest cold stores, scored for a packhouse, approved.
- Land offers, checked from space and the ground: Every plot offered to you checked from space and the ground, scored and approved.
- Where to open the next gym: The blocks with the most adults and the fewest gyms, scored and approved.
- New estate agencies to partner with for conveyancing: New estate agencies with their owners and an approved partnership note.
- Accountants to build a referral network with: Well-rated accountants near you, with a partner and a referral idea.
- New restaurants that need licences and permits: New restaurants each weekday, with an approved offer for licences and permits.
- Event day weather plan, with approval for plan B: An approved weather plan for the event day, sent to the crew.
- Caterers to add to my preferred list: Well-rated caterers near your venue, approved for your preferred list.
- Universities for my career fair partnerships: Universities with their careers lead and an approved invitation.
- Food vendors to invite to my festival: The best food businesses in town, invited to run a stall.
And 53 more in the template gallery.
Stories with it
- A loan officer who sees the street before she lends (Small business lending)
- No guest drags a suitcase past a closed street (Short-term rentals)
- Trusting the road, not doubting the driver (Car insurance)
- Every roadworks claim made on time (Insurance broking)
- A conference proposal in half an hour, not a day (Group travel)
- Pharmacists on shift when the street is busiest (Pharmacies)
Help articles
- Approve before anything goes out: A person says yes, for the whole list or item by item.
- Act from Slack, WhatsApp or Telegram: Approve runs and change a flow without opening the app.
- How much an AI employee does alone: Ask me first, Act and tell me, or Fully on its own: one choice for each employee.
Industries that use it
B2B sales · Retail & franchise · Restaurants & cafes · Real estate · FMCG & distribution · Marketing & agencies · Recruiting & staffing · Logistics & delivery · Healthcare & pharma · Hotels & tourism · Banking & lending · Energy & EV · Construction & facilities · Telecom · Automotive & mobility · Education & training · Agriculture & food supply · Fitness, beauty & wellness · Law & professional services · Events & venues · Non-profits & humanitarian · Environment & climate · E-commerce & D2C · Manufacturing & industrial · Software & tech · Sports clubs & leagues · Pet care & veterinary · Home services & trades · Food delivery & quick commerce · Airports & aviation · Mining, oil & gas · Water & waste utilities · Insurance · Fishing & aquaculture
Try it
Build a flow with Approval on the home page, no account needed, or book a call. Try it live