How ApproveThis + Skhokho Cuts Approval Chaos (Without the Headaches)

When Business Tools Play Nice, Everyone Wins

Let’s get real: approval processes are where productivity goes to die. You’ve got invoices stuck in accounting limbo, expense reports buried under "reply-all" email chains, and project kickoffs delayed because someone’s manager is on vacation. Meanwhile, Skhokho’s sitting there handling your CRM, HR, and accounting like a champ – but it can’t magically fix the human bottleneck in your workflows. That’s where ApproveThis comes in.

By connecting Skhokho to ApproveThis via Zapier, you’re not just automating tasks – you’re removing the “Hey, did you see my email?” follow-ups, the spreadsheet trackers nobody updates, and the 3-day delays for a 30-second “yes.” Think of it as giving your Skhokho data a direct hotline to the people who need to sign off on it. No extra logins, no license fees for external approvers, and no more chasing down decisions.

Where This Combo Hits Different

Skhokho’s great at recording business data – invoices, expenses, client details. ApproveThis is great at acting on it. Together, they turn “record → wait → nag → repeat” into “record → auto-route → approve → done.” Here’s why that matters:

For Finance Teams: No More Invoice Black Holes

Scenario: Your sales team closes a deal in Skhokho’s CRM. An invoice gets generated automatically. Instead of emailing it to the CFO and hoping they’re not in back-to-backs, ApproveThis:

• Triggers a Zapier workflow to create an approval request with the invoice details
• Routes it to the right approver based on amount (using approval thresholds)
• Sends automatic reminders if it’s stuck

Real-world win: A marketing agency reduced invoice approval time from 5 days to 8 hours by auto-routing invoices over $10k to their CFO and smaller ones to department heads. Bonus: approvers could reject directly from their inbox without logging into Skhokho.

For HR & Operations: Expense Reports That Don’t Suck

Scenario: Employees submit expenses via Skhokho. Instead of managers manually checking receipts against policies, ApproveThis:

• Checks amounts against pre-set thresholds (auto-approving compliant claims)
• Flags outliers for human review
• Uses calculated fields to verify mileage rates or per diems

Real-world win: A construction company cut expense processing time by 60% by auto-approving 80% of submissions that met policy. Only exceptions required manual review.

For Project Managers: No Approval, No Problem

Scenario: A client contract gets approved in ApproveThis. Instead of someone manually creating a Skhokho project, the integration:

- Automatically spins up a project with client details, scope, and deadlines
- Adds the approved contract PDF to the project docs
- Notifies the assigned PM via Slack

Real-world win: A software dev team reduced project setup from 2 days to 15 minutes by linking contract approvals to project creation.

The Secret Sauce (Beyond Basic Automation)

ApproveThis doesn’t just forward Skhokho data – it adds layers of logic most approval tools miss:

Approval Thresholds That Actually Work

Set rules like “Auto-approve invoices under $5k if submitted by department heads” or “Route all travel expenses over $2k to CFO + legal.” Skhokho tracks the numbers, ApproveThis enforces the rules.

“Out of Office” Isn’t a Roadblock Anymore

With vacation delegation, if your VP of Finance is skiing in the Alps, requests automatically reroute to their backup. No more waiting for someone to check their email from the ski lift.

Approvals That Live in Your Tools (Not Another Dashboard)

Approvers get requests via email with one-click approve/reject. Clients or contractors don’t need Skhokho licenses – they just need an inbox.

Setting This Up Without the Usual Hassle

If you can set up a Slack channel, you can connect Skhokho + ApproveThis:

1. Pick your trigger: New Skhokho invoice/expense/client? Or an ApproveThis decision that needs to update Skhokho?
2. Map the data: Link Skhokho fields to ApproveThis requests (e.g., invoice amount → approval threshold).
3. Set routing rules: Who approves what, in which order, with what criteria.
4. Test with a real request: Start with a $1 expense to avoid accidental chaos.

Who Actually Cares? (Team-Specific Wins)

Finance: Close books faster with audit trails showing who approved what, when, and why. Integrate with accounting software post-approval.

HR: Auto-approve PTO requests under 3 days, route extended leaves to department heads. Sync approved requests to payroll.

Sales: Instant client onboarding when contracts get approved. No more “I thought you created their Skhokho profile?”

Bottom Line: Approval Processes Shouldn’t Be a Part-Time Job

Connecting Skhokho and ApproveThis isn’t about fancy tech – it’s about fixing the crap that wastes your team’s time. The “where’s that request?” searches. The “can you re-send the doc?” emails. The 10% of exceptions that hold up 90% of your work.

If your approval workflows feel like herding cats, it’s time to stop adding more tools and start connecting the ones you have. Book a demo to see how it works, or start a free trial and build your first Zap in under 20 minutes.