ApproveThis manages your ClayHR Integration approvals.

Why This Integration Isn’t Just Another HR “Solution”

Let’s cut through the noise: most HR software promises efficiency but delivers a maze of manual processes. ClayHR handles the heavy lifting of employee data, onboarding, and performance reviews. ApproveThis does one thing exceptionally well – getting decisions made faster. Together, they turn “waiting for approval” from a company-wide inside joke into an actual process that works.

Think about how many HR tasks get stuck because someone forgot to click “approve.” Now imagine those approvals happening automatically when certain conditions are met, with full visibility into who’s holding things up. That’s what happens when you connect ClayHR’s people operations with ApproveThis’s approval logic through Zapier.

Where ClayHR Ends and ApproveThis Begins

ClayHR organizes your HR chaos – tracking PTO requests, storing employee records, managing performance feedback. But when a decision needs to happen (Is this expense report legit? Can we schedule the final interview? Should this promotion go through?), that’s where most HR platforms tap out. ApproveThis picks it up from there with:

• Conditional approval chains (Example: auto-approve PTO under 3 days, escalate to department heads over 5 days)
• Real-time tracking that even shows Janet in accounting why her invoice is stuck waiting for Bob’s signature

Key differentiator: Approvers don’t need a ClayHR license. Huge for involving external partners or executives who shouldn’t be digging through your HR platform.

Real-World Use Cases That Don’t Suck

1. Performance Reviews That Actually Get Reviewed

The Problem: Managers write feedback in ClayHR, then it collects digital dust waiting for HR sign-off. The Fix: Auto-trigger an approval workflow in ApproveThis when new feedback is logged. HR gets a clear task: “Approve/Deny by Friday.” No more digging through ClayHR notifications.

Who benefits: Mid-sized tech companies where engineers give peer feedback that needs VP review before being added to official records.

2. PTO Requests That Respect the Chain of Command

The Problem: ClayHR tracks time off, but approvals get messy when department leads travel. The Fix: When ApproveThis approves a leave request, it auto-creates the ClayHR record. If the manager’s OOO, ApproveThis bumps it to their deputy without HR lifting a finger.

Who benefits: Retail chains where store managers approve time-off but need district manager input during holiday blackout periods.

3. Interview Scheduling That Doesn’t Ghost Candidates

The Problem: Recruiters schedule first-round interviews in ClayHR, then play phone tag with hiring managers to confirm. The Fix: New interview in ClayHR = approval request in ApproveThis. Hiring managers get an email: “Approve this interview time within 24 hours or we’ll assume you’re fine with whatever.”

Who benefits: Agencies juggling multiple clients where forgetting to confirm an interview could burn a client relationship.

4. Expense Reports That Finance Doesn’t Hate

The Problem: ClayHR holds the expense data, but approvers need context. The Fix: New expense report triggers an ApproveThis workflow with conditional rules: under $500? Auto-approved. Over $1K? Route to CFO with detailed breakdown. Approval decision logs back in ClayHR.

Who benefits: Consulting firms where partners need to approve project-specific expenses without being ClayHR power users.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

If you’ve used Zapier before, this is a 15-minute setup:

1. Connect ClayHR and ApproveThis to your Zapier account
2. Pick a trigger from ClayHR (new feedback, interview, expense report, etc.)
3. Set the action as “Create Request” in ApproveThis
4. Map the key fields (employee ID, amount, dates)

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis’s calculated fields to auto-flag requests that need extra scrutiny. Example: If a ClayHR expense report exceeds the department’s monthly budget (pulled via Zapier from your accounting software), route it to a specific approval group.

Why Your Teams Will Actually Use This

For HR:

Stop being the approval police. Instead of chasing down managers, set up escalation rules in ApproveThis. If a performance review approval is pending for 48 hours, automatically notify the manager’s supervisor. Your SLA compliance just became automatic.

For Finance:

Expense reports get approved according to actual policy, not who’s friends with whom. Set thresholds so anything over $5K requires CFO approval, but under $500 is auto-rubber-stamped. The audit trail in ApproveThis makes quarterly reviews less painful.

For Managers:

Approve things from your inbox without logging into yet another system. ApproveThis’s email-based approvals mean you can handle a PTO request between meetings without getting sucked into ClayHR.

The Hidden Benefit Nobody Talks About

This integration turns approval data into something you can actually analyze. Since ApproveThis tracks how long each step takes, you’ll spot bottlenecks like “Budget approvals take 30% longer in Q4” or “Marketing’s vendor contracts stall at legal.” ClayHR holds the data; ApproveThis shows you where your process is broken.

Limitations to Know About (No BS)

This isn’t a magic wand. If your ClayHR data is messy (duplicate employee records, outdated approval roles), those issues will carry over. Pro advice: Clean up your ClayHR groups/roles before connecting. Also, complex approval chains (e.g., “Approve only if 3/5 team leads agree”) require ApproveThis’s premium tier.

Ready to Stop Delegating to Email Chains?

If you’re using ClayHR, you’re already halfway to fixing approval chaos. Adding ApproveThis via Zapier is like giving your HR ops team a veto-proof system that actually scales. No more “I didn’t see the email” excuses. No more finance vs. HR blame games. Just approvals that happen like they’re supposed to.

Register for ApproveThis and use the ClayHR integration template, or schedule a demo to see how conditional approvals work with your specific HR policies.