When Fax Meets Approval Workflows, Magic Happens
Let’s be real: faxing isn’t dead. In industries like healthcare, legal, and finance, it’s still the go-to for secure document exchange. But here’s the problem – faxing often lives in its own little world, disconnected from the approval processes that actually make businesses move. That’s where ApproveThis and Fax.Plus come in. When you connect these two through Zapier, you’re not just automating tasks. You’re building a bridge between the “this needs to get signed” chaos and the “let’s actually get it done” reality.
The Nuts and Bolts of the Integration
ApproveThis handles the messy approval workflows – think multi-step sign-offs, conditional logic, and automatic routing. Fax.Plus deals with the secure sending and receiving of sensitive documents. Together, they solve two critical problems: getting decisions made faster and keeping physical/digital document trails intact. No more “I never saw that fax” or “Who needs to approve this?” back-and-forth.
Key Features Working Behind the Scenes
ApproveThis brings approval thresholds (auto-approve invoices under $5k?), calculated fields (automatically tally contract values), and vacation delegation (no approval bottlenecks when someone’s OOO). Fax.Plus delivers HIPAA-compliant faxing, cloud storage for sent/received documents, and team inboxes. Combine them, and you’ve got a system where documents and decisions actually talk to each other.
Real-World Use Cases That Don’t Suck
This isn’t about hypothetical “increase productivity!” claims. Let’s talk about actual scenarios where this integration turns headache-inducing processes into quiet background operations:
1. Healthcare: Patient Records That Don’t Get Lost in Shuffle
A clinic receives a faxed patient referral. Normally, this would get printed, walked to a manager for approval, then filed. With the integration? Fax.Plus detects the new document, triggers an ApproveThis workflow, and routes it to the right department head via email. Approval happens in two clicks, and the referral is automatically logged in the EHR system. No paper, no lost files, no HIPAA nightmares.
2. Legal Teams: Stop Chasing Physical Signatures
Law firms dealing with NDAs or contract amendments can auto-send approved drafts via fax without leaving ApproveThis. Partner approves the doc internally via email? Zapier triggers Fax.Plus to shoot it over to the client’s fax machine. Bonus: All versions are tracked in ApproveThis with timestamps – crucial for audit trails.
3. Finance Departments: Invoice Approvals That Don’t Cause ulcers
Supplier sends a faxed invoice. Fax.Plus picks it up, ApproveThis creates a request with auto-calculated totals. If under $10k? Auto-approved and pushed to accounting software. Over threshold? Routes to CFO with context. Approval happens, Fax.Plus automatically sends payment confirmation back via fax. No more “Did we pay that?” calls.
Why Your Teams Will Actually Use This
Most workflow tools get ignored because they’re more work than they’re worth. Here’s how different teams benefit without changing their habits:
Operations Managers
You’re tired of being the human router. With vacation delegation and approval groups, requests automatically find the right person. If a purchase order fax comes in at 3 AM, it doesn’t wait for someone’s morning coffee – the system routes it to the backup approver in another time zone.
Legal & Compliance
Every fax sent/received is tied to an approval record. Need to prove who approved what during an audit? The ApproveThis dashboard shows the full chain – no digging through email threads or fax logs.
Finance Teams
Calculated fields automatically check invoice totals against budgets. Approval thresholds auto-approve routine expenses but escalate anything suspicious. And since everything’s faxed, you’ve got a paper trail that even the crankiest auditor will accept.
Setting This Up Without an IT Degree
If you can use a toaster, you can build this integration. Here’s the playbook:
Scenario 1: Fax → Approval Workflow
1. In Zapier, set Fax.Plus to trigger when a new fax arrives.
2. Connect to ApproveThis to create a request with the fax PDF attached.
3. Approvers get an email – they click approve/reject without logging into anything.
4. Approved? Zapier can auto-send confirmations via Fax.Plus or update your accounting system.
Scenario 2: Approval → Fax Notification
1. ApproveThis triggers when a request is approved/denied.
2. Zapier tells Fax.Plus to send a fax to the vendor/client with the decision.
3. The fax includes approved docs (like signed contracts) as attachments.
4. Everything’s logged in both systems – no more “I never got that” excuses.
The Nudge Your Boss Needs
Let’s cut through the “digital transformation” buzzwords. This integration matters because:
- External clients don’t need new logins: They approve via email or receive faxes like normal humans.
- Compliance isn’t optional: Every step is tracked – crucial for industries under regulatory microscopes.
- Scale without chaos: Add new approvers or fax lines without rebuilding workflows from scratch.
Cool Features You’ll Actually Use
Beyond the basics, here’s where this combo shines:
- Approval Thresholds: Auto-approve small expenses but flag a $50k faxed invoice for review.
- Calculated Fields: Automatically sum line items from a faxed purchase order to check against budgets.
- Team Inboxes in Fax.Plus: Route approved faxes to specific departments without manual sorting.
Getting Started (Without the Usual Hassle)
1. Sign up for ApproveThis – free trial available.
2. Connect your Fax.Plus account via Zapier (takes 5 minutes).
3. Build your first Zap: Try “Receive fax → Create approval request” to automate document reviews.
4. Train your team: Show approvers how to click “Approve” in emails. That’s it.
Bottom Line
If your business still relies on faxes but wants to escape the 1990s workflow, this integration is your bridge. It’s not about being flashy – it’s about making sure documents get where they need to go, decisions happen fast, and nobody has to play detective when things go sideways.
Next step: Register for ApproveThis and connect your Fax.Plus account in under an hour. Or, if you’re the “show me first” type, book a demo to see how healthcare, legal, and finance teams are using this combo to actually enjoy compliance audits (okay, maybe not enjoy… but survive them).
Integrate with Fax.Plus Integration and get 90 days of ApproveThis for free.
After you create a Zapier integration, please email us at support@approve-this.com with your account name and we'll add 3 months of ApproveThis to your account. Limit one redemption per account.
Learn More
Best Approval Workflows for Fax.Plus
Suggested workflows (and their Zapier components) for Fax.Plus
Send fax notifications when a request is approved or denied
Ensure your team is informed once an approval decision is made. This integration automatically sends a fax when an approval request is either approved or denied, ensuring timely communication and action.
Zapier Components
Trigger
A Request Is Approved/Denied
Triggers when a request is approved or denied.

Action
Send a Fax
Send a fax from your FAX.PLUS account.
Create approval requests for new faxes received
Streamline your document approval workflow by automatically creating approval requests in ApproveThis whenever a new fax is received. This ensures that all incoming documents are reviewed promptly and efficiently.
Zapier Components

Trigger
New Fax Received
Triggers when a new fax is received.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
You'll ❤️ these other ApproveThis integrations
-
Gprospects
Published: April 17, 2025Gprospects is the ultimate data extraction tool for Google Maps. It integrates seamlessly with CRM and Email apps to ignite your outbound sales & marketing.
-
SlideSpeak
Published: April 17, 2025SlideSpeak provides ChatGPT powered AI tools for presentations and other documents.
-
Criya
Published: April 17, 2025Criya builds you a bespoke generative AI app for your business that engages every visitor in real time conversations, promotes engagement and conversions.