ApproveThis manages your PPM Express Integration approvals.

When Project Management Meets Approval Automation

Let’s be real: nothing kills momentum faster than waiting three days for Karen in accounting to approve your $50 software subscription. Meanwhile, your project team’s twiddling their thumbs while leadership wonders why deadlines keep slipping. This is where ApproveThis and PPM Express become your secret weapon.

PPM Express gives you the big picture view of projects across Jira, Azure DevOps, and Microsoft Planner. ApproveThis handles the gritty approval logistics nobody wants to manage. Connect them through Zapier, and you’ve got a system where project updates trigger approvals, approvals kick off projects, and everyone stays in their lane without micromanaging.

Why This Combo Works for 50-5,000 Person Companies

Mid-sized companies get squeezed between startup agility and enterprise bureaucracy. You need structure without red tape. Here’s how this integration delivers:

For Project Managers

Stop herding cats for sign-offs. When PPM Express flags a new product idea, ApproveThis automatically routes it to the right stakeholders. Your R&D team gets decisions in hours instead of weeks.

For Finance Teams

Budget approvals used to mean digging through spreadsheets. Now, when a project estimate in PPM crosses a $10k threshold, ApproveThis escalates it to the CFO automatically. No more surprise overspend.

For External Partners

Contractors don’t need PPM Express licenses to approve deliverables. They get email links from ApproveThis, click approve/reject, and PPM Express updates the project status automatically. No logins, no training.

Three Real Workflows That Actually Matter

1. From Brainstorm to Approved Project in 48 Hours

The Problem: Your product team generates 20 ideas/week. Only 3 get reviewed. The rest die in spreadsheet purgatory.

The Fix: New ideas in PPM Express trigger approval workflows in ApproveThis. Execs get Slack notifications with key metrics. They approve/reject via email. Approved ideas auto-create projects in PPM.

Who Cares: SaaS companies launching features faster, manufacturers evaluating R&D pipelines.

2. No More “Who Approved This?!” Meetings

The Problem: Marketing starts campaigns before legal signs off. Operations orders equipment without budget approval.

The Fix: Approval thresholds in ApproveThis auto-approve small purchases but escalate big spends. Once approved, PPM Express creates projects with pre-set budgets and timelines.

Who Cares: Healthcare providers complying with procurement rules, agencies managing client budgets.

3. Killing Zombie Projects

The Problem: Projects get approved but never completed. Resources get tied up in dead-end work.

The Fix: When ApproveThis approves a project, PPM Express starts a 90-day timer. If milestones aren’t met, ApproveThis pings stakeholders to kill or recommit.

Who Cares: Construction firms managing subcontractors, consultants tracking client deliverables.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

Zapier does the heavy lifting here. You’ll need:

1. An ApproveThis account (14-day free trial works)
2. A PPM Express subscription
3. 15 minutes to connect them

Step 1: In Zapier, choose PPM Express as your trigger app. Pick events like “New Idea Created” or “Project Updated.”

Step 2: Set ApproveThis as your action app. Map critical fields: project budgets become approval thresholds, due dates trigger reminder schedules.

Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to auto-flag requests that exceed department budgets or require legal review.

Why This Isn’t Just Another Integration

Most approval tools just check boxes. Here’s where ApproveThis adds teeth:

Approval Groups That Actually Work

Need consensus from three department heads? Sequential approvals from regional managers? ApproveThis handles both. PPM Express reflects the final decision without manual updates.

Vacation Mode for Approvers

When your head of engineering is at Burning Man, ApproveThis auto-reassigns their approvals. No more chasing down out-of-office replies.

Audit Trails That Cover Your Ass

Every approval decision in ApproveThis timestamps who approved what, when, and why. Sync these to PPM Express for airtight project histories during audits.

Who Should Steal These Workflows?

Software Dev Teams

Auto-approve bug fix deployments under 2 hours. Escalate major feature changes to CTO. Approved requests update Jira tickets via PPM Express.

Healthcare Administrators

Equipment purchase approvals require infection control sign-off first, then finance. Approved orders auto-create implementation projects in PPM.

Marketing Agencies

Client content approvals happen in ApproveThis. Approved assets trigger PPM Express workflows for designers and copywriters. No more “Where’s the final brief?”

The Quiet Cost of Manual Approvals

One manufacturing client found their $80k project manager spent 15 hours/week chasing approvals. At $150/hour, that’s $117k/year in wasted salary. Their fix? Automating 70% of approvals cut that to 4 hours/week.

Another example: A tech startup reduced feature launch delays from 3 weeks to 4 days by syncing PPM Express roadmaps with ApproveThis’ legal and security reviews.

Getting Started Without the Overhead

You’re not building the Apollo program here. Start simple:

• Pick one high-friction approval process (vendor contracts, PTO requests)
• Map the current workflow – where do requests get stuck?
• Build a Zapier flow that handles 80% of cases automatically

Most teams see ROI in under 90 days. The kicker? Approvers don’t need to change how they work – they still approve via email. You just get to stop babysitting the process.

Bottom Line: Approval’s Boring Until It Costs You a Deal

Slow approvals don’t just annoy employees – they impact customers. Missed deadlines, delayed shipments, stalled implementations. By connecting ApproveThis and PPM Express, you’re not just streamlining paperwork. You’re removing a major business risk.

Ready to stop being your team’s human reminder app? Start a free trial or book a 15-minute demo. We’ll show you how to set up your first automated approval flow while your coffee’s still warm.