ApproveThis manages your WildApricot Integration approvals.

When Approval Workflows Meet Member Operations

Let’s get one thing straight: approving stuff shouldn’t be a part-time job. Yet most teams handling memberships, events, or donations waste hours chasing down sign-offs via email chains that get buried faster than a free lunch at a staff meeting. This is why pairing WildApricot’s member management with ApproveThis’s approval automation isn’t just smart – it’s borderline unfair to your competitors.

WildApricot handles the heavy lifting of member databases, event registrations, and payments. ApproveThis handles the decisions. Together, they turn "Did you see my email?" into "Your request was processed at 2:37 PM." No magic, just Zapier connectors and clear rules.

What WildApricot Does (And Where It Needs Backup)

WildApricot’s great at keeping member lists clean and events running. But when you need human decisions – approving new members, vetting event speakers, or greenlighting refunds – things get manual. Teams resort to forwarding emails or pinging Slack channels, which works until someone’s on vacation or a request slips through.

ApproveThis plugs into these gaps like a bouncer with a clipboard. It adds structure to the chaos without forcing your board members to learn new software. Key moves:

• Auto-create approval tasks when WildApricot triggers events (new member signups, updated profiles)
• Route decisions based on dollar amounts, member types, or custom logic
• Track every approval in one dashboard instead of 14 inboxes

Three Ways This Combo Makes Teams Less Annoyed

1. Membership Committees Stop Playing Email Tag

The Problem: New member applications pile up in WildApricot. Your committee debates via reply-all emails, someone forgets to vote, and applicants wonder if they’ve been ghosted.

The Fix: Auto-create approval requests in ApproveThis for every new WildApricot contact. Set rules like:

• Applications over $500/year dues: Board approval required
• International members: Legal team review first
• Standard signups: Auto-approved after 24hrs if no objections

Who Cares: Associations with tiered membership levels or nonprofits needing donor vetting. Example: A trade group auto-approves basic memberships but routes enterprise-level applicants to their sponsorship committee.

2. Event Teams Stop Babysitting Registrations

The Problem: Your "exclusive" workshop has 15 people registered, but WildApricot shows 3 VIP members and 12 randoms. Now someone has to manually check who gets in.

The Fix: Trigger approval requests when registrations hit WildApricot. Use ApproveThis thresholds to:

- Auto-approve anyone from @yourdomain.com
- Flag non-members for review
- Require manager approval for group registrations

Who Cares: Conference organizers, paid webinar hosts, or anyone running events with capacity limits. Example: A continuing education provider auto-approves nurses but requires manual review for non-medical registrants.

3. Finance Teams Actually Enforce Budgets

The Problem: WildApricot processes refund requests, but your treasurer hates surprises. They’re constantly checking spreadsheets to see if approvals align with budgets.

The Fix: Connect refund requests to approval workflows with calculated fields. Example:

If total refunds this month + new request > $2,000 → Escalate to CFO
If user has 3+ past refunds → Require manager approval
Under $100 → Auto-approve instantly

Who Cares: Any org handling donations, paid memberships, or event refunds. Example: A nonprofit automatically approves small donor refunds but requires board sign-off on large amounts.

Why This Isn’t Just Another Integration

Most Zapier connections just shuffle data. This combo actually changes how decisions happen:

Approvers don’t need WildApricot access. Your board president can approve memberships from their Gmail without logging into yet another system. (They’ll thank you.)

Decisions enforce policy, not moods. Approval thresholds mean you’re not relying on someone’s caffeine levels to determine if a $499 expense gets approved.

Delegation isn’t an afterthought. When your membership director’s on vacation, ApproveThis automatically reroutes requests without you editing 17 different Zapier triggers.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

1. Connect via Zapier – ApproveThis and WildApricot are both pre-built there.
2. Pick your trigger:
- New/updated WildApricot contact
- Event registration
- Payment record change
3. Choose what happens:
- Create approval request with key details pre-filled
- Auto-send decisions back to WildApricot (like tagging approved members)
4. Set rules:
- “If registration includes meal preferences, require admin approval”
- “If member’s company is in our sponsor list, auto-approve”

Pro tip: Start with one workflow (like new member approvals) before automating everything. You’ll spot weird edge cases faster.

Teams That Actually Benefit (Not Just “All Users”)

Membership Managers: Reduce application backlogs by 60%+ by replacing email chains with tracked approvals. Use approval groups to involve the right people without committee bloat.

Event Organizers: Avoid overbooking venues by requiring approvals for waitlisted registrants. Bonus: Auto-send custom emails via WildApricot once ApproveThis gives the thumbs-up.

Finance Teams: Link refund/donation approvals to actual budget numbers. Calculated fields show real-time spend against limits, so “I didn’t know we were over” stops being an excuse.

Cross-Functional Teams: Since approvers don’t need WildApricot licenses, safely involve external partners. Example: A university’s alumni chapter gets staff approvals without exposing student data.

The Bottom Line

WildApricot handles the logistics. ApproveThis handles the politics. Together, they make sure your 500-person conference doesn’t get 503 registrations because someone forgot to check their email.

This isn’t about doing more – it’s about finally having proof that you did anything. The next time your board asks why membership growth slowed, show them the approval dashboard with 120 pending requests waiting on Gary from accounting.

Ready to stop being a human router? Get started with ApproveThis or book a 15-minute demo to see how it plays with WildApricot. No need to bring Gary unless he’s buying lunch.