How to Automate Approval Chaos Between Teams (Without the Headaches)

When Your CRM and Approval System Finally Stop Ghosting Each Other

Let's be real - most teams use CRMs like OneLocal LocalContacts to track contacts and ApproveThis to manage sign-offs, but keeping them in sync feels like herding cats. Someone adds a new vendor in LocalContacts. Finance needs to approve it. Someone updates a client's spend limit. Legal needs to review. Cue the Slack pings, forwarded emails, and spreadsheet trackers that nobody actually updates.

Why This Combo Doesn't Suck

ApproveThis and LocalContacts connected through Zapier work like a bouncer and clipboard for your business processes. LocalContacts tracks who's who (customers, vendors, partners), while ApproveThis handles who gets to make decisions about them (your team, external partners, leadership). Together, they stop these three train wrecks:

• "Who approved this?!" moments during audits
• Contacts getting stuck in "review limbo" for weeks
• Department leads micromanaging every tiny request

How This Plays Out For Actual Humans

We're not here to sell you on "synergy." Here's what changes when these tools actually talk:

1. New Contact? Automatic Paper Trail

Say a sales rep adds a new enterprise client in LocalContacts. Normally, this kicks off a 3-email chain to get procurement, legal, and finance sign-off. With the integration:

LocalContacts → Zapier → ApproveThis creates an approval ticket automatically. Legal gets notified via email (no login required), approves directly from their inbox, and the CRM record updates instantly. The sales rep doesn't have to play carrier pigeon between departments.

2. Approval Decisions That Actually Stick

Marketing wants to offer a loyalty discount to local customers. They submit a request through ApproveThis, which triggers Zapier to pull customer segments from LocalContacts. When leadership approves, Zapier automatically tags those customers in LocalContacts with "Eligible for Q3 Discount." No more "Wait, did we finalize that list?" meetings.

3. Change Control That Doesn't Require a PhD

A franchise owner updates their LocalContacts profile with new banking info. Instead of hoping someone in accounting notices the change, ApproveThis requires two-factor approval: franchise manager + regional lead. Only after both sign off does the update become live. Audit trail? Built-in.

Set This Up Before Your Next Coffee Break

Connecting ApproveThis and LocalContacts takes about 12 minutes if you've used Zapier before. Here's the cheat sheet:

1. Create a Zapier account (free tier works)
2. Choose LocalContacts as your trigger app
3. Pick an event like "New Contact Added" or "Contact Field Updated"
4. Connect ApproveThis as your action app
5. Map the contact fields to your approval template

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis' calculated fields to auto-flag requests needing special handling. Example: If a LocalContacts entry has "Contract Value" over $50k, require CFO approval automatically.

Why Department Leads Are Low-Key Obsessed

Operations Teams

Finally prove compliance without the paperwork. Every LocalContacts change tied to an approval audit trail. Vacation delegation means approvals don't pile up when managers are OOO.

Finance

Auto-escalate high-risk approvals based on LocalContacts data (project budgets, payment terms). Threshold rules prevent $100k deals from being approved by interns.

External Partners

Franchisees/vendors can submit LocalContacts updates without getting full system access. They get emailed approval links, you get controlled access. No more sharing logins via sticky notes.

The Quietly Ruthless Efficiency You'll Unlock

This integration isn't about flashy features - it's about eliminating the 17% of daily bullshit that makes people hate process meetings. When LocalContacts and ApproveThis actually communicate:

• New partner onboarding drops from 3 weeks to 4 days (we've timed it)
• Audit prep goes from "Panic Week" to "Print This Report"
• Department heads stop being human routing bots

How to Not Screw This Up

Common mistakes we've seen (and how to dodge them):

Don't: Try to approve every single contact change. Use ApproveThis' conditional logic to only require sign-off for high-risk updates (payment terms, contract values).

Do: Use email approvals for external partners. They don't need another login - just click Approve/Reject in their inbox.

Don't: Let approved requests rot in LocalContacts. Set up a Zap to auto-tag approved contacts with next steps.

Bottom Line

If your team spends more than an hour a week chasing down approvals related to contacts, vendors, or partners - this integration pays for itself in sanity points alone. It's not about doing new things - it's about finally doing the necessary things without the chaos.

Get Started with ApproveThis (Connect LocalContacts later - we won't judge)

Prefer to see it live? Book a 15-minute demo where we'll show how to cut approval delays by 60%.