When Your Inbox Isn’t Cutting It Anymore

Let’s be real: approval processes suck when you’re juggling digital mail, spreadsheets, and a flood of “Hey, did you see my email?” follow-ups. Exela Digital Mailroom handles the mail digitization part like a champ, but here’s where things get sticky – actually getting people to decide on that incoming invoice, contract, or vendor request. That’s where ApproveThis comes in. We’re not here to replace your shiny tools. We’re the glue that makes decisions happen faster.

Why This Combo Actually Makes Sense

Exela’s great at turning paper into pixels. ApproveThis is great at turning “I’ll get to it later” into “Approved” or “Denied” without the chase. Together? You’ve got a system where every piece of digitized mail automatically kicks off the right approval process. No more lost PDFs in someone’s Downloads folder. No more guessing which VP needs to sign off.

The Nuts and Bolts

Here’s how they play nice through Zapier: When Exela scans a new invoice (or contract, or whatever), Zapier tells ApproveThis to create an approval request. Approvers get an email – they click “Yes” or “No” without needing to log into Exela. Once decided, Zapier can send that approval status back to Exela or wherever else it needs to go. Simple, but stupid effective.

Who Actually Benefits? (Spoiler: Everyone)

This isn’t just another “streamline operations!” pitch. Let’s get specific:

Finance Teams: Killing Invoice Limbo

Picture this: Exela digitizes a $50k vendor invoice. Zapier triggers an ApproveThis workflow that routes it to the AP manager first. If it’s under their threshold, done in one click. Over $50k? Automatically escalates to the CFO. Bonus: ApproveThis’ calculated fields can flag discrepancies against POs before it even hits an approver’s inbox.

Legal Teams: No More Contract Black Holes

New NDA comes through Exela? Approval request goes to legal, then to the requester’s department head. If legal sits on it for 48 hours, ApproveThis pings their backup (thanks to vacation delegation). Once signed off, the contract auto-saves to your CMS without legal having to lift a finger after hitting “Approve”.

Operations: Vendor Onboarding That Doesn’t Embarrass You

New vendor application in Exela? Route it to procurement, then facilities for badge access, then IT for system permissions – all in a predefined sequence. If procurement rejects it, the request dies there instead of wasting three departments’ time.

“Cool, But What Makes This Different?”

Glad you asked. Most approval tools make you choose between flexibility and simplicity. Here’s where we (politely) kick their ass:

Approvals Don’t Need to Be a Group Project

ApproveThis lets you require approvals from either everyone in a group (consensus) or just someone (first available). Legal needs all hands on deck for compliance stuff? Consensus. Getting office supplies approved? First person to check their email handles it.

Your External Partners Won’t Ghost You

Client needs to approve a proposal you sent via Exela? They get an email from ApproveThis – no account needed. Track when they open it, set automatic reminders, and if they’re MIA, escalate to their backup. All without exposing your internal systems.

Budgeting Without the Spreadsheet Voodoo

ApproveThis’ calculated fields automatically check if a request exceeds department budgets (pulled from your accounting software via Zapier). If it does, route it up the chain. If not, auto-approve and log it. No more manual checks.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

If you can set up a Zoom call, you can do this. Here’s the playbook:

1. Connect Exela to Zapier: Use Exela’s “New DMR Mail” trigger. Pick which mail types kick off approvals (invoices, contracts, etc.)
2. Map to ApproveThis: Zapier grabs key data from Exela (doc type, amount, vendor) and feeds it into an ApproveThis template.
3. Set Escalation Rules: In ApproveThis, define who approves what, thresholds, and backup approvers. Test with a $1 invoice to be safe.

Pro tip: Start with one mail type (like invoices over $10k). Once that’s smooth, add more. Your team will actually thank you for once.

“What If Something Breaks?” (It Won’t)

Zapier’s reliable, but here’s your safety net: Set up ApproveThis to send a daily digest of pending requests to admins. If Zapier hiccups, you’ll spot gaps fast. Plus, ApproveThis keeps audit trails – you can always see where a request got stuck.

The Bottom Line: This Isn’t Just About Sending Emails Faster

It’s about fixing the hidden crap that slows companies down: Waiting for approvals kills momentum. Chasing approvers kills morale. Manual errors kill profits. By connecting Exela and ApproveThis, you’re not just automating steps – you’re removing whole categories of BS that your teams hate.

Ready to Stop Being a Human Routing Bot?

Get started with ApproveThis – our free tier handles basic workflows. Or book a demo to see how we handle complex Exela integrations. Either way, your future self (the one who isn’t constantly forwarding emails) says thanks.

Wait, What About Exela?

Check out Exela Digital Mailroom if you’re still drowning in paper. They handle scanning, data extraction, and secure storage – we handle making sure someone actually deals with it.