---
title: "Conditional & Threshold Routing"
description: "Make a step earn its place in the chain: add conditions like \"Budget greater than 1000\" and the step only runs for the requests that need it. Everything else skips straight past."
category: "Routing & approvers"
updated: 2026-08-27
canonical: https://approvethis.com/docs/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing
---

# Conditional & Threshold Routing

Not every approval step needs to run on every request. Conditions gate a step in the visual flow builder: each one compares a form field against a value using an operator — equals, less-than, less-than-or-equal, greater-than, greater-than-or-equal, or contains — so a $200 request and a $20,000 request can travel different paths through the same workflow. Conditions combine with AND logic, and if any one of them is unmet the step is skipped. This guide is for Administrators working in a workflow that already has a step to configure; conditional routing is available on all tiers.

**Who this is for:** an Administrator.

> **Prerequisite:** Sign in as an Administrator.

> **Getting here:** Conditions are set on the approval chain, which is drawn on the workflow's Workflow tab — open the workflow and switch to it.

## Add a condition so the step only runs past a threshold

Small purchases rarely need the same scrutiny as large ones. A numeric threshold on a step keeps it out of the path for low-value requests while still catching anything above the line you set.

1. Sign in as the Administrator.
2. Click **Configure step** on the step you want to gate.

   ![Click Configure step on the step you want to gate.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s1-01.png)

3. Click **Conditions**.

   ![Click Conditions.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s1-02.png)

4. Click **Add Condition**.

   ![Click Add Condition.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s1-03.png)

5. Choose the form field the threshold should read from in **Field** — **Budget** in the example screenshots.

   ![Choose the form field the threshold should read from in Field — Budget in the example screenshots.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s1-04.png)

6. Choose the comparison you need in **Operator**; the example picks **Greater than** so the step runs only above the threshold.

   ![Choose the comparison you need in Operator; the example picks Greater than so the step runs only above the threshold.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s1-05.png)

7. Type the threshold amount in **Value** (e.g., `1000`).

   ![Type the threshold amount in Value (e.g., 1000).](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s1-06.png)

8. Click **Add Condition** to save the condition to the step.

   ![Click Add Condition to save the condition to the step.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s1-07.png)


> **Success cue:** The saved condition is listed on the step, reading **Budget Greater than 1000** in the example.

## Add a text-match condition alongside it

Thresholds alone can't separate one category of spend from another. Adding a text-match condition narrows the step further, and because conditions combine with AND logic, the step now runs only when both the amount and the text match.

1. Click **Add Condition**.

   ![Click Add Condition.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s2-01.png)

2. Choose the text field you want to match on in **Field**, such as **Event**.

   ![Choose the text field you want to match on in Field, such as Event.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s2-02.png)

3. Choose **Contains** from **Operator** for a partial text match.

   ![Choose Contains from Operator for a partial text match.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s2-03.png)

4. Type the text the field must contain in **Value** — the example uses `Gala`.

   ![Type the text the field must contain in Value — the example uses Gala.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s2-04.png)

5. Click **Add Condition**.

   ![Click Add Condition.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s2-05.png)


> **Success cue:** The second condition appears beneath the first, shown as **Event Contains Gala** in the example screenshots.

## Edit a condition's value

Approval limits move — a threshold set last quarter may be routing too many requests to a senior approver today. Editing the value retunes the routing without rebuilding the condition.

1. Click **Edit condition** on the condition you want to change.

   ![Click Edit condition on the condition you want to change.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s3-01.png)

2. Replace the contents of **Value** with the new threshold or text (the example lowers it to `500`).

   ![Replace the contents of Value with the new threshold or text (the example lowers it to 500).](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s3-02.png)

3. Click **Save Changes**.

   ![Click Save Changes.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s3-03.png)


> **Success cue:** The condition redisplays with the new comparison, **Budget Greater than 500** in the example.

## Remove a condition

Deleting a condition loosens the gate: with one fewer test in the AND set, the step starts running for requests it previously skipped. Remove one when a rule no longer reflects how you want requests routed.

1. Click **Delete condition** on the condition you no longer need.

   ![Click Delete condition on the condition you no longer need.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing/screenshots/conditional-threshold-routing-s4-01.png)


> **Success cue:** The removed condition disappears from the list, leaving the remaining one — **Budget Greater than 500** in the example — as the only gate on the step.

> **What happens next:** From the next request onward, the step is skipped unless every one of its conditions is met — conditions combine with AND, so each added row narrows when the step runs. Already-created requests keep the routing they were born with. Check a condition's effect before going live with the form's routing preview ([Workflow Preview](https://approvethis.com/docs/manuals/workflow-preview.md)), and find the rest of the step dialog in [Add an Approval Step](https://approvethis.com/docs/manuals/add-approval-step.md).