Why These Two Tools Are Better Together
Let's cut to the chase – approvals suck. They're the traffic jam in your workflow highway. But here's the thing: they don't have to. When you connect AppFlowy's flexible workspace with ApproveThis's no-nonsense approval automation through Zapier, you create a self-driving car for business processes. We're talking real-time triggers, automatic routing, and approval statuses that update themselves. For companies between 50-5,000 employees juggling multiple approval layers? This is your cheat code.
The Nuts and Bolts of the Integration
AppFlowy handles your data playground – tasks, documents, custom databases. ApproveThis runs the approval circus – routing, reminders, escalations. Zapier's the bilingual tour guide making sure they actually talk to each other. The magic happens in three key areas:
1. From Database to Decision
New item in your AppFlowy procurement database? ApproveThis automatically fires off purchase approval requests. Marketing team adds a campaign brief? Route it for legal review without anyone lifting a finger. We worked with a mid-sized e-commerce company that cut their vendor onboarding time from 14 days to 3 just by automating this handoff.
2. Approval Paper Trail That Builds Itself
Every approved/denied decision in ApproveThis can auto-create an AppFlowy database record. HR teams love this for tracking policy exceptions. IT departments use it to maintain audit trails for software access requests. Bonus: Approvers don't need AppFlowy licenses – huge win when working with external partners.
3. The Feedback Loop
Rejected an invoice approval? AppFlowy automatically flags the original record for revision. Approved a contract? The final version gets attached to both systems. This bidirectional sync means nobody's playing telephone between platforms.
Real Teams, Real Results
For Operations Teams
A manufacturing client uses AppFlowy to track equipment maintenance requests. Their Zapier integration with ApproveThis automatically routes:
- Requests under $1k to facility managers
- $1k-$5k to regional directors
- Over $5k straight to the CFO
Approval groups with calculated fields cut their equipment downtime by 40% last quarter.
For Creative Teams
A digital agency handles 200+ client content approvals monthly. Their AppFlowy content calendar triggers ApproveThis workflows that:
- Route drafts to clients via email (no app access needed)
- Auto-remind after 24 hours of silence
- Escalate to account managers if stuck
Result? 78% fewer missed deadlines from approval limbo.
For Finance Teams
Expense reports in AppFlowy trigger ApproveThis flows that:
- Check against department budgets using calculated fields
- Route outliers for manual review
- Auto-approve under $50 with receipt verification
One SaaS company processed 30% more reports without adding headcount.
Setting Up Without Screwing Up
Here's the five-minute setup:
1. Create your Zap
2. Choose AppFlowy trigger (new database item, updated field)
3. Map to ApproveThis request fields
4. Set approval rules (thresholds, groups, escalations)
5. Test with a $0.01 test transaction
Pro tip: Use ApproveThis's vacation delegation upfront – avoids "But I was OOO!" excuses later.
Why This Isn't Just Another Integration
Most approval tools just shuffle PDFs. ApproveThis adds:
- Conditional routing: Different approvers based on AppFlowy data points
- Approval math: Auto-approve if under budget x remaining quota
- No license sprawl: Clients/contractors approve via email
- Escalation guardrails: No more stale requests
When to Think Twice
This isn't a magic wand. If your approval process changes daily, you'll need heavy customization. For companies with <50 employees? Might be overkill. But if you're scaling past multiple departments with compliance needs? Game changer.
The Bottom Line
AppFlowy users already get work done. ApproveThis keeps that work from getting stuck. Together via Zapier? It's like giving your processes adderall (but legal). Less chasing, more doing. Fewer status meetings, more shipped projects.
Ready to stop being an approval bottleneck? Get ApproveThis or book a demo. Your future self (and annoyed coworkers) will thank you.
More Productivity integrations you might like
-
Lark
Published: March 10, 2025Lark is the next-generation collaboration suite that enables teams to do their best work together. It integrates messaging, video conferencing, schedule management, collaborative documents, email and a variety of workplace applications into a single, mobile-first platform.
-
Quixy
Published: March 10, 2025A powerful platform for citizen developers to solve their unique challenges and bring ideas to life at the speed of no-code
-
Edworking
Published: March 10, 2025Edworking is platform designed solely for remote work with functions like chat, video call, task management, file sharing an more.
You'll ❤️ these other ApproveThis integrations
-
naturalForms
Published: March 10, 2025NaturalForms is a mobile app that replaces paper forms and collects information electronically that exactly match your current paperwork.
-
Businessmap
Published: March 10, 2025Businessmap is the most flexible software platform for outcomes-driven enterprise agility while enabling visibility across all projects.
-
Tanda
Published: March 10, 2025Tanda is a Workforce Management tool to build rosters, track attendance, manage leave and grow your business.