
ApproveThis manages your fastbill Integration approvals.
April 17, 2025
Integration Category: Accounting
When Accounting Needs a Traffic Cop
Let's be real: nothing kills momentum like watching an invoice collect virtual dust while three department heads argue over who should approve it first. FastBill handles the numbers, ApproveThis handles the decisions, and together they work like a pit crew for your financial processes. No motivational posters required.
Why This Combo Works for Mid-Sized Companies
FastBill's good at moving money, ApproveThis is good at moving decisions. Connect them through Zapier, and you've got a system where approvals actually keep up with the work being done. For companies scaling past 50 employees, this is where you stop drowning in "just need one more signature" emails.
The Nuts and Bolts
ApproveThis brings structure to who needs to sign off on what, using rules that make sense for your business. FastBill crunches the numbers. Zapier acts as the messenger between them. The result? Invoices get created when they should, offers get reviewed before you overpromise, and everyone knows where the bottleneck is when things slow down.
Real Uses for Actual Humans
1. Auto-Create Invoices When Projects Get Greenlit
Picture a marketing agency where every new client contract requires approvals from legal, finance, and the project lead. Normally, someone's chasing down signatures while the clock ticks. With this setup:
- Contract gets approved in ApproveThis
- Zapier tells FastBill to generate the invoice
- Accounting team gets notified automatically
No more "I thought you sent it!" Mondays.
2. Stop Offers From Going Rogue
For manufacturing companies dealing with custom orders, FastBill offers are crucial. But letting salespeople send offers without oversight? That's how you end up promising impossible timelines. This integration forces every offer into an approval workflow. Sales gets speed, management gets control, and production doesn't get surprised.
3. Close the Loop When Payments Hit
When an invoice gets paid in FastBill, ApproveThis can automatically mark related requests as completed. For SaaS companies managing hundreds of client accounts, this means less manual updating and fewer questions about whether that renewal was actually processed.
Why Your Team Leads Will Care
Finance Teams: Less Detective Work
Approval thresholds in ApproveThis mean small expenses get auto-approved, big ones get flagged. When combined with FastBill's reporting, you've got clear audit trails without the spreadsheet gymnastics.
Sales Managers: No More Approval Amnesia
Deal approvals get tied directly to offer creation in FastBill. If a rep skips steps, the system blocks the offer from going out. Plus, approvers can reject with comments right from their inbox - no need to log into another tool.
Project Managers: Budgets That Actually Matter
When client project requests require approvals, those OKs can trigger FastBill invoices and budget tracking automatically. Overages get flagged before they blow up your timeline.
Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind
1. Pick Your Battles: Start with one workflow - maybe invoice approvals. Get that working before tackling everything else.
2. Connect via Zapier: ApproveThis and FastBill both play nice with Zapier - here's the link to get started.
3. Test with Real Data: Use an actual recent invoice that got stuck. See where the automation would've saved time.
4. Roll Out Quietly: Pilot with a team that's open to feedback. Fix the kinks before company-wide deployment.
The Hidden Perks You'll Actually Use
- Vacation Coverage That Works: ApproveThis auto-reassigns approvals if someone's OOO. No more chasing people who are literally on a beach.
- External Approvers Don't Need FastBill: Clients or contractors can approve requests via email without getting access to your full accounting system.
- Calculated Fields Prevent Stupid Mistakes: Auto-calculate contract totals in ApproveThis before creating FastBill invoices. Math errors get caught before they become accounting problems.
When to Think Twice
This isn't magic. If your approval processes are a mess to begin with, automating them just breaks things faster. Get clear on:
- Who needs to approve what (seriously, does Bob really need to OK every $50 expense?)
- What conditions should auto-approve requests
- How rejections get handled (spoiler: it shouldn't be just a Slack message)
Bottom Line for Decision Makers
Growing past 50 employees means you can't wing approvals anymore. FastBill keeps your finances tight, ApproveThis keeps decisions moving, and Zapier makes them talk to each other. The combo is cheaper than hiring another coordinator and way less prone to Monday morning mistakes.
Next Step That Doesn't Suck: Register for ApproveThis, connect your FastBill account through Zapier, and automate one approval process this week. Or book a 15-minute demo to see how other companies in your size range are using it.
Either way, stop letting approval bottlenecks be the reason your team stays late. This isn't 2015 - your tools should actually talk to each other.
Integrate with fastbill Integration and get 90 days of ApproveThis for free.
After you create a Zapier integration, please email us at support@approve-this.com with your account name and we'll add 3 months of ApproveThis to your account. Limit one redemption per account.
Learn More
Best Approval Workflows for FastBill
Suggested workflows (and their Zapier components) for FastBill
Create FastBill invoices for new approval requests
Streamline your invoicing process by automatically creating a new invoice in FastBill whenever a new approval request is initiated. Use this automation to ensure that your billing is up-to-date with all approved business actions. *Note: Ensure relevant fields are mapped correctly in the setup process.*
Zapier Components
Trigger
New Request
Triggers when a new approval request workflow is initiated.

Action
Create Invoice
Creates a new invoice
Create approval requests for new FastBill offers
Accelerate decision-making by automatically creating an approval request for every new offer generated in FastBill. This integration allows stakeholders to review and approve offers seamlessly, ensuring timely execution. *Note: Configure approval thresholds to streamline the process further.*
Zapier Components

Trigger
New Offer
Triggers when a new offer was created within your FastBill account.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
Trigger approval workflows when invoices are paid in FastBill
Enhance your financial tracking by initiating approval workflows in ApproveThis when an invoice is marked as paid in FastBill. This helps in maintaining workflow consistency and capturing transaction completions efficiently. *Note: Approvers can receive email notifications with all necessary invoice details.*
Zapier Components

Trigger
Invoice Paid
Triggers when a new invoice was paid within your FastBill account.
Action
A Request Is Approved/Denied
Triggers when a request is approved or denied.
You'll ❤️ these other ApproveThis integrations
-
KnowMy
Published: April 17, 2025KnowMy is a modern, interactive on-boarding tool that allows you to onboard a new employee (or customer) in minutes, digitize workflows and enhance efficiency.
-
Signaturely
Published: April 17, 2025Signaturely offers an integration that enables you to create documents from templates or trigger actions such as sending or completing documents automatically. Streamline your workflow and save time with Signaturely's efficient integration.
-
Booqi
Published: April 17, 2025Booqi is a marketing tool.