
ApproveThis manages your YNAB Integration approvals.
April 17, 2025
Integration Category: Accounting
When Budgets and Approvals Collide
Let's be real - most finance teams look like they're herding cats during budget season. Marketing wants that flashy tool, operations needs emergency funds, and someone in HR keeps submitting $347.89 reimbursement requests for "team building" kombucha. Meanwhile, your actual accountants are drowning in spreadsheets and Slack pings.
That's where pairing ApproveThis with YNAB changes the game. We're not talking about another clunky integration that "streamlines synergies." This is about giving budget keepers actual control while letting teams move fast without breaking the financial rules. No more guessing who approved what, when, or why that $5K expense slipped through.
How This Actually Works
YNAB tracks every dollar. ApproveThis manages who gets to say "yes" to spending those dollars. Connect them through Zapier, and you've got automatic guardrails that work while your team sleeps. Budget threshold hit? Approval request fires. Category overspend? Finance gets notified before it becomes next quarter's problem.
The kicker? Approvers don't need YNAB licenses. Your external client just clicks "approve" in their email - no login, no tutorial, no "I forgot my password" delays. Meanwhile, everything's documented if auditors come knocking.
Real Uses for Real Companies
The "Oh Crap, We're Under Budget" Alert
Picture a mid-sized marketing agency using YNAB for client project budgets. Their #1 headache? Junior designers approving rush fees that blow through allocated funds. Connect YNAB's low balance trigger to ApproveThis, and suddenly:
- Account drops below $2K? Approval request auto-sends to the creative director
- Director approves/denies via email in 2 clicks
- Overrides get logged with notes for client billing
No more end-of-month surprises. No passive-aggressive finance emails. Just cleaner margins.
Killing Phantom Transactions
Construction firms love this one. Every time a project manager initiates a material purchase approval in ApproveThis, Zapier slaps a temporary transaction into YNAB. If the request gets denied? Transaction disappears. Approved? It locks into the budget like cement. CFOs stop getting heartburn over "mystery" cash flow dips.
When Departments Go Rogue
Nonprofits are notorious for category overspending. Development team blows the "event swag" budget by March? YNAB triggers an ApproveThis workflow requiring ED approval for any additional spending. Combines YNAB's real-time tracking with ApproveThis' escalation rules. Now board members see exactly who approved that $800 ice sculpture for the gala.
Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind
1. Connect the Dots: Zapier links ApproveThis + YNAB in 15 minutes. No coders needed.
2. Pick Your Triggers: Low balances? Overspent categories? New budget requests? Match them to approval types.
3. Set Approval Rules: Use ApproveThis' thresholds - "Under $1K needs manager approval, over $5K needs CFO."
4. Test Drive: Try approving a fake $50 YNAB transaction. Did alerts fire? Escalations work? Good. Go live.
Why Teams Actually Care
Finance Teams Stop Playing Detective
ApproveThis' audit trail shows exactly who approved overspending. YNAB's reports prove when it happened. Combine them, and month-end close isn't a forensic investigation anymore.
Department Heads Gain Trust
Marketing VPs love this: Set YNAB category limits, then let ApproveThis handle exception approvals. Teams get autonomy without breaking the bank. Bonus: Vacation delegation means no approval bottlenecks when someone's OOO.
Execs See the Big Picture
ApproveThis' dashboard shows pending requests by budget impact. YNAB's trends highlight which teams stay green. Together, they give leadership actual visibility - not just spreadsheets.
The Nuts and Bolts You Actually Need
ApproveThis isn't just a "set it and forget it" tool. Use these features to make the YNAB integration sing:
- Calculated Fields: Auto-add 15% contingency to budget requests
- Approval Groups: Require consensus from all department heads for major overages
- Email Approvals: Let vendors approve purchase orders without platform logins
No More Budget Surprises
Combining YNAB's granular tracking with ApproveThis' enforcement turns financial guardrails into something that actually works. Teams get clarity, finance keeps control, and the only surprises are the good kind (looking at you, under-budget pizza parties).
Ready to stop chasing approvals across 12 apps? Get started with ApproveThis or schedule a no-BS demo. Your future self (and your accountants) will thank you.
Integrate with YNAB 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 YNAB
Suggested workflows (and their Zapier components) for YNAB
Create approval requests for low YNAB account balances
Monitor your YNAB accounts with ease. This integration automatically generates an approval request on ApproveThis when your account balance drops below a set threshold in YNAB, allowing quick escalation and decision-making to manage finances effectively.
Zapier Components

Trigger
Low Account Balance
Triggers when a Checking or Savings account balance drops below a certain amount during a month.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
Record transactions in YNAB when approval requests are initiated
Integrate your approval management with financial tracking. This integration will immediately log a new transaction in YNAB whenever an approval request is initiated on ApproveThis, ensuring financial documentation stays accurate and up-to-date.
Zapier Components
Trigger
New Request
Triggers when a new approval request workflow is initiated.

Action
Create Transaction
Creates a new transaction.
Raise approval requests for overspent YNAB categories
Easily manage overspending alerts by raising an approval request in ApproveThis whenever a category in YNAB is overspent. This helps ensure that overspending is monitored and approvals are streamlined for financial adjustments.
Zapier Components

Trigger
Category Overspent
Triggers when a category is overspent and has a negative balance.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
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