Why Approval Processes Shouldnât Feel Like Herding Cats
Letâs get real: approval workflows are where productivity goes to die. Youâve got contacts waiting in Raklet, payments piling up, and stakeholders who treat email replies like an extreme sport. This is why combining Rakletâs CRM muscle with ApproveThisâ approval automation isnât just nice-to-have â itâs your secret weapon for turning âwaiting on approvalsâ into âdone, whatâs next?â
Raklet Does the Heavy Lifting, ApproveThis Does the Deciding
Raklet keeps your contacts, payments, and communications organized. But hereâs the rub: CRMs arenât built to handle the messy human stuff â like getting five people to sign off on a new vendor payment or verifying high-risk contacts. Thatâs where ApproveThis comes in. Think of it as the bouncer for your Raklet data: automated rules, clear accountability, and zero chasing people down.
Where This Combo Hits Different
For teams using Raklet: Youâre already tracking members, payments, and communications. Now add layers like:
- Auto-approving payments under $500, but escalating big spends
- Requiring dual sign-off for adding VIP contacts
For ApproveThis users: Raklet becomes your source of truth â approval requests auto-populate with contact details, payment histories, and notes so approvers arenât digging through inboxes.
Real-World Use Cases That Donât Suck
1. New Contact? Cool â Letâs Verify First
The problem: Sales teams adding sketchy leads to Raklet. Finance teams onboarding vendors without proper checks. Data chaos.
The fix: Zapier triggers an ApproveThis workflow whenever a new Raklet contact is created. Example: A nonprofit using Raklet for donor management could require board approval before adding major contributors to avoid duplicate entries or compliance issues.
Approver perks: They see the full Raklet contact record in ApproveThis, click approve/reject via email, and itâs done. No Raklet license needed for external approvers.
2. Payments That Actually Get Reviewed (Without the Paperwork)
The problem: Raklet tracks payments, but someone still has to manually check if that $10K invoice was legit. Cue: delays, errors, fraud risks.
The fix: Every new Raklet payment triggers an approval chain. Example: A franchise using Raklet for member dues could auto-approve recurring payments under $1K but route larger transactions to regional managers. Bonus: ApproveThisâ calculated fields auto-flag amounts exceeding budget thresholds.
3. Approval Paper Trails That Donât Require a Detective
The problem: âWho approved this client discount?â âWhy was this vendor fast-tracked?â Crickets.
The fix: When an ApproveThis request is created, Zapier auto-adds a note to the Raklet contact. Later, when approved/denied, a Raklet tag like âApproved-Vendorâ or âDenied-2024â is added. Example: A marketing agency could track which clients approved campaign budgets directly in Raklet, visible to everyone without digging through emails.
Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind
Step 1: Create a Zapier account (free tier works for testing).
Step 2: Pick your trigger â like âNew Contact in Rakletâ or âNew Payment in Rakletâ.
Step 3: Choose ApproveThis as the action. Map Raklet fields to your approval template (e.g., contact name â requester, payment amount â calculated field).
Pro tip: Use ApproveThisâ conditional logic â like âIf payment > $5K, require CFO approvalâ. Set vacation delegates so approvals never stall when someoneâs OOO.
Which Teams Stop Hating Their Tools
Finance Teams
Auto-approve recurring invoices under thresholds you set in ApproveThis. Escalate abnormal payments with Raklet data pre-attached. Audit trails show who approved what, when â no more spreadsheet gymnastics.
Operations Managers
New vendor in Raklet? Require three department heads to approve before activation. Use approval groups in ApproveThis so itâs sequential (legal â procurement) or simultaneous (any 2/3 managers).
Membership-Driven Orgs
Tag Raklet contacts as âApproved-Memberâ only after board review. Add notes in Raklet showing when waivers were signed off. Automate renewal reminders based on approval dates.
The Unsexy Benefits Youâll Actually Care About
No more app-hopping: Approvers get everything in email or ApproveThisâ dashboard. They donât need Raklet access â huge when dealing with external partners.
Version control dies here: Since approvals are tied to Raklet data, thereâs no âI approved the old spreadsheetâ excuses.
Scale without the chaos: Rakletâs handling 10K members? ApproveThis ensures new entries get reviewed without hiring a coordinator.
Cool, But Does This Actually Work?
Letâs say youâre a mid-sized association using Raklet:
Before: New member applications sit in someoneâs inbox. Payments get processed without fraud checks. Expired members arenât flagged.
After: Applications trigger approval workflows with background checks. Payments over $500 require treasurer approval. Members get auto-tagged as âLapsedâ if renewals arenât approved within 30 days.
Itâs not magic â itâs just connecting tools that shouldâve been talking all along.
Bottom Line: This Isnât About Approvals
Itâs about making Raklet the system people actually use, not just tolerate. When adding a contact or payment automatically starts the right processes, you get:
- Fewer âDid you approve this?â meetings
- Faster onboarding (clients, members, vendors)
- Data thatâs accurate because approvals happen before entries go live
How to Start (Without âStartingâ)
1. Grab an ApproveThis trial â takes 2 minutes.
2. Bookmark the Raklet-Zapier docs for reference.
3. Pick one process to automate first â like member approvals or invoice reviews.
Pro tip: Their support teams can pre-build your first Zapier workflow if youâre allergic to setup. Just ask.
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ApproveThis doesnât require contracts or PhDs to use. If your Raklet processes involve more than one âHey, can you check this?â per week, itâs time to upgrade.
Integrate with Raklet 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 Raklet
Suggested workflows (and their Zapier components) for Raklet
Create approval requests for new Raklet contacts
When a new contact is added in Raklet, an approval request is generated in ApproveThis to verify contact details before onboarding. This integration helps ensure data accuracy and control over new contact entries.
Zapier Components
Trigger
New Contact
Triggers when a new contact is created.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
Create approval requests for new Raklet payments
When a new payment is registered in Raklet, an approval request is initiated in ApproveThis for further review. This integration automates payment verifications and enhances financial oversight.
Zapier Components
Trigger
New Payment
Triggers when a new payment is created.
Action
Create Request
Creates a new request, probably with input from previous steps.
Add note to Raklet contacts for new approval requests
When a new approval request is received in ApproveThis, a note is automatically added to the corresponding Raklet contact. This integration creates an auditable log of approval workflows tied to contact records.
Zapier Components
Trigger
New Request
Triggers when a new approval request workflow is initiated.
Action
Add Note to Contact
Adds a note to the specified contact.
Add tag to Raklet contacts for completed requests
When an approval request is completed in ApproveThis, a tag is added to the related Raklet contact indicating the outcome. This integration simplifies tracking of approval decisions within your contact management system.
Zapier Components
Trigger
A Request Is Approved/Denied
Triggers when a request is approved or denied.
Action
Add Tag to Contact
Adds a Tag to the Specified Contact.
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