ApproveThis + Wave: How to Automate Approvals and Accounting Without the Headaches

When Accounting Meets Approval Workflows

Let’s be real: approvals are the speed bumps of business. And when money’s involved? Suddenly you’re not just managing workflows – you’re playing financial Tetris with invoices, client onboarding, and budget sign-offs. This is where ApproveThis and Wave decide to crash the party (in a good way). Together, they turn “Hey, can you approve this?” from an email chain nightmare into a closed-loop system that actually works.

What Each Tool Does Best

ApproveThis is your approval sherpa. It handles the messy middle of decision-making – routing requests to the right people, chasing down signatures, and making sure nobody’s reviewing a $50K invoice while stuck in a TSA line. Key moves: conditional approvals, email-based sign-offs, and real-time tracking.

Wave is the accounting sidekick you wish you hired earlier. Free invoicing, expense tracking, and payment processing without the enterprise software price tag. Perfect for teams that need financial clarity without hiring a full-time CFO.

Together via Zapier, they solve the “why is this taking so long?” problem. Think: auto-creating invoices when budgets get approved, or kicking off purchase order reviews when big expenses hit Wave.

Three Ways This Combo Actually Works

1. Client Onboarding Without the Paperwork Hangover

The Zap: New ApproveThis request → Auto-create Wave customer profile.

Picture this: Your sales team closes a deal. Instead of CC’ing half the company on a “can we invoice these guys?” thread, ApproveThis triggers a customer profile in Wave the second the contract gets initial approval. Legal reviews the terms, Finance preps the billing – all while Sales is still high-fiving.

Who needs this:

• Marketing agencies approving new campaign budgets
• IT consultants onboarding managed service clients

ApproveThis bonus: Use calculated fields to auto-flag deals over $10K for exec review before Wave even sees them.

2. Invoices That Don’t Require Mind Reading

The Zap: Approved request in ApproveThis → Generated invoice in Wave.

Your project manager approves a vendor payment. Zapier grabs the approval details, slaps them into a Wave invoice template, and fires it off – all before the vendor can send a “just checking in” email. No more copy-paste errors or guessing which GL code to use.

Who kills it with this:

• Construction firms managing subcontractor payments
• Healthcare providers handling equipment procurement

Pro tip: Set approval thresholds so small recurring invoices auto-approve, while big spends route to department heads.

3. Auditing That Doesn’t Suck

The Zap: New Wave invoice → Approval request in ApproveThis.

Your bookkeeper enters a $15K software expense. Instead of assuming someone will notice, ApproveThis automatically creates an audit trail. Finance leads get an email to confirm the expense aligns with Q3 budgets. If it does? The invoice gets paid. If not? It routes back with comments.

Top use cases:

Nonprofits tracking grant expenditures, manufacturers reconciling material costs.

Secret weapon: Approval groups ensure two department heads sign off on big spends without playing email tag.

Why This Isn’t Just Another Integration

Most accounting tools make you choose between flexibility and control. Wave + ApproveThis gives you both:

For Finance Teams: Real-time visibility into what’s being approved (and by whom) before it hits the books.

For Ops Managers: Automated handoffs between departments that actually work 90% of the time.

For External Partners: Clients can approve estimates or POs via email without needing a Wave login. Less back-and-forth, fewer “I didn’t see that email” excuses.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

Zapier’s the middleman here. Basic flow:

1. Connect ApproveThis and Wave to Zapier (10 minutes max)
2. Pick your triggers: New approvals → Create Wave customers/invoices, or new invoices → Start approvals
3. Map fields once (invoice amounts → approval thresholds, client emails → approver lists)

Pro move: Use ApproveThis’s conditional logic to route Wave invoices over $5K to a different approver group than smaller expenses.

The Quietly Powerful Features You’ll Use

Vacation Delegation: CFO out? Approvals auto-reassign to their deputy. No more “waiting for Janice to get back from Maui.”

Approval Thresholds: Auto-approve office supply orders under $500. Everything else goes to procurement.

Real-Time Dashboards: See which Wave invoices are stuck in approval limbo. Spoiler: way fewer than last quarter.

Who Actually Benefits From This?

50-200 Person Companies: Finally get processes that scale without hiring three coordinators.

200-5000 Person Teams: Standardize approvals across departments while letting each team keep their Wave workflows.

Construction, healthcare, professional services – if you’ve got more than 20 invoices/approvals weekly, this pays for itself in reclaimed hours.

The Bottom Line

Approvals and accounting are like oil and water – they don’t mix unless you force them. ApproveThis and Wave via Zapier is the emulsifier. You get financial controls without the bureaucratic sludge, visibility without micromanaging.

Ready to stop being the human router between departments? Sign up for ApproveThis or book a 15-minute demo. We’ll show you how to connect the dots with Wave – no accounting degree required.