ApproveThis manages your Routee Integration approvals.

When Approval Processes Meet SMS Muscle

Let’s cut to the chase: approval bottlenecks cost money. Someone’s always waiting on a decision, a signature, or that one exec who’s perpetually "in meetings." ApproveThis fixes that by automating workflows. Routee? It makes sure people actually see the requests. Together? They turn clunky processes into something that feels…well, functional.

Think about it – your team already uses Routee to blast SMS updates to customers. Now imagine that same immediacy applied to internal approvals. Marketing needs a campaign greenlit? Procurement’s waiting on a vendor contract? HR’s got a new hire offer? Instead of drowning in Slack pings, you automate nudges via SMS. No extra logins. No chasing people down. Just decisions happening faster.

Why This Combo Works (When Other Tools Don’t)

Most approval tools stop at email notifications. Big mistake. Email’s where requests go to die under 300 unread messages. Routee’s SMS delivery means approvers get alerts where they’ll actually see them – their phones. And because ApproveThis handles the entire workflow logic, you’re not just spamming people. You’re creating accountability:

• Approvers don’t need Routee accounts – External partners or clients? They approve via SMS or email. No new logins.
• Escalation paths that work – If someone’s OOO, ApproveThis auto-reroutes the request. Routee ensures the next person knows.

Take procurement teams: They’re drowning in purchase orders. Set a threshold so anything over $10k auto-alerts the CFO via SMS. Under that? The department head gets a text. Either way, purchases move faster without manual check-ins.

Real Use Cases That Don’t Suck

1. Cleaning Up Contact Chaos

The problem: Sales teams adding random leads to Routee without vetting. Marketing gets stuck with unqualified contacts. The fix: Every new Routee contact triggers an ApproveThis workflow. Sales ops gets an SMS to approve/reject the lead. If denied? Automatically purge it from Routee.

Who uses this: Marketing agencies managing client lead lists. No more paying to text unvetted contacts.

2. Emergency Approvals That Can’t Wait

The problem: IT needs urgent approval for a system patch, but the CTO’s traveling. The fix: ApproveThis escalates to their backup via SMS using Routee. If no response in 2 hours? Auto-approve based on predefined thresholds.

Who uses this: Healthcare providers needing HIPAA-compliant fast-tracking for patient data requests.

3. Killing Zombie Accounts

The problem: Ex-employees still in Routee contact lists. The fix: Quarterly audits trigger approval requests to department heads via SMS. No approval? Automatically deactivate the contact.

Who uses this: SaaS companies managing client accounts across multiple teams.

Setup That Takes Minutes, Not Days

If you’ve used Zapier before, this is stupid simple:

1. Connect ApproveThis and Routee to Zapier
2. Pick a trigger (e.g., "New Contact" in Routee)
3. Set the action (e.g., "Create Request" in ApproveThis)
4. Map fields – Routee contact name → ApproveThis requester field

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to auto-flag requests needing extra scrutiny. Example: If a Routee contact’s location field is empty, require CMO approval.

Which Teams Actually Benefit?

Finance Teams

Routee’s SMS lets them approve invoices during airport layovers. Approval thresholds auto-approve recurring payments under $5k. Vacation mode prevents CFOs from getting approval texts while snorkeling in Bali.

Operations Teams

New vendor in Routee? Trigger a compliance check via SMS. ApproveThis’ audit trail covers your ass during audits. Real-time dashboards show which contracts are stuck.

HR Teams

Job offers sent via Routee SMS with ApproveThis tracking. If the hiring manager ghosts, it auto-escapes to HR director after 24hrs. No more lost offers.

The Quiet Perks You’ll Appreciate

Beyond the obvious, this combo solves niche headaches:

External approvals without the fees: Clients approve project extensions via SMS. They don’t need ApproveThis logins – just click a link in the text. You’re not paying for their "seat."

After-hours emergencies: Facilities manager gets a Routee SMS at 2AM about a broken server. ApproveThis lets them approve emergency repairs via reply.

Compliance made less awful: Every approval decision is logged with timestamps. Routee confirms SMS delivery. Combined, they’re audit-proof.

When to Avoid This Integration

We’re not here to BS you. This combo won’t fix:

Broken approval hierarchies: If your process is "everyone approves everything," no tool saves you. Fix your governance first.

Spam-happy teams: Routee’s for critical alerts, not notifying 50 people about every TPS report.

Ready to Stop Chasing Approvals?

ApproveThis isn’t another tool – it’s the missing layer between your apps and actual decisions. Paired with Routee’s SMS, it’s like giving your processes a double shot of espresso.

Get started with ApproveThis – free for 14 days. No CC required. Or book a 10-minute demo to see how it works with Routee.

PS: If your team’s still approving things via email chains, we’re judging you. Gently. But still judging.