ApproveThis manages your Support Board Integration approvals.

When Customer Support Meets Approval Workflows

Let’s be real: nothing kills momentum like waiting for someone to hit “approve” while a customer’s getting impatient. That’s where connecting ApproveThis and Support Board via Zapier turns a potential bottleneck into a well-oiled machine. We’re talking about linking the platform that handles your customer conversations (Support Board) with the tool that cuts through approval red tape (ApproveThis). No more copy-pasting chat transcripts into emails begging for sign-offs. No more losing track of which requests are stuck in limbo.

For companies between 50-5,000 employees, this integration isn’t just “nice to have” – it’s how you keep customer support agile when decisions need input from finance, legal, or external partners. Especially when those partners aren’t sitting in your Support Board instance all day.

What Each Tool Does (And Where They Collide)

Support Board is where your team manages live chat, AI-driven bots, and customer tickets. It’s great at conversations but wasn’t built to handle the “Okay, now get three department heads to sign off on this” part.

ApproveThis specializes in routing decisions fast – think multi-step approvals, automatic escalations, and real-time tracking. But it doesn’t replace your help desk; it supercharges it.

Together, they cover the full cycle: a customer makes a request → your team routes it for internal sign-offs → decisions automatically loop back into the conversation. All without manual handoffs.

The Nuts and Bolts of the Integration

Using Zapier, you’re mainly dealing with three triggers and actions:

• Trigger: New Support Board conversation → Action: Create ApproveThis request
• Trigger: Approval decision in ApproveThis → Action: Add note to Support Board conversation
• Trigger: New ApproveThis request → Action: Send email via Support Board

But let’s break this out of Zap-speak. Here’s what that actually does for your team:

Use Case 1: Escalating High-Stakes Customer Requests

Scenario: A SaaS company gets a support chat where a enterprise client asks for a custom feature. The rep needs engineering and legal to greenlight before promising anything.

Old Way: Rep copies the chat into an email, CCs five people, then plays follow-up tag for days. The customer? Left hanging.

Integrated Way: Rep triggers an ApproveThis workflow from the Support Board chat. The request auto-routes to engineering (is this feasible?), then legal (any compliance issues?), with deadlines. Each approver gets it in email – no need to log into Support Board. Once approved, the rep gets an auto-update in the original chat thread with the decision and next steps.

Why It Works: ApproveThis’ calculated fields can flag high-risk requests based on chat content (like dollar amounts or contract terms), auto-escalating to the right approver tier. Support Board keeps the customer in the loop without exposing internal back-and-forth.

Use Case 2: Handling Refunds & Credits Without the Paperwork

Scenario: A retail company’s support team gets daily refund requests. Anything over $500 needs manager approval.

Old Way: Rep submits a form to accounting, waits, then manually updates the customer. If the manager’s OOO? Tough luck.

Integrated Way: When a refund request hits Support Board, ApproveThis checks the amount. Under $500? Auto-approved, customer gets instant confirmation. Over $500? Routes to the manager’s email with a deadline. If they’re on vacation, it jumps to their delegate. Once decided, Support Board adds a note to the chat: “Approved by [Name] at [Time]” – creating an audit trail.

Why It Works: Approval thresholds and vacation delegation eliminate “waiting for someone who’s on a beach in Cancun.” Real-time tracking means reps can tell customers exactly where things stand.

Use Case 3: Automating Compliance-Led Conversations

Scenario: A healthcare provider uses Support Board for patient inquiries. Some questions need legal review before responding.

Old Way: Rep screenshots the chat, sends it via a separate compliance portal, then has to manually check for updates. Risky if urgent.

Integrated Way: Trigger an approval from sensitive chats. Legal gets an email with the full transcript and a one-click approve/deny. Their response posts back as a private Support Board note, so reps know exactly what they can share (and what’s off-limits).

Why It Works: Approval groups ensure only authorized people weigh in. Since approvers don’t need a Support Board license, external legal teams can participate without added cost or training.

Why Your Finance Team Will Love This

Ever had a sales discount request stuck because the CFO missed an email? With ApproveThis’ sequential approvals, those requests route in order: sales manager → regional lead → CFO. Each step has a time limit before escalating. And since everything’s logged in Support Board, finance can pull reports on approval times, bottlenecks, or common requests that need pre-approval policies.

Why Your Support Team Will Stop Yelling at Slack

No more switching tabs to beg for approvals. Everything happens in the tool they already use (Support Board), with status updates auto-posted. If a customer follows up, the rep sees the latest approval info without digging through emails.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

1. Map your “I need a decision” moments: Which Support Board interactions always require sign-off? Start there.
2. Build the approval workflow in ApproveThis: Use conditions like “If chat contains ‘contract renewal’, route to Legal.”
3. Connect via Zapier: The key triggers are “New Conversation” in Support Board and “Request Approved/Denied” in ApproveThis.
4. Test with a dummy request: Have someone message your Support Board to trigger the flow. Check that approvals route correctly and notes post back.

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis’ calculated fields to auto-prioritize requests. Example: A Support Board message tagged “urgent” could shorten approval deadlines automatically.

The Cool Stuff You Might Not Expect

- Approval chains that adapt on the fly: If an approver doesn’t respond in 24h, ApproveThis bumps it up the ladder. No more stalled requests.
- External approvers without new licenses: Vendors or clients can approve/reject via email – they don’t need access to Support Board.
- Audit trails that make compliance easy: Every decision is timestamped and tied to a user in both systems. Goodbye, spreadsheet trackers.

Let’s Get Real: When This Isn’t Magic

This integration won’t fix approval chaos if your process is fundamentally broken. If seven people need to approve a $10 discount, you’ve got bigger issues. But if you need to enforce existing rules without micromanaging every chat? That’s where it shines.

Ready to Stop Playing Approval Tag?

If your Support Board chats are full of “Let me check with…” and “Waiting on finance,” it’s time. ApproveThis doesn’t just automate approvals – it keeps customer conversations moving while decisions happen behind the scenes.

Register for ApproveThis and connect your Support Board in an afternoon. Or, if you’d rather see it in action first, book a demo. Either way, your approvers will thank you. (And by “thank you,” we mean they’ll finally stop ignoring your emails.)