How ApproveThis + Pima Automates Document Approvals (Without the Headaches)

When Paperwork Meets Process

Let’s be real: nobody gets excited about chasing signatures or waiting days for someone to approve a contract. But here’s the kicker – slow approvals cost money. Deals stall. Projects bottleneck. Security docs gather dust. That’s where ApproveThis and Pima come in. Together, they turn document workflows from bureaucratic nightmares into automated handshakes between systems.

Why This Combo Works

Pima handles the document heavy lifting – sending NDAs, tracking who viewed what, managing secure transfers. ApproveThis does one thing brutally well: getting decisions made fast through structured approvals. Connect them via Zapier, and you’ve got a system where documents trigger approvals, approvals unlock next steps, and nobody’s chasing people through Slack.

The Niche They Own

Most approval tools force you to build workflows inside their walled garden. ApproveThis + Pima works different. Your team stays in Pima for document work. Approvers live in email or your existing tools. No new logins, no extra seats – just a clean handoff between systems that already matter.

Real-World Use Cases (Not Fluff)

1. The "Don’t Let Legal Bottleneck Deals" Setup

Scenario: Sales sends an NDA via Pima → Legal needs to approve exceptions → Deal moves forward.
How it works: Zapier detects when Pima sends an agreement. ApproveThis pings Legal via email with context. They approve/deny directly from inbox. Approved? Pima auto-sends the final doc. Denied? Sales gets notes for revisions.
Who cares: SaaS companies closing 100+ deals/month. Legal teams tired of being the bottleneck.

2. The "Security Docs That Don’t Leak" Play

Scenario: Prospect views watermarked report → Needs internal approval to share → Audit trail maintained.
How it works: Pima triggers when someone views sensitive docs. ApproveThis routes to compliance teams with viewer details. Only approved shares get clean copies. Denied? Pima revokes access.
Who cares: Financial firms, consultants sharing proprietary data. Compliance officers sleeping better at night.

3. The "Stop Signature Ping-Pong" Move

Scenario: Contract gets passed between 3 departments → Version control hell → Delayed signings.
How it works: Pima flags when signatures get transferred between teams. ApproveThis enforces sequential approvals with context. Marketing signs off → Legal reviews → CFO approves. No overlaps, no chaos.
Who cares: Manufacturing companies with multi-stage procurement deals. Anyone tired of “Which version are we signing?!”

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

1. Connect the dots in Zapier: New Zap → Pima trigger (agreement sent/doc viewed/etc.) → ApproveThis action (create request).
2. Map fields that matter: Pull Pima doc IDs, viewer emails, agreement terms into approval requests.
3. Set escalation rules: In ApproveThis, configure thresholds (e.g., “If no response in 12h, notify VP”).
4. Test with real data: Send a Pima doc → Confirm approval path works → Pop champagne.

Why Teams Actually Care

Legal & Compliance

No more digging through Pima logs to see who approved what. ApproveThis gives audit trails with timestamps, comments, and conditional logic. Plus, vacation delegation means Jane’s out? Requests auto-reroute to Bob without missing SLAs.

Sales Ops

Deals stuck waiting for MSA approvals cost real revenue. With calculated fields in ApproveThis, you can auto-approve contracts under $50k while routing bigger deals to execs. All without leaving Pima’s interface.

Procurement

Vendor NDAs, security assessments, SOC2 sharing – they all live in Pima. Now approvals happen parallel to doc prep. Bonus: use approval groups to require 2/3 team leads sign off on high-risk vendors.

External Partners

Client needs to approve your SOW? They don’t need Pima access. ApproveThis sends them an email, they click approve, Pima auto-updates the doc status. No guest seats, no permission headaches.

The Unsexy Advantages You’ll Learn to Love

- Email approvals that don’t suck: Approvers get all context in one email – no hunting through attachments.
- Thresholds as secret weapons: Auto-approve routine NDAs under $10k? Done. Escalate anything with “indemnification” clauses? Easy.
- Real-time tracking without micromanaging: That dashboard showing all Pima-linked approvals? Yeah, it’s your new favorite tab.

Common Objections (And How to Shut Them Down)

"We already have approval workflows in [Other Tool]."
Cool. Do they integrate with Pima without custom code? Can external partners approve without licenses? Do they handle conditional routing based on doc content? Thought so.

"We’re not a Zapier shop."
Zapier’s just the pipe. Your team lives in Pima. Approvers live in email. ApproveThis sits in the middle translating doc events into decisions. No “Zapier skills” required.

How to Not Screw This Up

- Do: Start with one Pima document type (e.g., NDAs) before scaling to all agreements.
- Don’t: Let perfection paralyze you. Default ApproveThis templates work better than no automation.
- Do: Use calculated fields to auto-approve low-risk docs based on Pima metadata.
- Don’t: Forget to set vacation rules – nothing kills momentum like an approver on PTO.

Bottom Line

Pima’s where your docs live. ApproveThis is how decisions get made. Together? They’re the system you’ll wish you had last quarter when that big deal almost slipped. Time to stop herding cats and start automating handoffs.

Next step: Book a 15-minute demo or try ApproveThis free. Connect your Pima account, and we’ll build your first approval flow live. No “strategy session” BS – just results.