ApproveThis manages your Universe Integration approvals.

When Event Planning Meets Approval Chaos

Let's be real - nobody got into event planning because they love chasing down sign-offs on vendor contracts or begging managers to approve last-minute ticket discounts. Yet here we are. Between venue bookings, VIP passes, and budget approvals, you're spending more time herding cats than actually creating memorable experiences.

That's where this combo comes in. Universe handles the event logistics. ApproveThis handles the decision bottlenecks. Together through Zapier, they turn "Hey, can you approve this?" into a process that actually works while you sleep. No more spreadsheet trackers. No more approval limbo.

Why This Combo Works for Mid-Sized Teams

Most event tools treat approvals as an afterthought. Universe is great at selling tickets - not so great at handling the internal politics of who gets to say "yes" to what. ApproveThis doesn't care about your org chart drama. Set the rules once, and it routes requests to the right people automatically. Even when Karen from accounting is on vacation.

Here's the kicker: approvers only need access to ApproveThis - not a Universe license. Perfect for:

• External vendors needing contract sign-offs
• Client-side stakeholders who shouldn't see your backend
• Department leads who only care about their budget slice

Real-World Use Cases (Not Just Theory)

1. The Bulk Order Dilemma

Picture this: A corporate client wants 500 tickets for their sales kickoff. But your pricing rules require director approval for orders over $15k. Without automation:

- Sales rep emails finance
- Finance forwards to legal
- Legal asks for revised contract
- Client gets bored and shops elsewhere

With the integration:
Universe detects the large order → ApproveThis routes it to legal + finance simultaneously → Both approve → Contract auto-sends → Client gets confirmation before their coffee gets cold.

Who uses this: Agencies handling corporate events, universities managing conference registrations.

2. The VIP Pass Shuffle

Every festival organizer's nightmare: Special access requests piling up in 12 different inboxes. Backstage passes, artist comps, press credentials - all needing different approvers.

Set up conditional workflows:
- Artist guest list? Route to production manager
- Press passes? Send to PR director
- Sponsor comps? Needs sales lead + finance
All triggered automatically when those ticket types sell in Universe.

Who uses this: Music festivals, sports venues with tiered ticket packages.

3. The Budget Guardrails

Regional managers planning local events often blow budgets on "emergency" AV upgrades. Classic.
Solution: Any Universe ticket sale that includes add-ons exceeding $500 gets auto-routed to HQ. ApproveThis calculates totals in real-time using calculated fields. If denied, the customer gets an alternative quote automatically.

Who uses this: Franchise businesses, distributed marketing teams.

Setup That Actually Takes 8 Minutes

No PhD required:
1. Connect Universe and ApproveThis in Zapier
2. Choose trigger events ("Order Sold" or "Ticket Sold")
3. Map key Universe data to ApproveThis fields (order total, ticket type, etc)
4. Set approval rules once in ApproveThis
5. Test with a $0.01 test ticket

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis' approval thresholds to auto-approve small fries. Save human brainpower for exceptions.

Department-Specific Wins

Sales Teams

Stop being the approval middleman. Custom workflows let you offer:
- Instant auto-approval for standard packages
- Escalation paths for upsells
Bonus: Sales ops gets real-time data on what deals get stuck where.

Operations

Kill the spreadsheet updates. ApproveThis dashboards show:
- Pending venue contracts
- Approved vendor payments
- Stuck inventory orders
All synced with Universe event dates so nothing falls through pre-show cracks.

Finance

Enforce controls without being the bad guy:
- Require dual approval for refunds over $X
- Auto-flag events missing tax docs
- Get audit trails for every decision

The Not-So-Obvious Perks

Beyond the basics, this combo handles:

Vacation Coverage: ApproveThis automatically reassigns tasks if someone's OOO. No more "Waiting on Jim" statuses.

Approval Choke Points: See which managers consistently delay sign-offs. Useful for those "why is everything last-minute?" conversations.

Conditional Workflows: Require legal review only for international events, or add CEO approval for sponsorships over $50k.

When to Stick With Manual Approvals

This isn't a magic bullet. Keep handling these manually:
- True emergencies (fire alarms, headline acts canceling)
- High-touch client relationships (your 7-figure accounts)
- First-time vendor partnerships

Ready to Stop Being an Approval Secretary?

Look - if you're still manually routing ticket approvals in 2024, you're leaving money on the table. Every minute spent chasing sign-offs is a minute not spent on creative logistics or customer experience.

ApproveThis + Universe through Zapier isn't about fancy tech. It's about finally having processes that match how you actually work. Less busywork, more actual work.

Get started with ApproveThis and connect your Universe account in under an hour. Or schedule a demo to see how other event teams cut approval delays by 70%.

P.S. Your future self (and your stressed-out sales reps) will thank you.