ApproveThis manages your Planbox Innovation Central Integration approvals.

When Bureaucracy Meets Brainstorms

Let's be real - most companies suck at two things: coming up with good ideas, and actually approving them. Planbox Innovation Central solves the first problem by giving teams a structured way to capture and develop ideas. ApproveThis handles the second part by cutting through approval red tape. Together? They're like caffeine for your innovation pipeline.

We're talking about turning this:

"Great idea! Now fill out form 27-B, cc these 8 execs, and wait 3 weeks for someone to maybe glance at it"

Into this:

"Idea submitted → automatic routing → decision made → status updated → team notified"

All through a Zapier integration that takes about 15 minutes to set up. Let's break down why this matters for mid-sized companies trying to move faster than corporate giants but still need actual process.

Why This Combo Works

Planbox is where ideas go to grow up. ApproveThis is where they get their passport stamped. The integration turns what's usually a black hole of "we'll get back to you" into a transparent process where:

• Approvers don't need to log into yet another system (email works fine)
• External partners can greenlight ideas without getting Planbox licenses
• Every decision automatically updates Planbox statuses

Take a 500-employee manufacturing company we worked with. Their R&D team was drowning in 200+ monthly ideas from plants worldwide. Using these tools together, they now auto-route concepts to:

• Plant managers for feasibility checks
• Legal for patent conflicts
• Finance for ROI thresholds

All before human decision-makers even see the proposal. Cut approval time from 34 days to 6. Not bad for a Zapier setup that costs less than their office coffee budget.

Real Use Cases for Real Companies

1. Killing Zombie Ideas Faster

Tech startups love this one: Auto-create approval requests in ApproveThis whenever someone submits a new product idea in Planbox. Set conditional thresholds so:

- Ideas under $50K development cost auto-route to engineering lead
- $50K-$250K need CFO + CTO sign-off
- Anything higher triggers a board review

Meanwhile in Planbox, the idea's status automatically updates from "Under Review" to "Approved for Prototyping" or "Rejected - Does Not Align With Q3 Goals". No more chasing down execs for updates.

2. From Task Completion to Quality Control

A consumer goods company uses this for factory safety upgrades:

1. Plant manager completes "Machine Retrofit Task" in Planbox
2. Zapier triggers ApproveThis to:
  - Notify safety officer via email
  - Require photo uploads of installed parts
  - Escalate after 48hrs if no response
3. Once approved, Planbox auto-closes the task and updates audit trails

Reduced compliance violations by 62% last quarter. Not because they hired more inspectors, but because the system forced accountability.

3. Cross-Team Coordination Without the Meetings

When ApproveThis detects a high-priority marketing campaign approval (say, over $1M budget), Zapier automatically:

- Creates a Planbox event for legal/compliance review
- Books conference room via calendar integration
- Pulls in relevant brand guidelines as attachments

The result? Their last product launch had zero last-minute legal changes. Miracles do happen.

Setup That Doesn't Require IT

If you can order DoorDash, you can set this up:

Step 1: Connect your Zapier account to both Planbox and ApproveThis

Step 2: Pick your trigger (New Planbox idea, completed task, etc.)

Step 3: Map these 3 key fields:
- Idea/task owner → ApproveThis requester
- Planbox description → Approval justification
- Any custom fields (budget, location, etc.)

Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis' calculated fields to auto-flag ideas that exceed risk thresholds. Example: "If estimated development cost > 15% of department budget → require VP approval"

Who Actually Benefits?

R&D Teams

Stop being idea janitors. Auto-route concepts to:
- Patent attorneys via email (they live in Outlook anyway)
- External manufacturing partners (no Planbox logins needed)
- Regulatory teams with customized approval checklists

Operations Managers

Example: A food processing plant connects Planbox maintenance tasks to ApproveThis for:
- Safety certifications (expiration dates auto-checked)
- Equipment purchase approvals
- Shift change requests that require multiple supervisor OKs

HR & Culture Committees

Yes, even for "soft" stuff:
- Employee wellness program ideas get routed to:
  1. Legal (liability check)
  2. Facilities (space requirements)
  3. Budget committee
- Diversity initiative proposals require cross-department approvals

The Nuts and Bolts You Care About

Approval Groups: Require consensus from all 5 engineering leads, or just first-available? Your call.

Vacation Coverage: Sales director on safari? Approvals auto-reassign to their second-in-command.

Audit Trails: Every decision timestamped with comments. Perfect for ISO certifications or those fun audit meetings.

Mobile Approvals: Because your execs aren't at their desks. Ever.

Common "Yeah Buts" We Hear

"We already have Jira/Asana/etc."
Cool - so hook those into ApproveThis too. Multi-tool approvals are our jam.

"Our approval process is too complex."
We've handled workflows with 37 approval steps across 9 countries. Your 5-person sign-off isn't scary.

"We need custom reporting."
ApproveThis dashboards show which departments bottleneck approvals. Planbox tracks idea velocity. Together? You'll actually hit those innovation KPIs.

Getting Started Without the BS

Option 1: Grab a free ApproveThis trial, connect to your existing Planbox account via Zapier, and test with one process (like travel request approvals).

Option 2: Book a 15-minute demo where we'll show:
- How a healthcare client automates HIPAA-compliant approvals
- A manufacturing approval workflow that reduced downtime 40%
- The secret sauce for external partner approvals

Either way, you're not buying another SaaS tool. You're fixing the approval constipation that's been slowing down every good idea your teams have.