ApproveThis manages your Zoho Checkout Integration approvals.

Why Approval Workflows Matter More Than You Think

Let’s cut through the noise: approvals suck. But they don’t have to. When you’re dealing with payments – refunds, subscriptions, or one-time charges – every delay or missed sign-off costs money. Combine that with manual processes, and you’ve got a recipe for late fees, frustrated clients, and finance teams ready to mutiny.

That’s where ApproveThis and Zoho Checkout come in. One handles the money, the other handles the decisions. Connect them through Zapier, and you’ve got a system where payment events automatically trigger approval workflows. No more chasing down signatures. No more “I thought you approved that refund.”

What This Combo Does That Manual Processes Can’t

Zoho Checkout is great at taking payments. ApproveThis is great at getting decisions made. Together? They handle the entire lifecycle of a transaction – including the messy human parts most software ignores.

Zoho Checkout’s Strengths:
- Creates custom payment pages in minutes
- Manages recurring subscriptions
- Processes one-time payments and refunds

ApproveThis Adds:
- Automatic approval routing based on amount, client, or project
- Real-time tracking of who approved what (and when)
- Escalation paths when people ghost their inboxes

Example: A $5K client payment comes through Zoho Checkout. ApproveThis automatically routes it to the project manager for confirmation before marking it as approved revenue. No more accounting team playing detective.

Use Cases That Actually Matter

1. Refunds That Don’t Require a Committee Meeting

Here’s the problem: Customer requests a refund → support agent processes it → finance notices it’s over $500 and freaks out → CFO has to retroactively approve it → everyone wastes a week cleaning it up.

With the integration:
- Zoho Checkout triggers a refund → ApproveThis immediately routes approval based on amount
- $100 refund? Auto-approved. $1,500? Goes to the finance lead.
- Approval happens before the refund processes. No backpedaling.

Who Cares:
- SaaS companies with tiered pricing (bigger contracts = bigger refund risks)
- E-commerce brands processing high volumes of returns
- Agencies dealing with client disputes

2. Payment Notifications That Actually Prevent Chaos

Scenario: Enterprise client pays their invoice via Zoho Checkout. The payment sits in a system until someone manually checks it. Meanwhile, the sales team thinks the deal’s closed, support onboarded the client, and accounting hasn’t confirmed the money’s there.

With the integration:
- Payment received → Instant approval request to confirm funds
- Once approved, automatically notify CRM, project tools, and accounting
- No more departments working off outdated info

Who Uses This:
- Subscription businesses tracking MRR
- Consultants with milestone-based billing
- Manufacturers requiring payment confirmation before shipping

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

Zapier does the heavy lifting. No coders required.

Basic Setup:

1. Create a Zapier account (if you don’t have one)
2. Choose Zoho Checkout as your trigger app (either “Payment Success” or “Refund Payment”)
3. Select ApproveThis as your action app (“Create Request” or “New Request Workflow”)
4. Map the payment data (amount, customer, notes) to the approval request
5. Test it with a $1 payment to confirm approvals route correctly

Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’ approval thresholds to auto-approve small payments. A $10 refund doesn’t need VP sign-off.

Why Your Teams Will Stop Complaining

Finance Teams:
Get audit trails for every payment decision. No more guessing who approved a refund. Set hard rules (e.g., “All refunds over $2K require CFO approval”) and actually enforce them.

Operations Teams:
Stop being the middleman between payment systems and decision-makers. ApproveThis shows real-time status of every request – no status update meetings needed.

Client-Facing Teams:
External clients can approve payments without needing a Zoho Checkout login. Send them an email, they click approve/reject, done. Keeps things moving without exposing your payment systems.

Features You’ll Actually Use

ApproveThis isn’t just another approval tool. These matter for payments:

Calculated Fields:
Automatically flag payments that don’t match invoice amounts. Example: If Zoho Checkout shows $5K paid but the invoice was for $5,200, route for review.

Vacation Delegation:
AP manager out? Approval rights automatically shift to their backup. No payment delays.

Email Approvals:
Approvers don’t need to log into another system. Click “Approve” directly from their inbox. (Yes, even for $100K+ payments.)

The Bottom Line

If you’re using Zoho Checkout, you’re already ahead of companies still processing checks. But manual approvals are leaving money on the table – either through delays, errors, or outright fraud.

ApproveThis doesn’t just automate approvals. It makes sure the right people sign off on the right payments, every time. And because it connects through Zapier, you’re not rebuilding your entire payment stack.

Ready to actually fix your payment approvals?
Book a demo or start a free trial. Takes 8 minutes to set up your first workflow. Less time than it takes to process one manual refund.