ApproveThis manages your Sage Accounting Integration approvals.

When Accounting Meets Approval Muscle

Let’s be real: approval processes are where productivity goes to die. Especially when your finance team is juggling Sage Accounting for invoices and payments while chasing down stakeholders for sign-offs in email threads. Enter ApproveThis – the approval workflow sidekick that plugs into Sage via Zapier to turn “Where’s that approval?!” into “It’s already done.”

This isn’t about replacing Sage (it’s great at accounting). It’s about giving your approvals the same level of structure and automation that Sage brings to your finances. Think: purchase invoices that kick off approval chains automatically, or sales invoices that get created only after approvals are locked in. No more spreadsheet trackers. No more chasing VPs in parking lots.

Why This Combo Works for Mid-Sized Companies

If your company has 50-5000 employees, you’re big enough that ad-hoc approvals are costing you real money, but small enough that buying some enterprise-grade monster system is overkill. Here’s where ApproveThis + Sage clicks:

• No more app hopping: Approvers get requests via email (they can approve with one click) – no need to log into Sage.
• Budget control baked in: Auto-approve invoices under $5K? Escalate anything over $20K to the CFO? Done.
• External-friendly: Clients or contractors can approve Sage-related requests without needing a Sage license.

Real Workflows for Actual Humans

Let’s break down the Zapier templates without the jargon:

Use Case 1: Purchase Invoices That Don’t Ghost You

The Problem: Your procurement team creates a purchase invoice in Sage for raw materials. It sits in someone’s inbox for a week because the approver’s on PTO. Production delays happen.

The Fix: Zapier triggers an ApproveThis request the second the invoice hits Sage. Approval rules:

• Under $10K? Auto-approved based on your threshold.
• Over $10K? Routes to the plant manager, then CFO if needed.
• Approver OOO? Delegates to their backup automatically.

Who Cares: Manufacturing, construction – any biz where delayed purchases = delayed revenue.

Use Case 2: Sales Invoices That Don’t Jump the Gun

The Problem: Your sales team promises a custom discount, but Finance doesn’t find out until the invoice is already in Sage. Cue the refunds and awkward client calls.

The Fix: New ApproveThis request → only after approval does the sales invoice get created in Sage. Add calculated fields to flag discounts over 15% for extra scrutiny.

Who Cares: Agencies, wholesalers – anyone where pricing isn’t static.

Use Case 3: Payment Updates That Don’t Require a Paper Trail

The Problem: A client updates their payment terms in Sage, but now Accounting, Legal, and the Account Manager all need to sign off. Chaos ensues.

The Fix: Any contact payment change in Sage triggers an ApproveThis chain with conditional routing: Legal only gets involved if liability clauses change, otherwise it’s a two-click approval for Accounting.

Who Cares: SaaS companies, service providers with custom client contracts.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

If you can order takeout online, you can connect ApproveThis and Sage. Here’s the playbook:

1. Zapier Account: If you don’t have one, it’s free to start. Sign up here.
2. Connect Sage: Zapier’s Sage integration is straightforward – permissions are read-only unless you want to push data back.
3. Pick Your Trigger: Like “New Purchase Invoice in Sage” or “Updated Contact Payment.”
4. Map to ApproveThis: Define who approves what, set thresholds, add calculated fields if needed.
5. Test with a $1 Invoice: Better to catch issues now than with a $50K order.

Pro tip: Start with one workflow (like purchase invoices) before automating everything. You’ll spot tweaks needed without overwhelm.

Teams That Actually Enjoy Mondays Now

This isn’t just about speed – it’s about who gets their time back:

Finance Teams

No more being the “approval police.” Set thresholds so only exceptions hit their inbox. Real-time tracking means they can stop answering “Where’s that invoice?” calls.

Procurement & Operations

Purchase orders get approved before suppliers start charging late fees. Vacation delegation means no bottlenecks when managers are out.

Sales & Account Management

Custom deals get approved before they’re promised, so commissions don’t get clawed back later. Client payment term changes happen without 15 forward-all emails.

The Cool Features You’ll Actually Use

ApproveThis isn’t just a fancy “yes/no” button. When paired with Sage, these matter:

Approval Thresholds: Let’s say anything under $2K auto-approves. Sage still records it, but your team only reviews big spends.

Calculated Fields: Automatically flag invoices where the total exceeds the project’s remaining budget (pulled from Sage).

Approval Groups: Need two VPs to sign off on capital expenditures? Set it once, forget about it.

Common “Yeah, But…” Moments

“We have custom approval rules.” So do most companies. ApproveThis handles multi-step, conditional, and parallel approvals. If your rule can be flowcharted, it can be automated.

“Our clients don’t use Sage.” Even better. They approve via email without needing a login. Their approved requests still sync back to your Sage data.

“What if Zapier goes down?” It’s rare, but approvals fall back to email. You’re not worse off than before.

Bottom Line: This Isn’t Just Automation

It’s about closing the loop between the money you spend (Sage) and the decisions that authorize it (ApproveThis). No more “The system didn’t catch that” excuses. No more audit nightmares because approvals were in Slack DMs.

If you’re using Sage Accounting, you’re already serious about financial control. ApproveThis is the missing layer for decision control.

Do This Next

Register for ApproveThis – free trial, no credit card. Or, if you’re the “show me” type, book a demo. We’ll map out your messiest approval process live.

P.S. If you’re still manually approving Sage invoices, at least set up a Zapier account. It’s like discovering your car has cruise control after years of foot cramps.