ApproveThis manages your Volusion approvals.

Why Approval Workflows Matter in Ecommerce

In online retail, every second counts. A delayed approval can mean missed sales opportunities, oversold inventory, or frustrated customers. Volusion provides the tools to manage your storefront, while ApproveThis adds precision to the decision-making processes behind the scenes. Together through Zapier, they create an operational rhythm where approvals happen at the speed of commerce.

The Power of Combining Volusion and ApproveThis

Volusion stores process orders, track inventory, and manage customer relationships. ApproveThis brings structure to the human decisions required to keep those systems moving - whether approving bulk orders from wholesalers, authorizing inventory purchases, or validating custom product requests. The Zapier integration acts as a bridge between transactional data and human oversight.

Key Business Benefits

For mid-sized retailers scaling operations, this integration solves three critical challenges:

• Prevent Revenue Leaks: Automatically flag high-risk orders for manual review before fulfillment
• Accelerate Inventory Turns: Convert stock-out alerts into immediate purchase approvals

A fashion retailer could use approval thresholds to auto-approve reorders of best-selling items under $5k, while routing larger inventory commitments to management. An electronics seller might require senior approval for component purchases during tariff periods.

Real-World Use Cases

1. Order Verification Workflows

When Volusion detects a new order exceeding $10k or shipping to high-fraud regions, ApproveThis can:

- Require warehouse managers to confirm stock availability
- Route international shipments to compliance officers
- Escalate custom product requests to production teams

Example: A furniture company uses calculated fields to compare order totals against customer purchase history, triggering approvals only for deviations from normal patterns.

2. Inventory Procurement Automation

Connect Volusion's stock alerts to ApproveThis' conditional workflows:

- Auto-approve routine vendor orders below budget thresholds
- Require dual signatures for new supplier contracts
- Add lead time buffers during peak seasons

Example: A gourmet food retailer approves emergency holiday inventory purchases through Slack via ApproveThis' email approvals, cutting restock cycle time by 72 hours.

3. Client-Specific Workflows

For B2B sellers managing custom catalogs in Volusion:

- Route wholesale pricing requests to account managers
- Validate custom product specs with engineering teams
- Approve expedited shipping costs for VIP clients

Example: A medical equipment supplier requires quality assurance approval for all custom-configured orders before Volusion processes the transaction.

Implementation Made Simple

Setting up the integration takes three steps:

Step 1: Create a Zapier account and connect your Volusion store
Step 2: Configure ApproveThis triggers based on Volusion events (new orders, inventory alerts)
Step 3: Map Volusion data to ApproveThis fields using Zapier's visual editor

Most users complete initial setup in under 20 minutes. Approval groups and vacation delegation ensure continuity during team changes or holidays.

Cross-Functional Benefits

For Finance Teams

Embed approval thresholds directly into purchasing workflows:
- Require CFO approval for capital expenditures over $50k
- Automatically apply trade credit limits during order approval
- Sync approved budgets back to Volusion's reporting tools

For Operations Managers

Maintain inventory health without micromanaging:
- Set automatic reorder points with tiered approval levels
- Receive mobile approvals for urgent supplier requests
- Audit trail shows who approved each purchase and when

For Customer Service

Resolve issues faster with embedded approvals:
- Approve return exceptions directly from help desk tickets
- Route custom order requests to technical teams
- Validate warranty claims against purchase records

Critical Advantage: External Approvals

Unlike native Volusion user management, ApproveThis lets external partners participate in workflows without needing Volusion logins. Suppliers can approve purchase orders, clients can sign off on custom designs, and distributors can confirm shipments - all through email or mobile.

Getting Started

Begin with a single high-impact workflow:

1. Identify a approval bottleneck in your current Volusion process
2. Build a parallel approval flow in ApproveThis (free trial available)
3. Connect the systems using Zapier's pre-built template

Most customers see ROI within the first month through reduced operational delays. One outdoor gear retailer cut order exception handling from 48 hours to 90 minutes.

The Future of Ecommerce Operations

As Volusion handles more transactions and ApproveThis manages more decisions, the integration ensures your team scales without adding bureaucratic layers. Customizable escalation paths keep small issues from becoming big problems, while approval analytics help identify process improvements.

Ready to eliminate approval delays? Start your ApproveThis trial or explore Volusion's ecommerce capabilities today.