When Process Management Meets Approval Power
Let’s cut to the chase: approvals suck when they’re manual. They clog workflows, create bottlenecks, and turn simple tasks into week-long email chains. Metatask helps teams build processes, while ApproveThis handles the decision-making grease that keeps those processes moving. Together? They’re like peanut butter and jelly for operations teams.
What Metatask Does Best
Metatask is where process-oriented teams live. It’s the playbook for recurring workflows – think employee onboarding, client onboarding, or quarterly budget reviews. You build templates, assign tasks, track progress. But when those workflows hit decision points (“Should we approve this vendor contract?”), things traditionally slow down.
Where ApproveThis Takes Over
ApproveThis doesn’t just send emails and hope for the best. It automates the entire approval lifecycle: routing requests to the right people (in order), escalating stuck decisions, even auto-approving based on rules you set. When you connect it to Metatask via Zapier, approvals become part of the workflow – not a detour.
The Business Case You Can’t Ignore
For companies between 50-5,000 employees, this integration solves three ugly problems:
- Visibility Black Holes: Approvals stuck in someone’s inbox? Now they’re tracked alongside the actual work in Metatask.
- Compliance Roulette: Ad-hoc approvals = audit nightmares. Structured workflows with ApproveThis = everything documented.
Take a mid-sized e-commerce company. Their merchandising team uses Metatask to manage product launch checklists. Without ApproveThis, getting final sign-off from legal and finance adds 3 days minimum. With the integration? Approval requests auto-generate in ApproveThis the moment tasks reach that stage. Legal gets pestered automatically if they don’t respond. Launch delays? Gone.
Real-World Use Cases That Actually Matter
1. Killing the “Who Approved This?” Game
The Setup: New tasks in Metatask → Auto-create approval requests in ApproveThis.
Who Cares: Finance teams drowning in invoice approvals. Instead of Metatask tasks getting marked “complete” with no oversight, ApproveThis forces actual reviews. Bonus: Approvers don’t need Metatask licenses – just email. Perfect for external partners or execs who won’t log into another system.
2. Making Task Comments Actually Useful
The Setup: New ApproveThis request → Add comment to Metatask task with decision details.
Who Cares: Project managers tired of chasing context. When legal denies a contract renewal in ApproveThis, the “why” automatically posts to Metatask. No more digging through Slack or forwarded emails.
3. Closing the Loop on Completed Work
The Setup: ApproveThis approval → Auto-complete Metatask task.
Who Cares: Operations teams managing compliance-heavy processes. Imagine a healthcare provider’s equipment procurement: Metatask tracks the ordering steps, ApproveThis handles compliance sign-offs. Only when approved does the Metatask task finalize – airtight audit trail included.
Setup That Won’t Make You Want to Scream
If you’ve used Zapier before, this is a 15-minute job. If not, still under an hour:
- Create a Zap with Metatask as the trigger (e.g., “New Task Created”)
- Add ApproveThis as the action (“Create Request”)
- Map critical Metatask fields (task name, description, due date) to ApproveThis
- Test with a real task → approval → watch the magic happen
Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’ Calculated Fields to auto-approve small expenses. Example: If a Metatask task has a “Travel Cost” under $500, skip human approval entirely.
Department-Specific Wins
HR Teams: Onboarding Without the Headaches
Metatask manages the 37-step onboarding checklist. ApproveThis handles approvals for equipment purchases, software access, and payroll setup. When IT is slow to approve a laptop request? ApproveThis escalates after 24 hours automatically. New hires start Monday? Their gear arrives Friday.
Marketing: Campaigns That Launch on Time
Metatask tracks content creation → ApproveThis manages legal/compliance reviews. When the compliance team rejects a Facebook ad, the comment auto-syncs to Metatask. The marketing ops lead sees exactly what to fix without scheduling a meeting.
Finance: No More Invoice Surprises
Metatask tasks for vendor payments trigger ApproveThis workflows based on amount. Over $10K? Needs CFO approval. Under $1K? Auto-approved. Finance teams slash processing time while maintaining controls.
Features You’ll Actually Use (No Bloat Here)
ApproveThis isn’t just another approval tool. When connected to Metatask:
- Vacation Delegation: Approver out? Requests reroute instantly – no Metatask task reassignments needed.
- Thresholds: Auto-approve Metatask tasks under certain conditions (budget, project type).
- Approval Groups: Need 3 VPs to sign off on that Metatask task? ApproveThis badgers them in order or all at once.
Common Objections (And Why They’re BS)
“We already have approvals in Metatask!”
Cool. Do they escalate after deadlines? Handle delegation? Create audit trails? Didn’t think so.
“Our approvers won’t learn another tool!”
They won’t need to. ApproveThis works via email. Click “Approve” or “Deny” – done.
Next Steps That Don’t Suck
If your Metatask workflows have more approval bottlenecks than a DMV line, it’s time to act:
- Register for ApproveThis (free trial, no CC required)
- Connect to Metatask via Zapier using the templates above
- Pick one high-friction process to automate this week
Still hesitant? Book a 15-minute demo. We’ll show you how a manufacturing company cut their RMA approval time from 6 days to 4 hours. No upsell, just proof.
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