Overview
Approval Flows in Formalize allow you to create custom, flexible approval processes where each step is assigned to a specific role or individual approver. These flows help to ensure accountability and control over operational and compliance actions, like completing tasks, publishing policies, and reviewing suppliers or risks.
Approval Flows support both manual and fully automated workflow triggers, along with capabilities like automated reminders, deadlines, timeouts, and dynamic escalations.
Where Approval Flows can be used
You can now associate approval flows with:
Policy version
Tasks & Questionnaire Responses (Completion)
Evidence, Incidents, Controls, Risks
Resources: Assets, Contracts, Customers, Employees, Processing Activities, Business Functions, Data Subject Requests, Suppliers
How to create and configure an Approval Flow
Approval Flows sit within the section Operations. To set it up, navigate to Operations -> Approval Flows -> Create.
Step 1: Initialize the Approval Flow
In Formalize, navigate to Operations > Approval Flows.
Click Create.
Select your Trigger Item (the item requiring approval: contract, policy, task, etc).
Select the Trigger Type (Manual or Automatic).
Enter a name for your flow in the Flow Name field.
Check Enable Flow to activate it upon saving.
(Optional) Select Notify Requester to send an email notification to the requester once the flow is completed.
Click Save.
Step 2: Build the Flow Logic
Click on Flow Builder.
2. Locate the Trigger Action block. Click the Add (+) button below the trigger block to select one of the following options:
Condition: Restricts the flow so it only triggers under specific criteria (e.g., contracts created by a specific department or user).
Action: Adds an operational step (e.g., creating an approval step or sending an email).
Wait for: Delays the subsequent step until a preceding condition or approval step is completed.
Step 3: Add Approver Steps and Notifications
Select Action > Create Approval Flow Step.
Configure your approver logic:
Static: Assign to a specific named user or role.
Conditional: Dynamically assign an approver based on predefined criteria.
Replacement / Responsible User: Automatically assign the user designated as responsible for the item.
Configure notification settings:
Default Email Notifications: Enable Notify approver on approval flow step request within the step configuration panel to send standard emails to the approver.
Write your own customised email: Leave the default toggle disabled and explicitly add a Send Email action node in the Flow Builder to send custom message text to multiple recipients.
Important: Use "Wait for" nodes to define whether a specific approval should only happen after the completion of a previous one, or configure branching, time-bound deadlines, timeouts, automated reminders, and escalation flows to re-route pending approvals if left unreviewed.
Step 4. Enable the approval flow
Building with the Flow Builder
Creating an approval flow now uses the same flexible experience as configuring workflows.
Choose your trigger: Select the specific element you want the approval flow to work for. Approval flows can be triggered manually or automatically through workflows.
Add actions and conditions: Click on Flow builder to add your steps. You can choose to Create approval flow step or Send email (with customizable email text and support for multiple recipients).
Set your logic: Add a “Wait for” function between steps to create a sequential path (where Step 2 only begins after Step 1 is resolved). Without a "Wait for" node, users in all subsequent steps will be immediately notified.
Clear status & system behaviour
Details pages for associated entities and resources display a status label at the top of the page to show the approval state at a glance:
Under Approval: The item is actively in review.
Approved: The approval flow was successfully completed.
Rejected: The approval flow was denied.
The Approver’s point of view
Pending approval requests appear at the top of the Dashboard page, providing approvers with a single, clear overview across all elements. Whenever someone triggers an approval flow, the assigned approvers will receive an email notification prompting them to take action.
If Approved: Policies are automatically published, tasks are marked complete, and evidence or questionnaire responses are finalized.
If Rejected: Tasks and questionnaires automatically revert to In Progress so the owner can make updates.
We hope this article was helpful!
If you have any additional questions, please reach out to us via chat in the bottom right corner of the page — our team is always happy to assist you further.