How approvals work

An approval is a step in a workflow. A workflow is the process a record follows once it's submitted: who reviews it, what they can decide and where the record goes next. This article covers responding to approvals and tasks.

Workflows run on progress claims, contract execution, variations, submittals, incidents, procurement recommendations, tender packages, site diary entries, timesheets, observations, method statements, safety data sheets, equipment, bookings, inductions, inspections, permits and passive fire. An approval works the same way on each of them.

A workflow is made of blocks. Two kinds ask a person to do something:

• Decision: a choice between named outcomes, such as Approve and Reject. The workflow's author names the outcomes, and an outcome can require a note. In the default workflows, every Reject requires a note.
• Task: something to do, which you mark done with Complete.

The other blocks run on their own: Trigger, If, Switch, Set status, Notify, Wait, Wait for condition and End. Learn more about what a workflow is.

• The record appears in My Items on the project.
• An email arrives if the workflow has a Notify block for the step. The default workflows include Notify blocks.
• If the step has a reminder, it repeats until you respond or the reminder limit is reached.

Steps on equipment, incidents, passive fire and safety data sheets don't appear in My Items. Open those records from their register or from the email. Learn more about notification settings.

1. Open the record, from My Items or from the link in the email.
2. In the Your turn card at the bottom of the record, optionally enter a note.
3. Select an outcome, such as Approve or Reject.

If the outcome requires a note and you haven't entered one, a dialog opens. Enter the Notes, then select the outcome again.

The step's outcome buttons also sit at the right end of the Workflow strip at the top of the record. On a phone, a step with more than one outcome shows a single Respond button.

On a submittal, every outcome opens a dialog with Comment (optional) and Attach Files before you confirm.

1. Open the record.
2. Select Complete.
3. If the task requires a note, enter it in the Complete Task dialog and select Complete.

A task with checks, such as required checklist items, can't be completed until they are done.

Tool	Who can act
Progress claims, variations, contract execution, procurement	People assigned to the step who also hold the tool's permission
Bookings, equipment, inductions, method statements, observations, permits, safety data sheets, site diary, submittals, passive fire	People assigned to the step who hold the tool's approval permission, and anyone with the tool's manage permission
Incidents, timesheets	People assigned to the step, project administrators and administrators of the host organisation
Inspections	Anyone with Can start and complete inspections

Approving progress claims, variations and contract execution is for the host organisation only. When a step is assigned to someone else, the card at the bottom of the record reads "Waiting for" and names them.

The workflow's author chooses how a step with several people moves on, under When several people are assigned:

• First response decides: the first response moves the record on, and the step leaves everyone else's list. Every decision in the default workflows works this way.
• Positive outcomes need everyone: an approval waits for every person on the step. A rejection, or any other outcome that is not positive, moves the record on straight away.

The workflow decides where a rejection goes. In the default workflows, it goes to a task such as Revise and resubmit, which sends the record back for changes. When the record is resubmitted, it goes through the review again. A workflow can also end on a rejection, which closes the record as rejected.

• The step is with someone else. The card at the bottom of the record names them. On Contracts, Procurement, Site Diary, Submittals and Timesheets, steps that reach you later are listed in My Items under Upcoming in Your Queue.
• The step is waiting on a condition. The step reads "Waiting:" followed by the condition, such as no open defects.
• The workflow has stopped. When a step fails and the workflow has no route for the failure, the record shows Workflow needs attention. Teralo emails the host organisation's project administrators and organisation administrators. A manager or an approver can select Retry.

Select any step in the Workflow strip at the top of a record. The panel that opens shows each completed step with its outcome, who chose it, when, and any note. Blocks that run on their own are not listed. The record's Activity Log card lists its other changes.

The host organisation builds workflows and binds them to tools. Learn more about the workflow builder and binding a workflow to a tool.