The Future of Approval Workflows: AI, Automation, and No-Code Platforms

Waiting for an approval email that takes really long? You’re not alone. Delays in approval workflows can stall projects, frustrate teams, and cost your business time and money. But with AI, automation, and no-code platforms, there’s a better way forward.

What is Approval Automation Software?

Approval automation software is a solution designed to streamline the process of working with stakeholders to get approval on various stages of a business process. For accountants, that means getting invoices approved by the AP team, and for recruiters, that means getting approval on HR or onboarding documents before moving forward with the next steps. For procurement, it means getting faster approvals to procure essential materials and to take advantage of time-bound discounts.

Why Do Traditional Approval Workflows Fail?

Manual approval systems might work for small teams, but they don’t scale. Here are common issues businesses face:

1. Approvals get lost or forgotten.
2. Important projects get delayed while waiting for approval.
3. Employees find the process of requesting approvals complex, bureaucratic, and tiresome.
4. It’s easy to lose track of communication about approvals when it’s spread over multiple email threads/physical copy circulation with multiple people.
5. Sometimes, approving a task might require the approver to manually pull in data from multiple sources, which can be frustrating and time-consuming.
6. There’s either no record of past approvals, or it takes a long time to search through an archive, especially if that archive involves physical documents.

According to research by McKinsey, employees spend around 13 hours checking their inboxes and communicating via email every single week for approvals, on average. This represents almost a third (around 28%) of the time that they spend at work.

7 Benefits of Using Automation Workflows in Your Organization

1. Increased Productivity & Efficiency: Automated workflows eliminate repetitive manual tasks and reduce delays by routing approvals instantly. This helps teams complete work faster and focus on more strategic initiatives.
2. Improved Accuracy: Automation minimizes human errors by enforcing consistent rules and validation checks. It ensures the right information reaches the right person at the right time—without missed steps.
3. Better Accountability: Every action in an automated workflow is tracked, creating a clear audit trail. You always know who approved what and when, helping enforce responsibility across teams.
4. Risk Reduction: Automation helps reduce compliance risks by ensuring approvals follow predefined rules and deadlines. It also limits the chances of data loss or unauthorized access.
5. Reduce Processing Costs: By cutting down on paper usage, printing, manual handoffs, and follow-ups, automation significantly lowers operational expenses over time.
6. Better Collaboration: Automated systems centralize communication and provide visibility to all stakeholders. Teams can easily track progress and stay aligned without endless email chains.
7. Compliance: Workflow automation ensures processes are consistent, well-documented, and easy to audit. This is crucial for meeting regulatory standards and internal policy requirements.

6 Essential Automation Workflows Every Business Should Implement

1. Purchase requisition approval workflow: Used in procurement processes to manage requests for goods or services within an organization.
2. Invoice Approval Workflow: To manage incoming invoices for verification and further payments.
3. Expense approval workflow: To manage requests for reimbursement or payment of expenses incurred by employees.
4. Time off request approval workflow: To manage employee requests for time off, such as vacation, sick leave, or personal days.
5. Change request approval workflow: Used by administrative teams to manage requests for changes to a document, system, process, or product.
6. Onboarding approval workflow: Involves review and approval by the recruiter, followed by further review and approval by a human resources manager.

What Criteria Should You Consider for Approval Software?

1. Customizability: The ability to tailor the software to fit your unique workflow ensures maximum efficiency and effectiveness in managing approvals.
2. User-Friendly Interface: A simple interface reduces the learning curve and encourages adoption across the organization, leading to smoother collaboration and faster approvals.
3. Integration Capabilities: Integration capabilities ensure smooth data flow between different platforms, eliminating the need for manual data entry and enhancing overall workflow efficiency.

Why Businesses Choose Symtrax?

Symtrax’s Compleo WebSign is a powerful, no-code approval automation solution designed for modern teams.

1. Connects directly to your ERP
2. Routes documents for digital approvals
3. Enables remote signatures via secure links
4. Tracks document status from submission to completion
5. Supports bulk document processing with zero printing

No more chasing signatures or managing manual paperwork. Everything is real-time, digital, and trackable.

No code solution with easy change management.

Compleo: Automate Approval Workflows Without Writing Code

1. Eliminate document approval and forwarding delays: no need to chase down recipients for their signatures or feedback.
2. Pre-define approval hierarchies for each step in a workflow.
3. Follow individual interactions and monitor document status as they progress through their lifecycle.
4. Easily follow accountability and who is responsible for the next part of the approval process.
5. Stay connected by approving documents in real-time, anywhere, from any device.
6. No manual document distribution for approval, eliminating chances of human error.
7. Cost-saving paperless processing and environmental sustainability.

Final Thought

Some approval tools force you into rigid, pre-set workflows. Symtrax doesn’t. It allows you to build dynamic, customizable processes that match your business needs.

Over 3,000 companies trust Symtrax to improve collaboration and streamline approval workflows. Isn’t it time you modernized your approval process too?

🔗 Explore Symtrax’s Approval Automation Solution