Approvals Process

Approvals Process

Approval Overview


Contracts are legally binding, so their content needs to be written carefully. In most organizations, a contract owner needs the approval of their superiors and other internal stakeholders to send a contract document to the counterparty for negotiation. 


An approval process can improve compliance and reduce risks by ensuring that the stakeholders are aware of the content of the contract.


In Zoho Contracts, you can set up approval workflows based on contract types. When a contract is submitted for approval, the approvers can add contextual comments in the document as well as approving or rejecting it. The comments will be available to the contract owner, who can edit the contract document based on the comments.

Approval Workflow

An approval workflow defines the approvers of a contract and the approval process it has to go through. An administrator can create multiple approval workflows and choose a workflow for each contract type. 


Note: It is not mandatory to have an approval workflow for every contract type. Contract owners can send the contracts directly for negotiation after the draft is completed if no approval workflow is associated. 

 

There are two types of approval workflows. 


  • Sequential
  • Parallel


Sequential Workflow

In a sequential workflow, the order of approval is clearly defined. The administrator can choose the approvers for each level of approval while adding or editing the workflow. 


The contract can only move to the next level after one of the approvers in the current level approves it. The contract moves to the Approved state after it is approved in the final level. 

Parallel Workflow

The parallel workflow is a flat model, and there is no specified order of approval. The approval request is sent to all the approvers simultaneously. A contract only moves to the Approved state after all the approvers approve the contract. 

Note: 


  • When a contract is in the Approval Pending state (in both parallel and sequential workflow), the contract owner cannot make changes to the contract document. 
  • In the case of parallel workflow, the contract owner cannot make changes to the contract document if any of the approvers reject the contract. They have to wait until the rest of the approvers approve or reject it.


Submitting for Approval and Tracking


Submit a Contract for Approval

  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Click to open the contract in the Draft Complete state that you want to submit for approval.
  3. Click Submit for Approval at the top of the page. 


Note: 


  • The approvers will receive email and in-app notifications about the approval request.
  • Only the contract owner can submit a contract for approval. 


View Approval Workflow

  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Click to open the contract you want to view the approval workflow of.
  3. Select the Approval tab in the contract details panel on the left.
  4. Click View next to the Approval Workflow. 

Recall an Approval 

  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Click to open the contract in the Approval Pending state that you want to recall.
  3. Click Recall Approval at the top of the contract details page. 


Note:


  • The approvers will receive email and in-app notifications about the request recall.
  • Only the contract owner can recall an approval request. 


View Approval Activity

  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Click to open the contract you want to view approval activity for.
  3. Select the Approval tab in the contract details panel on the left, then view the Activity section. 


Reviewing Contracts Pending My Approval


View Contracts Pending Approval 

When a contract owner submits a contract for approval, the approvers of the contract will receive both in-app and email notifications. The approvers can open the contract directly from these notifications. The Activities tab in Zoho Contracts also keeps track of all activities: approvals and obligations. 


To view the contracts that are pending your approval:


  1. Select the Activities tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Select Pending Approvals from the Contract Approval section on the left panel. 


Note: 


  • Selecting All My Approvals from the left panel will display all your approvals, including those that you have already approved or rejected. 
  • If you are a collaborator or the contract owner of the contract waiting for your approval, you can open it directly from the Contracts module. 


Review and Accept or Reject a Contract

  1. Select the Activites tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Select Pending Approvals from the Contract Approval section on the left panel.
  3. Click to open the contract that you want to review. 
  4. Select Review mode at the top of the document editor. 
  5. Select the text you want to add a comment to, then click Add Comment  on the toolbar at the top of the document editor.
  6. Enter the comment in the Comments panel on the right, then click Add. 
  7. When the review is complete, click Approve or Reject at the top of the contract details page. 


Tip: 


You can also add a comment from the right-click menu. To do so, select the text you want to add a comment to, then choose Add Comment  from the right-click menu.


Note: 


All the comments must be resolved to approve a contract. 


Delegate Approval to a Different Member

  1. Select the Activities tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Select Pending Approvals from Contract Approval section on the left panel.
  3. Click to open the contract in the Approval Pending state you want to delegate approval of. 
  4. Click More  at the top-right corner of the contract details page, then choose Delegate.
  5. Choose the member you want to delegate the approval to in the Delegate To field, then click Delegate. 




View and Reply to Comments

  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page.
  2. Click to open the contract you want to view and reply to comments in. 
  3. Select Review mode at the top of the document editor. 
  4. Select the Comments panel on the right. 
  5. Click a comment, then add your reply in the Reply field.


Note: 

 

  • In Compose mode, clicking the commented text will display the comment in a pop-up.


  • Contract owners can view, reply to, and resolve comments made by approvers in real time. They do not have to wait until the contract moves to the Approved or Rejected state. 


Resolve Comments

  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page.
  2. Click to open the contract you want to view and resolve comments in. 
  3. Select Review mode at the top of the document editor.
  4. Select the Comments panel on the right.
  5. Click a comment that you've addressed, then click Resolve at the top-right corner of the comment. 


Note: In Compose mode, clicking the commented text will display the comment in a pop-up.


Resubmit for Approval 

  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Click to open the contract in the Approval Rejected state that you want to resubmit for approval. 
  3. Click Resubmit for Approval at the top of the contract details page. 





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