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Multi-level approval loops

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Multi-level approval loops reopen earlier steps automatically when someone rejects. Rejections bounce work back for corrections - no manual tracking needed.

When to use this

Section titled “When to use this”

Any workflow needing sequential sign-offs:

  • Financial approvals - Purchase requests through manager, finance, then executive
  • Content publishing - Draft, editor review, legal review, final sign-off
  • Contract management - Department head, legal, CFO, CEO
  • Quality control - Inspection, supervisor check, quality manager sign-off

Rejection at any level bounces work back to whoever needs to fix it.

Creating the workflow

Section titled “Creating the workflow”

Here’s how the approval chain flows:

Multi-Level Approval Workflow

Key points:

  • Every rejection re-opens the creation task
  • Later approvals won’t appear until earlier ones pass - visibility rules1 control this
  • COO rejection can re-open multiple steps at once

  1. Set up your approval chain steps

    In your template, create steps using the Approve/Reject step type:

    • Step 1: “Create wire transfer request” (regular task)
    • Step 2: “Manager review” (Approve/Reject)
    • Step 3: “Finance department approval” (Approve/Reject)
    • Step 4: “COO final approval” (Approve/Reject)

  2. Create re-open rules for each approval level

    For each approval step, create a status action2 rule that fires on rejection:

    Rule 1: Manager rejection reopens creation

    IF (Manager review) is Rejected
    THEN Re-open task "Create wire transfer request"

    Rule 2: Finance rejection reopens creation

    IF (Finance department approval) is Rejected
    THEN Re-open task "Create wire transfer request"

    Rule 3: COO rejection can reopen multiple steps

    IF (COO final approval) is Rejected
    THEN Re-open task "Create wire transfer request"
    AND Re-open task "Manager review"

  3. Add visibility rules to control flow

    Hide later approvals until earlier ones pass:

    IF (Manager review) is Approved
    THEN Show "Finance department approval"
    IF (Finance department approval) is Approved
    THEN Show "COO final approval"

Advanced approval patterns

Section titled “Advanced approval patterns”

Conditional approval routing

Section titled “Conditional approval routing”

Route approvals based on field values like amount thresholds:

IF (Purchase Amount) is greater than $50,000
AND (Manager review) is Approved
THEN Show "Board approval required"

Parallel approvals

Section titled “Parallel approvals”

When multiple teams need to review at the same time, use parallel approvals:

Parallel Approval Workflow

Key points:

  • All three approvals trigger at once after initial review
  • The final step waits until ALL parallel approvals complete
  • Any single rejection sends everything back to start

Set this up with visibility rules:

IF (Initial review) is Completed
THEN Show "Legal approval"
AND Show "Compliance approval"
AND Show "Finance approval"

Then gate the final step on all three approvals:

IF (Legal approval) is Approved
AND (Compliance approval) is Approved
AND (Finance approval) is Approved
THEN Show "Final implementation"

Escalation paths

Section titled “Escalation paths”

If approvals get stuck:

  1. Set a deadline on the approval step
  2. Create an escalation step assigned to senior management
  3. Use a deadline automation to trigger escalation when time runs out

Best practices

Section titled “Best practices”
  • Rejection reasons - Add comment fields so reviewers explain what needs fixing
  • Notifications - Turn on email notifications so people know when tasks bounce back
  • Loop limits - After 3 rejections, escalate to a meeting instead
  • Step instructions - Tell reviewers the exact criteria you’re looking for
  • Audit trail - Tallyfy tracks every approval and rejection automatically

Example: property listing approval

Section titled “Example: property listing approval”

Here’s how a real estate agency handles listing approvals:

Example: property listing approval

How it works:

  • Marketing rejection gives the agent specific feedback on photos
  • Compliance issues notify both agent and manager
  • Agents know exactly what to fix. No vague “please see me” sticky notes
Section titled “Related articles”

Actions > Status actions

Status actions in Tallyfy automatically re-open a previously completed task when a specific…

Footnotes

Section titled “Footnotes”

  1. Tallyfy feature that controls when steps appear based on conditions like prior task completion ↩

  2. Automation that triggers actions when a task changes status, like reopening steps on rejection ↩

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