Are you tired of dealing with slow approval processes? Bid farewell to paperwork headaches and manual approvals – it’s time to explore the efficiency of approval workflow software!

Approval workflow software is a solution designed to digitize, streamline, and automate the approval processes within your company. Various teams and departments utilize this tool to enhance the efficiency of approving documents, decisions, and deliverables.

While workflow automation speeds up decision-making, decreases manual intervention, and strengthens accountability by establishing a systematic approval pathway, what key features should you seek in approval workflow software?

This article will guide you through identifying the essential features to look for in automated approval platforms and help you determine which approval workflow software is the most suitable for your needs.

What is approval automation software?

Automated approval software provides a multitude of advantages to organizations, streamlining processes and enhancing overall efficiency. Here are some crucial benefits that the approval automation software you seek should possess:

• Submitting Requests: Users can start approval processes by providing the necessary information, documents, or tasks that need approval.
• Notifications and Reminders: The software sends automatic alerts to approvers, reminding them to take timely action and preventing delays.
• Audit Trail: The recorded history of approval actions acts as an audit trail, aiding in compliance and record-keeping. This feature enables organizations to easily track and review previous approvals as necessary.
• Integration with Workflows: Today’s automated approval platforms often connect with workflows, automating the movement of requests through predefined stages.
• Tracking Approvals: The software keeps a transparent record of all approval activities, including timestamps, comments, and the ultimate decision.
• Reporting and Analytics: The software should have reporting features to evaluate efficiency, find bottlenecks, and track performance.

Best 10 approval automation software platforms

Let’s begin exploring the leading 10 approval automation software platforms in 2023.

1- Formaloo: the best automated approval platform

Formaloo is the top choice, offering a complete set of features that meet the diverse needs of organizations.

Formaloo lets users create smart approval forms that change based on previous answers using advanced conditional logic. When a form is submitted, Formaloo can automatically send email notifications to the submitter and designated managers or approvers. This simplified communication process keeps everyone involved in the loop and significantly reduces the chances of delays in decision-making.

Formaloo shines with its powerful analytics tools, offering advanced tables and charts. These tools provide organizations with in-depth insights into form submissions and workflow efficiency.

Choose to start from scratch or utilize one of our 200+ templates, easily customizing them to fit your needs.

Streamline the approval process by organizing status updates in a Kanban – simply drag and drop cards into the Approved or Rejected columns. Customize email templates for approvals and, in the final step, automate email notifications to managers whenever a request form is submitted. This ensures prompt review and approval or rejection within the app. Learn more about crafting custom notification emails in this comprehensive guide.

2- Integrify

Integrify is a software that helps you manage and automate workflows. It allows you to map processes and integrate approvals for efficient information routing.

Integrify’s Approval Process Software boasts a user-friendly drag-and-drop approval process builder equipped with advanced business rules. This feature allows you to either automate your existing process or construct an entirely new one.

While Integrify is a viable option, certain users have raised concerns about the styling and interface of the automation software. Additionally, there is limited variety in the available reporting processes.

3- Jotform

Jotform empowers you to transform forms into tasks within an approval workflow. Using a simple drag-and-drop interface like the Form Builder, adding and customizing approval steps becomes easy. Users can monitor approvals using a variety of tools, such as email, mobile apps, and integrated applications.

Jotform’s limitations in creating automated approval forms include certain constraints in terms of advanced customization options and complex conditional logic. Jotform is good for simple forms, but it may not work well for complex approval processes with specific needs.

4- Admation

Admation is an all-encompassing tool designed to assist agencies in overseeing intricate workflows. Specifically crafted to navigate the entire campaign production cycle, from project initiation and setup to resourcing, digital asset storage, online proofing, and managing client approvals.

Admation has some drawbacks, as users sometimes find it clunky and struggle to find specific items and documents. Additionally, there have been reports of occasional sluggishness in the software’s performance.

5- Gain

Gain serves as a dedicated workflow solution designed for marketing teams. With its user-friendly features and intuitive interface, Gain streamlines collaboration among team members and stakeholders. Users can effortlessly submit content for approval, establish approval workflows, and monitor the real-time progress of each review.

Gain has its limitations, with users reporting challenges in locating and utilizing templates. Additionally, some connectivity issues have been noted with the application programming interfaces (APIs) of social media channels.

6- Screendragon

Screendragon is a platform for approval workflow software, offering teams the flexibility of easy-to-customize, visual task management. With a user-friendly framework that can be tailored by each user, Screendragon simplifies the creation of detailed processes, eliminating the need for coding.

Screendragon has limitations in creating approval automation, particularly in handling highly complex and customized approval processes. Although it has user-friendly customization, it may not integrate well with external tools and systems for specific automation requirements.

7- Hub Planner

Hub Planner concentrates on resource management with a key emphasis on its Scheduling feature. This feature helps you see when your team members are free, so you can plan work efficiently without overwhelming them. Moreover, Hub Planner provides integrated approval workflows for both time tracking and vacation requests.

Hub Planner does have some limitations. The extensive feature set may be overwhelming for users unfamiliar with the software, particularly for those using it for the first time. Additionally, users have expressed a desire for more functionality with add-ins.

8- Approval Studio

Approval Studio is a flexible and robust approval management software tailored for creative content. It’s created to simplify the review and approval process for marketing, design, and creative teams. Approval Studio is a platform for working together on artwork, images, videos, and visual content. It allows for feedback, annotation, and version control.

Approval Studio has some limitations. Currently, it offers integrations solely with Slack and Zapier. Users have expressed a desire for more integration options, particularly with other project management tools.

9- ClickUp

ClickUp is top-notch project management software renowned for its prowess in approval and workforce management. This software makes the approval process easier by allowing team members to easily customize fields, statuses, and views. Approval workflow automation tools speed up project request reviews by creating tasks, changing assignees, updating statuses, and applying tags.

ClickUp has certain limitations. Due to the multitude of features it offers, the software comes with a bit of a learning curve. Additionally, users have noted that ClickUp’s mobile app has more limited capabilities compared to its web or desktop counterparts.

10- Cflow

Cflow excels in business automation, enabling users to construct processes, establish automation rules, and monitor data for enhanced productivity. The app has ready-made templates for tasks such as approving purchase requests, vacation requests, expenses, and invoices. Moreover, Cflow is grounded in robust business process management methodologies, ensuring seamless scalability as your organization evolves.

One limitation of Cflow in automated approval forms lies in its complexity for users unfamiliar with the software. Some users might find it challenging to navigate and configure advanced settings in the process of creating intricate automated approval forms. It’s recommended to assess the learning curve and the specific requirements of your approval processes before opting for Cflow.

Conclusion

Automated approval platforms are excellent tools for businesses aiming to boost workflow automation and communication. By incorporating these tools into your website, you can simplify approval procedures, enhance transparency, and expedite decision-making processes.

In this article, we explored the top 10 approval automation software platforms. You can customize these platforms to fit your needs and easily integrate them into your workflow.

Start creating your form from scratch or select from 200+ ready-to-customize templates.

Sign up at Formaloo for free now and start exploring the amazing features it offers. These range from simple contact forms to complex and logical quizzes and surveys.

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If you have any questions, check out Formaloo’s support page to find ways you can contact us.