Who can use this feature?

🔑 Needs an Administrator license to configure the approval workflows

Automated contract approval workflows enable you to streamline the approval process by automatically assigning approvers to various lifecycle stages based on the contract's type and other specific attributes.

This enhances both efficiency and compliance, ensuring that each contract is reviewed by the appropriate stakeholders at the right time.

In this article:

Organization Administrators create and manage contract approval workflows by going to Settings / Approval workflows / Contract approvals [V2]

You can also set approval phases to be:

If you need to reuse an phase, you can quickly duplicate it from the three dots. From here, you'll also find options to cut/copy and then paste it, or if needed, delete it completely.

These workflows can be customized for specific scenarios, such as when a field meets a certain condition (e.g., contracts exceeding a particular amount).

To begin, click the + Plus icon and choose either a Simple or Advanced condition. Advanced conditions allow you to create multiple paths based on defined rules.

If you choose to build a workflow using a Simple condition, you'll complete the builder that appears on the right-hand side. In this builder, you can specify the condition on which the workflow will be triggered, such as when a certain field matches a certain value.

When using an Advanced condition, you can design more complex workflows by defining multiple paths based on specific rules. You can also add additional conditions as needed.

In the example below, I’ve set up multiple workflows: one that triggers when the department matches a specific value, and another for when the contract value exceeds a certain amount.

Remember to choose what happens when the field value doesn’t meet the specified condition, is missing from the contract, or is left blank. To do this, click the "+" sign next to "False" or "Else" to add a workflow step.

Incorrect Rules: If there's an issue, like assigning duplicate values to a conditional field or conflicting paths, a red warning sign will appear, and you won't be able to save the workflow until the logic is corrected.

Undo Changes: Use the "Undo workflow changes" button (bottom left) to revert edits in the current session. Once you navigate away or save, the history is cleared.

Duplicating Condition Paths: Reusing condition paths can simplify your work when a certain setup is needed.

Copy/Cut & Paste Phases: You can copy or cut and paste phases anywhere in the workflow, even across different nesting levels, for added flexibility.

Now that your workflows have been created, you can apply them to your relevant contract types and contract stages.

There are two ways to do this:

2. Click over to the 'Contract types' tab and choose the appropriate contract type from the menu on the left.

You will be presented with a map of the available lifecycle stages for the contract, and you can apply your workflow templates to any of the available stages.

Click on the +Select workflow button. A small pop-up will appear, and you can select any of your previously created workflow templates.

You can add the approval workflow to multiple stages of the contract or a different workflow for each stage.

NOTE: You cannot apply a workflow template directly to a contract record - it must be applied to a contract type; when a new contract of that type is created, the workflow will be applied accordingly.

You can edit or remove a workflow template at any time, but this will only take effect for any new contracts that are created - or for any contracts in progress that haven't yet reached the relevant lifecycle stage where the workflow template has been applied.

Existing contracts that have workflows that are in progress or completed will not be affected.