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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 WorkflowCreate RequestManager ApprovalFinance ApprovalCOO ApprovalComplete Submit for approvalApprovedRejectedApprovedRejectedApprovedRejected

Key points:

  • Every rejection re-opens the creation task
  • Later approvals won’t appear until earlier ones pass, which visibility actions1 control
  • 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 automations for each approval level

    For each approval step, create an automation using a status action2 that fires on rejection:

    Automation 1: a manager rejection reopens the request

    Manager rejection reopens the request

    If

    • Manager review is rejected

    Then

    • Reopen step
      Apply to
      Create wire transfer request

    Automation 2: a finance rejection reopens the request

    Finance rejection reopens the request

    If

    • Finance department approval is rejected

    Then

    • Reopen step
      Apply to
      Create wire transfer request

    Automation 3: a COO rejection can reopen more than one step

    COO rejection reopens both earlier steps

    If

    • COO final approval is rejected

    Then

    • Reopen step
      Apply to
      Create wire transfer request
    • Reopen step
      Apply to
      Manager review

  3. Add visibility automations to control the flow

    Hide later approvals until the earlier ones pass:

    Reveal finance after the manager approves

    If

    • Manager review is approved

    Then

    • Show step
      Apply to
      Finance department approval

    Reveal the COO after finance approves

    If

    • Finance department approval is approved

    Then

    • Show step
      Apply to
      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, then use a visibility action to reveal the next step:

If

  • Purchase Amount is greater than $50,000
  • AndManager review is approved

Then

  • Show step
    Apply to
    Board approval required

Parallel approvals

Section titled “Parallel approvals”

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

Parallel Approval WorkflowInitial ReviewLegal ApprovalCompliance ApprovalFinance ApprovalSync PointFinal Implementation Review requestReview requestReview requestApprovedApprovedApproved All approvedAny rejected

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 actions:

If

  • Initial review is completed

Then

  • Show step
    Apply to
    Legal approval
  • Show step
    Apply to
    Compliance approval
  • Show step
    Apply to
    Finance approval

Then gate the final step on all three approvals:

If

  • Legal approval is approved
  • AndCompliance approval is approved
  • AndFinance approval is approved

Then

  • Show step
    Apply to
    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. Add an expiring step dated a little after the approval deadline, then trigger the escalation when that step expires. Deadline automations cannot start anything, they only change a deadline, so the expiring step is what acts as the clock

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:

Property Listing Approval WorkflowComplianceMarketingPublishCreate ListingManager Review ✅✅✅❌❌❌

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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