Build an Approval Process
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Set up an approval process that emails the initial approvers.
- Set up an approval process that allows users to approve or reject opportunity records.
Create an Email Template
First create your email template to notify the record owner’s manager that an opportunity has been discounted more than 40%.
- From Setup, enter Templates in the Quick Find box, and then select Classic Email Templates.
- Click New Template.
- Select Text as the template type, and click Next.
- Configure the email template.
Field Value Folder Unfiled Public Classic Email Templates Available for Use Selected Email Template Name Approve Opportunity Discount Encoding General US & Western Europe Subject Please approve this discounted opportunity Email Body {!User.Manager}, The {!Opportunity.Name} has been discounted. Please approve this discount. Thank you. - Including the merge field {!Opportunity.Name} helps the approver by providing a link to the opportunity record. This allows them to review the record before responding to the request.
- Click Save.
Add Custom Fields
Now let’s create custom fields so that we can track the discount percentage and approval status for each opportunity.
- From Setup, enter Object Manager in the Quick Find box, and then select Object Manager.
- Click Opportunity.
- Select Fields & Relationships and click New.
- In the Data Type column, select Percent and then click Next.
- Add a Percent field with these values.
Field Value Field Label Discount Percent Length Leave default Decimal Places Leave default Required Selected - Click Next.
- Click Next.
- Click Save & New.
- In the Data Type column, select Picklist and then click Next.
- Add a Picklist field with these values.
Field Value Field Label Discount Percent Status Values Enter values, one value per line Picklist Values Approved
Not Approved - Click Next.
- Click Next.
- Click Save.
Great! You’ve created an email template to notify approvers and you’ve set up an object with the required fields to support your approval process.
Create an Approval Process
Now that our org is ready, let’s create the approval process.
- From Setup, enter Approval in the Quick Find box, and then select Approval Processes.
- In Manage Approval Processes For, select Opportunity.
- Click Create New Approval Process | Use Jump Start Wizard. The Jump Start Wizard helps you create a simple approval process by making some decisions for you.
- Configure the approval process.
Field Value Name Approve Opportunity Discount Approval Assignment Email Template Approve Opportunity Discount Specify Entry Criteria Opportunity: Discount Percent greater than 0.4 Select Approver Let the submitter choose the approver manually - Save the approval process.
- Click View Approval Process Detail Page.
- Under Final Approval Actions, click Add New | Field Update, and configure it with these values.
Field Value Name Approved Field to Update Discount Percent Status A Specific value Approved - Click Save.
- Under Final Rejection Actions, click Add New | Field Update, and configure it with these values.
Field Value Name Not Approved Field to Update Discount Percent Status A Specific value Not Approved - Click Save.
Great job! To start evaluating discounted opportunities, simply activate the approval process.
Make Sure That Records Are Submitted
You've done a bunch of work to automate what happens when a record gets submitted for approval. Now, when users click Submit for Approval on an opportunity, it goes through your approval process. But what if—the horror—users forget to click the button?
Enter Flow Builder. One of the available actions in the Action element is Submit for Approval, which means you can build a flow that automatically submits a record for approval. And that means your users don’t have to remember to submit opportunities for approval. For example, in a flow that runs when an opportunity is created or edited:
- Add a Decision element that checks whether Discount Percent is greater than 0.4.
- Add an Action element, set to Submit for Approval, that submits the opportunity for approval.
Tell Me More...
Help your users view open approval requests by adding the Items to Approve component to their Home page. Also, let users respond to approval requests directly from email or Chatter. For more details, see Prepare Your Org for Approvals.