How to Send Tasks for Approval in CrmLeaf
All editions. Core feature - no add-on required.
Availability: All editions. Core feature - no add-on required.
Overview
The task approval flow adds a review step between finishing work and calling it complete. Instead of completing a task directly, the person who did the work sends it for approval. The task then waits for an approver, who actions it with a reason or comment.
This is useful where a client, a quality check or a manager sign-off stands between "done" and "delivered".
How It Works
The flow uses the taskboard's special waiting approval column as its holding place.
Finish work → Send for approval → Waiting approval → Approver actions it → Completed or returned
- Sending a task for approval moves it into the column carrying the
waiting_approvalslug, so the queue of work awaiting review is visible on the board. - The approver actions the task and records a reason or comment with the decision.
- The decision and its comment are kept with the task, alongside its history and other comments.
- Time already logged against the task is not removed by the approval step. Timelog approval is a separate flow.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Make sure the taskboard has a column carrying the
waiting_approvalbehaviour, so tasks have somewhere to wait. - Set the role permissions that decide who can review and action tasks awaiting approval.
- Action tasks awaiting approval, recording a reason or comment.
User
- Send a finished task for approval instead of completing it directly.
- Read the approver's reason or comment and act on it.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- A taskboard column carrying the
waiting_approvalbehaviour must exist. - The task must exist and be within your permission scope.
- At least one user must have the permission needed to action tasks awaiting approval.
For Users
Step 1: Open the finished task
Open the task whose work is finished. Add any comment or file the reviewer will need, so the approver does not have to ask.
Step 2: Send the task for approval
What to do: Send the task for approval rather than setting its status to completed. The task moves into the waiting approval column.
What to verify: Open the taskboard and confirm the task's card now sits in the waiting approval column.
Step 3: Respond to the decision
Read the reason or comment recorded with the approver's decision. If the task was returned to you, make the change and send it for approval again.
For Administrators
Step 1: Review the approval queue
What to do: Open the taskboard and work through the waiting approval column. Open each task and review its comments, files, subtasks and time logs before deciding.
What to verify: Confirm the task's own record, not only the card, shows the work you expect to sign off.
Step 2: Action the task with a reason
What to do: Action the task and enter the reason or comment for your decision. Be specific, because this text is what the assignee reads.
What to verify: Confirm the task leaves the waiting approval column and that your comment is stored with the task.
Expected Result
The task sits in the waiting approval column until an approver actions it. After the decision, the task leaves the queue and the reason or comment is stored with the task for both the assignee and future readers.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
In a service business the deliverable is the product, and a defect reaches the client directly rather than being caught by a factory inspection. The approval flow separates "the work is finished" from "the work is fit to send", and it records who took that decision. Firms that rely on an informal check by whoever is available end up with inconsistent quality and no evidence of review when a client disputes it.
How It Supports Professional Services
- Sending a task for approval places it in the
waiting_approvalcolumn, so a review queue exists as a visible state of delivery rather than as an email thread. - The approver's decision is recorded with a reason or comment and kept with the task alongside its history, which gives the engagement a durable record of internal sign-off.
- Returning work with a specific reason keeps the correction loop inside the task, so the next reviewer can see what was previously wrong.
- Task approval and time approval are separate controls. A partner can sign off the quality of a deliverable while a manager separately approves the hours booked to it, which suits firms where quality and cost are reviewed by different people.
- The review step fits the shipped delivery structures for Creative Agency and Legal Services work, where a creative director or a supervising partner is expected to review output before it leaves the firm.
Typical Service Workflow
Task → Delivery → Internal review → Client → Time → Billing
Approval sits between delivery and the client. CrmLeaf holds the task in the waiting approval column and stores the decision; sending the approved deliverable to the client, and any client-side acceptance, are steps the organisation handles outside this flow.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
The same step supports inspection and handover sign-off on Construction and Solar site work, and internal checks such as a supervisor reviewing a completed maintenance job in any edition.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Use the Taskboard — where the approval queue is seen and worked.
- How to Submit and Approve Weekly Timesheets — the parallel control over effort rather than quality.
- How to Create and Assign Tasks — the record the approval decision is stored against.
- How to Use Project Discussions — keeps the reasoning behind a review decision with the project.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Task approval and timelog approval are separate. Approving a task does not approve the time logged against it.
- Approval is a workflow step, not a permission. Confirm with your Administrator who is expected to review your team's work.
- If your board has no waiting approval column, tasks have nowhere to queue, so add that column before rolling the flow out to a team.
Common Scenarios
Example: quality review before delivery. A designer finishes artwork, attaches the files to the task and sends it for approval. The account lead reviews the files, actions the task and records the comment "approved for client delivery".
Example: work returned for a fix. A reviewer finds a missing item, actions the task with the reason, and the assignee corrects the work and sends it for approval again.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The task cannot be sent for approval | The board has no column carrying the waiting_approval behaviour. | Ask the Administrator to add that column. |
| Nobody actions tasks in the approval queue | No role has been given the permission to review and action tasks awaiting approval. | Ask the Administrator to grant that permission to the reviewing role. |
| The approver cannot see the task | The approver's task permission scope does not include the task, or the task is private. | Ask the Administrator to widen the approver's scope for tasks. |
| The assignee does not know why the task came back | The decision was actioned without a useful reason or comment. | Always record a reason with the decision; it is stored with the task. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a reason mandatory when actioning a task?
The flow records a reason or comment with the decision. Treat it as required practice so the assignee knows what happened.
Does approval complete the task automatically?
The task leaves the waiting approval queue when it is actioned. Confirm the resulting status on the taskboard.
Can the same person send and approve a task?
That depends on the permissions your Administrator has granted for reviewing tasks.
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