---
title: "Set up Approval Process"
slug: "set-up-approval-process"
description: "Create approval workflows (status approval, content approval, approval with no action, conditional workflow)."
tags: ["IT Pro"]
updated: 2024-07-09T13:21:50Z
published: 2024-07-09T13:21:50Z
canonical: "help.lanteria.com/set-up-approval-process"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.lanteria.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up Approval Process

After creating the workflows, use them to set up approval processes.

Approval process defines what is to be approved, which workflow is to be used and under which conditions. There are three types of approval processes requiring different setup procedures:

- [**Status approval**](/v1/docs/set-up-approval-process#set-up-status-approval) – As a result of this approval, the item status is set to **Approved**.
- [**Content approval**](/v1/docs/set-up-approval-process#set-up-content-approval) – As a result of this approval, the approved item is copied to the new target list.
- [**Approval without action**](/v1/docs/set-up-approval-process#set-up-approval-without-action) – As a result of this approval, no action is performed.

Any of these process types can be simple or [conditional](/v1/docs/set-up-approval-process#conditional-workflows).

## Set up Status Approval

The status approval process regulates the creation of a new item (record) in the destination list. Technically, in the background, the same SharePoint list is used, in which the **Status** field is updated to record the approval workflow results.

Follow these steps to set up a status approval process:

1. Select or create a SharePoint list for items that would need approval. Make sure that the list has the following fields:
  - **The Status** field to record the approval process results.
  - At least one of the following fields: **RequestedBy**, **Employee**, **Department**. This information is used for determining the persons responsible for each workflow step, because the **Approver** field in a workflow step in most cases specifies a role and not a particular person, so the system needs information from one of those fields to determine the responsible person based on this role.
2. Go to **Settings > Settings and Configuration > Core HR**.
3. Click **Processes and Approval Workflows** in the left panel and click **Edit** next to the **Approval Workflows** setting name on the **Basic** tab.  
![img102(1)](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img102(1).png)
4. The **Approval Process Settings** form will appear.
5. Click the **Add New Process** button on the ribbon or at the top of the form.![](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img921.png)
6. The **Approval Process Settings** edit form will appear. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img922.png)
7. Specify the name of the approval process in the **Title** field.
8. Select **Status Approval** in the **Workflow Result Type** field.
9. Use the **List for Approval** field to select the list where items for approval will be created. *Note**If the selected list is deleted later on, the approval process setting will be deactivated and won't be displayed on the **Approval Process Settings** page and **Approval Requests** page.*
10. Select a workflow for the process in the **Workflow** field. If currently there is no workflow in the system that fits this approval process requirements, there is an option to create a new workflow by clicking the **Add New** button at the top of the form.
11. Select the **Conditional Workflow** check box to create a [conditional workflow](/v1/docs/set-up-approval-process#conditional-workflows).
12. If you plan that the approval requests will be created ***only*** with the help of a button in the **My Approval Requests** page and the workflow will be initiated ***only*** after an item is created using this button, select the **Request Approval Manually** check box. If this box is selected, the initiator will have to launch the workflow manually, which means that he/she will have to go through the following steps:
  1. Click the corresponding button on the **My Details** > **My Approval Requests** page. The workflow will be created in the **Draft** status.
  2. Change their role to **Employee**.
  3. Go to **My Approval Requests** > **Created by Me.**
  4. Click **Approve/Reject** for the draft workflow and select **Request Approval** in the **Action** field.
13. If you want to create a new button for starting this process that will be available on the **Approval Requests** page for HR role and **My Approval Requests** page for the Employee role, select the **Show on Approval Requests Page** check box. For example, if we are setting up a Termination Approval process, a Termination Approval button will be added under **Start Approval Process** and after the button is clicked, a form for creating a new item in the **Terminations** list will be displayed.  
![img111(1)](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img111(1).png)
14. If the **Show on Approval Requests Page** check box is selected, the **Order on Approval Requests Page** field becomes available where you can specify the number that defines the order in which the corresponding button on the **My Approval Requests** page will be arranged in relation to other approval request-related buttons. The lower the number the closer to the lest the button will be arranged where **1** means it'll be the first button, **2** – the second button, **3**– the third button, and so on.*Note**If you leave **0** in this field, the button will be arranged after the buttons that have this setting filled in. For several buttons that have this setting set to 0, the arrangement corresponds to the order in which the corresponding approval requests workflow are configured.*
15. If the **Show on Approval Requests Page** check box is selected, also the **ES Roles** field becomes available where you should specify the roles that will be able to create records in the approval list and that will see the corresponding button on their **My Approval Requests** page.*Note* *You can only select the **Request Approval Manually** check box at the time of creating the approval process. Also, if it is selected, the **Show on Approval Requests Page** check box must be selected as well.*
16. The **Advanced S****ettings** group allows the developers to change default forms that will be displayed during the approval process. Also, under **Advanced settings**, you can control automatic approval:
  - Select the **Disable Automatic Step Approval** check box if you don't want to have other process steps the employee is also responsible for to be automatically approved after he/she has approved a process step.
  - Select the **Disable Automatic Request Approval** check box if the step is to remain **Pending** in case no responsible is found (for example, the employee selected as responsible has been terminated or there is no employee with the responsible job role). If the check box is cleared, the approval step (in multi-step process) or approval request (in one-step process) will be automatically approved if there is no responsible.
17. Click the **Save** button to save the process.

## Set up Content Approval

The content approval process regulates the update of an item (record) in the destination list. In this process, normally certain fields in an item (record) in the destination list are updated, however all fields can be updated if necessary. Technically, in the background, two SharePoint lists are used:

- A target list where the records will be created upon approval.
- A temporary list where the approval records will be created and stored until the approval process is finalized. In the temporary list, you add fields, the update of which you want to be managed by this content approval workflow. Additionally, it is mandatory to create the following fields in the temporary list (ensure you use the internal field names):The temporary list can be generated by Lanteria HR or created manually by user.
  - Employee with the ES2013 Employee Picker type
  - ApprovalStatus with the lookup to the Approval Statuses list
  - ApprovalRequest with the lookup to the Approval Requests list

Follow these steps to set up a content approval process:

1. Go to **Settings > Settings and Configuration > Core HR**.
2. Click **Processes and Approval Workflows** in the left panel and click **Edit** next to the **Approval Workflows** setting name on the **Basic** tab.  
![img102(1)](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img102(1).png)
3. The **Approval Process Settings** form will appear.
4. Click the **Add New Process** button on the ribbon or at the top of the form. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img921(2).png)
5. The **Approval Process Settings** edit form will appear. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img924.png)
6. Specify the name of the approval process in the **Title** field.
7. In the **Workflow Result Type** field, select **Content Approval**. *Note**Content approval can be set up only for updating current data, and not for historical data. For example, if you select the **Employees** list, the content approval process will not be able to update the fields from the employment history, or of you select the **Salary Details** list, the fields from the salary details will not be updated upon content approval. Additionally, if you select either the **Employees** list or the **Salary Details** list , note that the employee **Full Name** (internal name **Title**) field will not be updated by the content approval process.*
8. Next, select the target list where the items will be created after the successful approval.
9. Now it's time to specify the name of the list where the items will be stored in the process of approval. This list must contain the same fields as the target list plus the following additional fields (the internal names must be specified): You can create such list manually or generate it by clicking **Generate list for content approval**. The list will be generated and assigned to the **List for approval** field. The list name will be as follows: the target list name + the word "Request".
  - Employee with the ES2013 Employee Picker type
  - ApprovalStatus with the lookup to the Approval Statuses list
  - ApprovalRequest with the lookup to the Approval Requests list
10. Select a workflow for the process in the **Workflow** field. If currently there is no workflow in the system that fits this approval process requirements, there is an option to create a new workflow by clicking the **Add New** button at the top of the form.
11. If you want different workflows to be used depending on the approval request details, select the **Conditional Workflow** check box and [set up the conditions](/v1/docs/set-up-approval-process#conditional-workflows) based on which different workflows will be triggered.
12. Select **Request Approval Manually** if the workflow is to be initiated only with the button on the **My Approval Requests** page and is to be launched manually.
13. If you want to create a new button for starting this process that will be available on the **Approval Requests** page for HR role and **My Approval Requests** page for Employee role, select the **Show on Approval Requests Page** check box. For example, if we are setting up a Termination Approval process, a **Termination Approval** button will be added under **Start Approval Process** and after the button is clicked, a form for creating a new item in temporary list will appear.  
![img111(1)](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img111(1).png)
14. If the **Show on Approval Requests Page** check box is selected, the **Order on Approval Requests Page** field becomes available where you can specify the number that defines the order in which the corresponding button on the **My Approval Requests** page will be arranged in relation to other approval request-related buttons. The lower the number the closer to the lest the button will be arranged where **1** means it'll be the first button, **2** – the second button, **3**– the third button, and so on.*Note**If you leave **0** in this field, the button will be arranged after the buttons that have this setting filled in. For several buttons that have this setting set to 0, the arrangement corresponds to the order in which the corresponding approval requests workflow are configured.*
15. If the **Show on Approval Requests Page** check box is selected, also the **ES Roles** field becomes available where you should specify the roles that will be able to create records in the approval list and that will see the corresponding button on their **My Approval Requests** page.*Note**You can only select the **Request Approval Manually** check box at the time of creating the approval process. Also, if it is selected, the **Show on Approval Requests Page** check box must be selected as well.*
16. The **Advanced** settings group allows the developers to change default forms that will be displayed during the approval process. Also, under **Advanced settings**, you can control automatic approval:
  - Select the **Disable Automatic Step Approval** check box if you don't want to have other process steps the employee is also responsible for to be automatically approved after he/she has approved a process step.
  - Select the **Disable Automatic Request Approval** check box if the request is to remain **Pending** in case no responsible is found (for example, the employee selected as responsible has been terminated or there is no employee with the responsible job role). If the check box is cleared, the approval step (in multi-step process) or approval request (in one-step process) will be automatically approved if there is no responsible.
17. Click the **Save** button to save the process.

## Set up Approval Without Action

The approval without action is similar to the status approval, but in this case no action is performed after approval. This type of approval may be required for some custom approval process, where the workflow logic doesn't require changing the item status or copying the item content to another list.

Set up this approval type in a similar way to how you set up the status approval. In the **Workflow Result Type** field, select **No Action**.

## Conditional Workflows

You can have different workflows triggered depending on the approval request details. For example, if the requested number of vacation days is up to 5, it is approved by the direct manager only, and if it exceeds 5 days, it is additionally approved by the org unit manager. Select the **Conditional Workflow** check box to be able to specify conditions for launching the workflows (the **Workflow Type** will be set to **Conditional** in this case, otherwise, it will be **Simple**).

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img1059.png)

The **Workflow** field where you specify a single workflow for the process will be hidden and the **Conditional Workflow Configuration** section will display. Use it to set up conditions based on which different workflows will be triggered. The condition can be based on one of the following field types - choice, numeric, calculated, yes/no or currency and correspondingly, the **List for Approval** field must contain a list with at least one such field. The following operators can be used for condition setup:

- **Equals** - Checks if two values are the same. Used for the choice, numeric and currency fields. Can be used for calculated fields that return numeric or currency values.
- **Not equals** - Checks if two values are not the same. Used for the choice, numeric and currency fields. Can be used for calculated fields that return numeric or currency values.
- **Less than** - Checks if one value is less than another. Used for numeric and currency fields. Can be used for calculated fields that return numeric or currency values.
- **Greater than** - Checks if one value is larger than another. Used for numeric and currency fields. Can be used for calculated fields that return numeric or currency values.
- **Greater than or equals** - Checks if one value is larger than or equals to another. Used for numeric and currency fields. Can be used for calculated fields that return numeric or currency values.
- **Less than or equals** - Checks if one value is less than or equals to another. Used for numeric and currency fields. Can be used for calculated fields that return numeric or currency values.
- **Checked** - Checks if the check box is selected. Used for the yes/no fields. Can be used for calculated fields that return yes/no values.
- **Not checked** - Checks if the check box is cleared. Used for the yes/no fields. Can be used for calculated fields that return yes/no values.

Use the **Add** button to create conditions for the workflow initiation. You can create conditions based on different fields (for example, some conditions can be based on the sickness **Number of Days** field and others - in the **Medical Note Received** field).When adding condition based on numeric, currency or calculated numeric/currency field, you can select an operator and type in a value; for the choice fields, select an operator and select a value; for the yes/no fields and calculated yes/no fields, only the **Checked** and **Not checked** operators are available and you choose an operator only, the **Value** field will be disabled.

When an approval request is created, to define the workflow to be triggered, the conditions are processed (checked) in the same order as they are on the **Approval Process Settings** page. Workflow for the first found true condition is executed. Change the condition order using drag and drop or up and down buttons, depending on the selected sorting mode.

**Drag and drop**

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img1060(1).png)

**Up and down**

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c315c68d-2799-4fcc-9a39-084315b58f14/Images/Documentation/img1061.png)

## Related

- [Approval Workflows and Processes](/approval-workflows-and-processes.md)