How is the email approval process set up?

Which emails must go through approval?

Putting every email through approval slows work; putting none through can let a sentence that binds the organization go out unseen. The right balance is to classify emails by risk. The email types that most need approval are:

• Price and quote emails. An incorrectly written unit price or a forgotten discount condition can become a binding commitment the moment the customer accepts it.
• Contracts and legal correspondence. A draft, a warning or a termination notice sent to the other party; texts where a single word can change the meaning.
• Emails to public institutions and banks. You need to make sure the correct document, in the correct version, is attached to an official letter.
• New employees' first customer correspondence. Approval also serves as a training tool in the first weeks.
• Crisis and complaint responses. A reply written to an angry customer should be seen by a second pair of eyes before it is sent.

Routine information emails, internal correspondence, and short confirmations can flow without approval.

How do you design a good approval process?

A successful approval process gives clear answers to four questions.

Who initiates approval? Rather than making approval a mandatory setting for every email, it is more efficient for the writer to initiate it on emails they deem necessary. This way the team carries out routine work without waiting and consciously submits critical emails for approval.

Who approves? Processes tied to a single administrator stall when that person is on leave. Defining multiple approvers and choosing per email between "any one approves" and "all approve" provides flexibility. A sales manager's approval may suffice for a quote, while both legal and finance approval may be required for a contract.

What does the approver see? The approver needs to see not only the text but the entire email: which corporate address it will go out from, who it is going to, and which attachments have been added. A wrong recipient or a forgotten attachment costs far more than a typo in the text.

How should feedback be given? Saying "not suitable" is not enough; you must write what needs to change. Feedback with no clear direction extends the work by another round.

Which mistakes should be avoided when setting up an approval process?

Approval processes most often falter at the following points:

1. Adding approval to the email externally. Sending a screenshot of the draft to a messaging group and asking "Is this okay?" may seem quick but leaves no record; no one can verify that the approved text and the sent text are the same.
2. Changing the text after approval. After approval is received, a "small correction" is made and the email is sent. The difference between the approved version and the sent version becomes a point of dispute when a problem arises.
3. Silent blockage. The approver does not see the email, and the sender forgets what they are waiting for. Showing pending requests in a list and sending notifications prevents this.
4. A decision left without justification. If it is not recorded why a rejected or returned-for-revision email came back, the same mistake will repeat in the next email.

Does the approval process slow work down?

The most common objection to approval processes is that they will slow work down. When set up correctly, the opposite happens. In an organization without approval, critical mails are also checked, but this check is invisible: it circulates in a draft messaging group, is read over the phone, and a separate mail is sent asking "can you take a look". Each of these informal routes both takes time and leaves no trace.

Bringing approval into the email itself reduces this back-and-forth to a single step. The approver decides with one click when the email arrives ready to send; the sender does not wait for a reply on a separate channel.

There are three ways to prevent slowdown:

• Use approval only for risky emails. Sending routine correspondence for approval piles unnecessary work in front of the approver, and genuinely important requests get lost in the crowd.
• Define a backup approver. A request sent to two people with an "anyone can approve" rule is immediately handled by the other when one is in a meeting.
• Use mobile approval. Even if the approver is not at their desk, they can see the pending request on their phone and make a decision.

A properly set up approval process ensures that new employees or teams entering new markets can accelerate safely: the fear of making mistakes is reduced because critical emails will be reviewed by a second person.

How does the email verification process work in SmartMail?

In SmartMail, approval is a flow the email author starts per email. They choose send for approval instead of send and select one or more approvers. When multiple people are selected, the author sets the rule: the email is sent if any one approves or if all approve.

Before making a decision, the approver sees the entire email: which corporate address it will be sent from, the recipients, the names and sizes of attachments, and the body in its own format. There are three decision options:

• Approve: the email is sent immediately.
• Request revision: the work returns to the sender. Writing what needs to change is mandatory; a revision request without explanation is not accepted.
• Reject: the request is closed; a justification can be written.

Every step is written to the request history with its date and time. When an email returned for revision is edited again and resubmitted for approval, previous versions also remain in the record; this makes it possible to see the difference between the approved text and the first draft. The sender tracks their emails awaiting approval in a separate list; the approver also receives a notification for the pending request.

An approved email goes out the same way as a normal send: the mailbox signature, attachments and recipients go as approved.

Send control and approval flowSending the email for approval

Setting up the approval process step by step

1. List the email types that require approval. Shorten or expand the list above according to your organization; distribute it to the team as a one-page rule.
2. Define approvers. Choose a primary and backup approver for each email type. The backup prevents the process from stalling when the primary person is unavailable.
3. Match the "anyone" and "everyone" rule. "Anyone" is suitable for quotes where speed matters, and "everyone" for multi-party decisions.
4. Build the habit of writing revision notes. Approvers should be specific when requesting changes: "The unit price in item 3 was taken from the old list; replace it with the current list."
5. Review the history at the end of the first month. The types of email that most often go back for revision indicate a need for training or templates.

Frequently asked questions

Does a mail sent for approval go out before it is approved?

No. An email sent for approval is not sent until the approval rule is met. Under the "All" rule, all approvers must approve.

Can the approver change the email?

The approver does not change the text themselves; if a change is needed, they request a revision and write what needs to change. The email owner makes the edit and submits the email for approval again.

Is it mandatory to write a description when requesting a revision?

Yes. A revision request cannot be sent without a description; for rejection, writing a reason is optional.

How long can approval history be viewed?

The approval request history is stored with the request, including who made which decision and when, along with revision versions.