Approvals and workflows that follow your process
1flux has approval workflow software built in: decide who owns each stage, what must be done before a move, who approves and what happens next. No code.
In short
1flux lets admins add rules to each stage of a deal, quotation, sales order or task, under Settings → Workflows, without code. A stage can assign an owner, set an allowed time, require fields or checklist items, ask for approval from any, all or a quorum of approvers, and run automations. Quotation approvals can target amount bands. Approvers decide from one Approvals inbox, and every move, send-back and decision stays on the record's history.
View as text
- A salesperson submits quotation QT-2026-00118 for AED 63,000.00 (AED 60,000.00 plus 5% VAT) for approval.
- It waits for the head of sales, Tariq Mahmoud, because it is above the 50,000 approval band. Until it is approved, it cannot be emailed, shared on WhatsApp or sent as a link.
- Tariq approves it. The quotation is Approved, and its PDF is frozen and locked: the same file is emailed, shown on the customer link and downloaded.
The problem: process that lives in people’s heads
Most growing B2B companies have a process. It just isn’t written into the system:
- Large quotations and deep discounts go out before anyone senior has seen them.
- Approvals happen in WhatsApp threads, so nobody can say later who agreed to what.
- Salespeople skip steps: a deal marked won with no quotation, a lost deal with no reason.
- Nobody knows who owns a record now, or how long it has sat in one stage.
A process only holds when the system enforces it on every move, for every person.
View as text
- Imran Raza drags the deal "Chilled water pumps" from Qualified towards Proposal.
- The board rolls the card back and opens "This stage change needs attention". The Proposal stage has two requirements to complete: a deal value and the checklist item "Site survey done".
- Imran adds the deal value, AED 186,000, and marks the checklist item done.
- The deal moves to Proposal, and the column counts and totals update. Every move on the board runs the same stage rules.
Which records can you put a workflow on?
1flux workflows apply to four kinds of record: deals, quotations, sales orders and tasks, with a separate workflow for each task type.
| Record | What you’d typically set |
|---|---|
| Deals | Required fields before a stage, forward-only stages, a reason when a deal is lost |
| Quotations | Approval by amount band before a quotation can be sent, assignment to whoever prepares it |
| Sales orders | Allowed time per stage, notifications and linked tasks. Their stages follow the documents, so the board moves when the documents do |
| Tasks (per task type) | Their own stages, checklists, approvals and service levels, for example on a submittal request |
Purchasing, receiving and accounting have their own built-in approval steps: a requisition goes for approval, a goods received note checked with comments waits for an approver, and preparing and posting journals are separate permissions. See access control for those permission lanes.
What can you set on each stage?
Each stage has five rules, plus transition rules for the whole workflow. Anything left unset keeps working as it does today.
- Assignment sets the owner: Leave unchanged, Acting user, Fixed member, Round robin or Role round robin. It runs when a record enters the stage, and when a quotation or task is created.
- Service level is the allowed hours in the stage. Records show badges such as “3h left” or “overdue”.
- Entry criteria are required fields, including your custom fields, and checklist items. A move is blocked until they’re complete, and 1flux lists what’s missing.
- Approval: moving into the stage needs approval from Any approver, All approvers or a Quorum. On rejection, keep the record where it is or send it back to a chosen stage. Quotation rules can set a Minimum total and Maximum total.
- Automations run after entering or before leaving the stage: Send a notification (in-app, with optional email), Create a linked task or Update a field.
- Transition rules block specific stage-to-stage moves, require a reason, or make stages Forward-only. A reason is always required for lost, cancelled or declined.
Automation messages and task titles can use template variables such as {reference}, {stageName} and {ownerName}. Each automation runs on its own, so a failed action never undoes the stage move, and admins are told about the failure.
How does approval workflow software work in 1flux?
In 1flux, an approval is a gate on a stage. Here's what happens when a salesperson submits a large quotation.
The move becomes a request
Moving a record into a gated stage creates an approval workflow request instead of moving it. For quotations, Submit for approval checks the amount-band rules; if none match, the quotation goes straight to Approved.
Approvers are told
The chosen approvers get an in-app notification and an email. The approver list is fixed when the request is made, so changing a rule later doesn’t change who decides a pending request.
They decide
Each approver opens the request from the Approvals inbox, or from the Workflow health panel on the record, and chooses Approve or Reject. A rejection needs a reason.
The rule settles it
Under Any approver, the first approval is enough. All approvers needs everyone. A Quorum needs the number you set.
The record moves, or goes back
Approved, the record enters the stage. Rejected, it stays put or goes back to the stage you chose, with the reason on its history. A rejected quotation returns to Draft.
Sending waits
A quotation that needs approval can’t be sent to the customer until it’s approved.
- Up to USD 15,000Approved straight awayNo rule matches
- USD 15,000 to USD 75,000One sales managerAny approver
- Above USD 75,000Two of three directorsQuorum: 2 of 3
One approvals inbox for every decision
Every pending decision sits in one place. Approvals in the sidebar shows a count of requests waiting for you, and the notification inbox repeats it.
- Show switches between Mine (waiting on your decision) and Requested (the ones you asked for).
- Search, and filter by type: deal, quotation or task.
- Each row shows the record, who requested it and when, the stage change and progress (“2 of 3”).
- The preview shows the move (from → to), the requester’s note, each approver’s vote (Approved, Rejected or Waiting) and the rule in plain words.
Requests and decisions are also sent by email, so approvers who live in their inbox don’t miss them.
See at a glance which records are running late
A service level is the time a record may spend in a stage. 1flux shows it on the work itself:
- badges on records, such as “3h left” or “20m overdue”, with a Stage SLA progress bar;
- SLA at risk and SLA breached badges on the sales order board;
- the time spent in each stage on deal and task histories.
The clock starts the moment a record enters the stage.
Every move and decision stays on the record
1flux keeps a full history alongside each record:
- every stage move, with its type (normal, send back, rejection, approval or override) and the reason given;
- each approval decision;
- an Automation runs log, with an “N failed” badge when something needs attention;
- changes of assignee.
Deal and task timelines show Sent back, Rejected, Approved and Override in plain words.
How do you set up a workflow?
Workflows live under Settings → Workflows. Add rules one stage at a time; a workflow with no rules keeps working as before.
Pick a record type
In Workflow for, choose Deals, Quotations, Sales orders or one of your task types.
Set the stage rules
On Stage rules, set Assignment on creation (quotations and tasks; deals are assigned when they enter a stage), then open each stage’s tiles.
Configure transitions
On Transitions, use Configure transitions to block moves or require reasons.
Save
People without manage rights see the rules read-only: “You can view these rules”.
Check the runs
Look at Automation runs after the first few days.
Stages themselves are configured with the record: deal stages under deal settings, and task stages in each task type.
Connected to the rest of 1flux
Workflow rules run on the records your teams already use, from the first deal to the last task.
- Workflows and approvalsRules on every stage
- Deal pipelineRequest quotation
- QuotationsAccepted → order request
- Sales ordersFollow-up tasks
- Tasks
- Quotations: amount-band approvals, send gating and assignment of who prepares the quote. See 1flux Quotations.
- Deals: required fields, forward-only stages and loss reasons on the deal pipeline. Every drag on the board runs the rules.
- Sales orders: service levels and follow-up automations on sales orders and fulfilment.
- Tasks: a workflow per task type, with stage checklists. See 1flux Tasks, and no-code configuration for task types.
Who are 1flux workflows for?
Anyone who needs a process to hold on every move, without commissioning custom code.
Sales heads
Who want discount and large-quote sign-off without chasing it on WhatsApp.
Operations managers
Who need every order and request owned, and visibly late when it’s late.
Directors and finance approvers
Who want one place to decide, with the context in front of them.
Admins
Who’d rather configure a process than commission custom code.
Can 1flux route quotations for approval by amount?
Yes. In 1flux, quotation approval rules can target amount bands with a minimum and maximum total, and each band can need any, all or a quorum of the approvers you choose. Submit for approval checks the rules. If one matches, the approvers are notified and the quotation can't be sent until it's approved. If none match, the quotation is approved straight away.
Can I stop salespeople skipping stages?
Yes. In 1flux you can make stages forward-only, block specific moves, and require fields or checklist items before a record enters a stage. A blocked move tells the person exactly what's missing. A reason is always required when a deal is lost or a record is cancelled or declined, and every move is kept on the record's history.
Can admins set up workflows without a developer?
Yes. 1flux workflows are configured in Settings → Workflows by anyone with permission to manage them. You pick a record type, then set assignment, service level, entry criteria, approval and automations per stage, and transition rules for the whole workflow. A workflow with no rules keeps working as before, so you can add rules one stage at a time.
How does 1flux show which records are running late?
1flux shows service levels on the records themselves. Each stage can have an allowed time, and records carry badges such as "3h left" or "overdue" with a Stage SLA progress bar. The sales order board adds SLA at risk and SLA breached badges, and deal and task histories show the time spent in each stage, so you see at a glance which records are running late.
What can a workflow automation do?
1flux workflow automations run after a record enters a stage or before it leaves one. Each can send a notification in the app, with optional email, create a linked task or update a field. Messages and task titles can use template variables for the record's reference, the stage name and the owner's name, so every notification says exactly which record it's about.
What happens if an automation fails?
1flux still makes the stage move. Each automation action runs on its own, so a failed notification, task or field update never undoes the move. Admins are alerted, and the Automation runs tab shows each run with an "N failed" badge, so you can see what went wrong and fix the rule.
How are purchases approved in 1flux?
1flux Purchasing has its own built-in approval steps. A requisition goes to an approver before it moves on, a goods received note checked with comments waits for an approver, and separate permissions cover requesting, approving, awarding, issuing and adding prices. In accounting, preparing a journal and posting it are separate permissions too.
Can I see who approved a record and when?
Yes. 1flux keeps the full history on each record: every stage move with its type and reason, each approval decision, and every override and send-back. Deal and task timelines show Sent back, Rejected, Approved and Override in plain words, and the Automation runs log shows what each rule did.
Quotations
Quotes from your catalogue or a customer's PO, approved, locked and sent.
Deal pipeline
A monthly deal board with stage rules, approvals and lost reasons.
Sales orders
Customer POs to orders, deliveries, invoices and payments, on one board.
Tasks
Typed tasks with their own stages, linked to deals, projects and quotations.
Roles, permissions and audit
Custom roles, record visibility along reporting lines, entity access and row-level security.
Custom fields, rules and numbering
Custom fields, validation rules, numbering and task types, set in settings without code.
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Put your approval rules where the work happens
See quotation approvals by amount, blocked moves and the approvals inbox on a workspace set up like yours.
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