Approval Workflows

AdtoSign's approval workflow ensures that signature and banner changes are reviewed before they go live. When approval is enabled on your plan, team members who don't have approval permission must route their changes through an approver — the live signature or banner keeps serving its current version until approved.

How it works

Submitter creates/edits signature or banner
              ↓
    Has approval permission?
         ↙          ↘
       YES           NO
        ↓             ↓
   Goes live     Submit for approval
                      ↓
              Approver reviews
                 ↙    ↘
            Approve   Reject
               ↓        ↓
         Goes live   Back to submitter

Key principle

A pending request stores the full proposed change separately. The live signature or banner is never changed until an approver approves — a signature or banner in review keeps serving its current version.

What can be approved

Plan availability

Approval workflow is available on select plans. On plans without this feature, all changes go live immediately. On plans with it:

• Users with approval permission (e.g., admins) — changes go live immediately
• Users without approval permission (e.g., editors) — changes are submitted for approval

Not sure if your plan includes approval workflow? Contact support.

The Approvals page

Go to Approvals in the sidebar to see three tabs:

Pending

All approval requests awaiting review. Each card shows:

• Entity type (signature, banner, master banner)
• Action (create, update, delete)
• Submitter name and timestamp
• What changed panel — field-level diff for updates (changed fields listed as chips, scalar fields show before/after values)
• Review and Approve buttons

Assigned to me

Approval requests specifically routed to you by the submitter. If your assigned approver is unavailable, any other qualified approver can still act — assignment is for notifications only, it doesn't lock the request to one person.

Mine

Your own submitted requests — track status (pending, approved, rejected, changes requested, cancelled).

Approval statuses

Submitting for approval

When you save a signature or banner without approval permission:

1. The Save button becomes Submit for Approval
2. Your changes are stored as a pending request (the live entity is untouched)
3. Approvers in your scope are notified
4. You can track the request in Approvals → Mine

Assigning to a specific approver

When submitting, you can optionally route the request to specific approver(s):

• The selected approver(s) see it in Approvals → Assigned to me
• All qualified approvers still see it in Pending
• If the assignee is unavailable, any qualified approver can still act

Reviewing a request

As an approver:

1. Go to Approvals → Pending (or Assigned to me)
2. Click on a request to expand it
3. Review the What changed panel:
   • Changed fields are listed as chips
   • Scalar fields show before/after values
   • Complex fields (sections, HTML, images) show a visual before/after
4. Choose an action:
   • Approve — changes are applied to the live entity immediately
   • Reject — changes are not applied; submitter is notified
   • Request Changes — submitter can edit and resubmit
5. Optionally add a review note explaining your decision

Scope matching

Approver reach is bounded by the submitter's scope:

• The submitter's scope (geographic scope + group assignments) is captured at submit time
• Only approvers whose membership scope covers the submitter's scope can review the request
• This prevents a London admin from approving a Mumbai-scoped signature change

Audit trail

Every approval lifecycle event is logged in an append-only audit log:

The audit log is visible in Settings → Audit Logs and includes:

• Who performed the action (submitter on submit, reviewer on decision)
• When (timestamp)
• Review note (if any)
• Self-approval flag (if the approver was also the submitter)

Daily reminders

Pending requests send daily reminders to assigned approvers (up to 7 reminders per request).

Pagination

The Pending, Assigned, and Mine tabs all support pagination:

• Rows per page selector: 5, 10, 25, or 50
• Page navigation with prev/next and page numbers

FAQ

Q: What happens to the live signature while a change is pending? A: The live signature keeps serving its current version. The proposed change is stored separately and only applied on approval.

Q: Can I approve my own request? A: If you have approval permission, your changes go live immediately (no approval needed). If you don't, you must submit for approval — self-approval is flagged in the audit log if it occurs.

Q: What happens if I edit a signature that's already pending? A: Your edits update the pending request. The original submission is superseded (the audit log preserves the original).

Q: Can I cancel a pending request? A: Yes — go to Approvals → Mine, find your request, and cancel it. The request is retained for audit but drops out of approver queues.

Q: What happens if an approver goes on leave? A: Any qualified approver can still act on the request. Assignment is for notification targeting only — it doesn't lock the request to one person.

Q: How do I enable approval workflow? A: Approval workflow is available on select plans. Upgrade to a plan that includes it. Contact support if you're unsure which plan includes approval workflow.