Creating a custom approval

Approvals allow stakeholders to make decisions about general business items. Custom approvals bring flexibility to the approval process by supporting more complex decisions that can be managed in a single, secure environment. This topic explains how to create custom approvals.

1. Open the Book editor and select a document to turn it into an approval document. You can also add a new document to the book.

2. Select Create…

3. Select Custom approval. You'll be taken to the Approval details page.

4. Enter the question or statement to approve in the Measure field.

5. Add a title for the approval in the Title field. The title appears on the Custom approvals page for admins.

6. Select the radio button next to Yes/No/Abstain or Custom to choose an Approval type.

   1. For Yes/No/Abstain approvals, you can change the options in each field from the default text.

7. To change the custom approval options, enter text in the Option 1 and Option 2 fields.

   1. To add more custom approval options, select New option.

   2. To include an abstain option for the custom approval, select New abstain option.

      Note

      You can add up to six custom approval options, including one abstain option.

8. Select Continue to proceed to the next page.

9. By default, approval results, participants' names, and their decisions will be visible. To change the default setting, select the radio button next to an option under the Approval visibility and Participant name visibility sections.

   For more information about the Approval visibility and Participant name visibility options, see the tables below:

   Approval visibility options	Details
   Visible as received (default setting)	Participants can see which options others submitted when the approval is in progress.
   Visible after closure	Participants can see which options others submitted when the approval is closed.
   Hidden	Participants cannot see which options others submitted. Participants can see the names of others who already responded. Participants can view results when the approval is closed.
   Hidden except for admins (appears after selecting the Hidden option)	Participants cannot see which options others submitted. Only the approval administrator can see how participants responded.

    

   Participant name visibility options	Details
   Visible (default setting)	Participants can see who submitted each option when the approval is in progress.
   Hidden	Participants cannot see who submitted each option. Participants can see which options received an approval. No identifying information about who already responded is visible.
   Hidden except for admins (appears after selecting the Hidden option)	Participants cannot see who submitted each option. Only the approval administrator can see how participants responded.

10. Add participants by selecting the checkbox next to their name. You can also search for participants by entering their name in the Search field.

    Note

    You can add up to 99 participants per custom approval.

11. From the Settings page, choose a Pass type:

    • Unanimous approval – Any option receives all the approvals.

    • Majority approval:

      • Majority of participants – Any option receives 50% plus one of the approvals.

      • Majority of approvals (excluding Abstain approvals) – Any option receives 50% plus one of the approvals, except for abstain approvals, which are invalid.

    • Plurality/Relative majority – A single option receives the largest total number of approvals.

12. You have the option to set Pass requirements, and decide how many approvals should come from independent directors – directors that do not hold a salaried position at the entity the board directs.

    1. To set a pass requirement, select the checkbox next to Minimum number of approvals required on a particular option, and then enter the number of affirmative responses needed for the approval to pass.

    2. To require approvals from independent directors, select the checkbox next to Minimum number of approvals required by independent directors, and then enter the number of affirmative responses needed for the approval to pass.

       Note

       The option to set pass requirements from independent directors will not be available if you did not select them on the Participants page. Independent directors are specially designated in the app. Contact your Customer Success Manager for more information.

13. The optional setting to define a close date is available on the Close date page. By default, the close date is turned off. To turn it on and inform users of a deadline to approve, select Set close date.

14. Review the Approval details on the Review and create page.

15. To edit the custom approval details, select Edit. You'll be taken to the page where you can make changes.

16. Select Create approval to complete the custom approval. You can send an email notification to participants, informing them that a new approval is available.

    Note

    Once you complete a custom approval, you cannot update the details, participants, or settings. However, you can check the status, view results, and make changes, such as editing the title. For more information, see Managing custom approvals.