An approval workflow for WordPress forms takes a request, sends it to the person who decides, and records a clear yes or no, without anyone retyping the details. It turns emails back and forth into a short, trackable process. This guide is for teams, office managers and agencies who handle requests such as purchases, time off or quotes. We show the shape of a good form approval process, and then we build one in WordPress in about 30 minutes.
The short version
- Use two forms: a request form, then an approval form.
- The approval form opens with the request’s answers already filled in.
- Lock the carried answers as read only, so nothing changes on the way.
- Each step is its own entry, with its own emails.
What is an approval workflow?
It is a process where one person asks and another decides. A team member requests a purchase, a manager approves or declines it, and finance sees the result. The forms make sure every request arrives complete, and that the decision is recorded next to it.
Common examples include:
| Request | Who approves | What carries across |
|---|---|---|
| A purchase | A manager | Item, cost, supplier |
| Time off | A team lead | Dates, number of days |
| A client quote | A director | Client, amount, scope |
| A new content post | An editor | Title, summary, author |
Why use forms for approvals instead of email?
Because email loses things. A request buried in a thread has no fixed fields, no status and no record of who said yes. Forms give every request the same shape, so a manager can approve 10 requests in 5 minutes instead of reading 10 different emails. They also leave a record, which matters when someone asks in 6 months who approved a cost.
How does a manager approval form work?
With Echo Forms Signature, the request form sends people straight on to the approval form when they press send, and the approval form fills itself in from the request. The manager sees the request in full, adds a decision and a note, and sends it. Both forms keep their own entries, so you can see the request and the decision side by side.
You can make the carried answers read only, so the cost a manager approves is exactly the cost that was requested.
How to build an approval workflow, step by step
Here is how we set it up in Echo Forms Signature, with no code.
- Build the request form: who is asking, what they need, the cost and a reason.
- Build the approval form: the same fields, plus Approved? (yes or no) and Note.
- Put the approval form on a published page that only managers use.
- On the request form, set the confirmation type to Send them to another form and pick the approval form.
- On the approval form, set each carried field’s Autopopulate from another form to the request form, and switch on Read only.
- Add an email to the requester on the approval form, so they hear the decision.
The field options guide covers autopopulate and read only. See form workflows for more examples.
Who should see the approval form?
Only the people who decide. Put it on a page in a members area, or one that is not linked from your menu, and limit who can send it. Echo’s Who can send it settings let you restrict a form to logged-in users or certain roles. The guide to who can send a form explains the options.
Can the requester get the answer by email?
Yes. Add a notification to the approval form that goes to the requester’s email, using a merge tag from the carried email field. Write the subject with the decision in it, such as Your request was approved, and include the manager’s note. Most requesters are happy with an answer within 1 working day, so a simple email is enough.
When do you need a dedicated workflow tool?
When a process has many steps, many approvers and deadlines on each one. A request that passes through 5 people with reminders after 48 hours is beyond a two-form journey, and a tool such as Gravity Flow is built for that. For the request-and-approve shape most small teams need, two forms are simpler and cost nothing extra.
An approval workflow for WordPress forms takes about 30 minutes to build and saves time on every request after. Start with your most common request, and add others once the first one runs smoothly.
Requests and approvals in one journey
Form workflows come with every Echo Forms Signature plan, from $49.99 a year.
