---
title: "1. Managing E-Approval Flow/Groups"
slug: "1-managing-e-approval-flow-groups"
updated: 2026-10-29T17:01:15Z
published: 2026-10-29T17:01:15Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/1-managing-e-approval-flow-groups"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 1. Managing E-Approval Flow/Groups

**COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

**1. Managing E-Approval Flow/Groups**

*Document Templates Management › E-Approval Flow/Groups › 1. Managing E-Approval Flow/Groups*

**Note:** Each procedure in this guide begins at the Contract Insight homepage, so any section can be followed on its own. Custom fields are configurable, so the exact field list on a contract category record may vary between environments.

# 1. Overview

An approval flow is made up of numbered **approval groups**. Each group is one stage of the flow, with its own name (e.g. "Vendor Review," "Finance Approval"), its participants, and each participant's title, role, and whether they are required. Approvers are invited group by group: people within a group act in parallel, and the groups run in sequence. Groups are first set up on the template (**Approvals & signing** step), copied onto each document generated from it, and then tracked in the process console's **Groups and participants** section once the approval process is running.

# 2. Key Elements

- **Template approval groups** — set on the template's **Approvals & signing** step, **E-Approvals** tab, under **Who approves, and in what order**.
- **Group settings** — Group name, Description, Sequence, For version, Accept tracked changes on complete, and Set record status on complete.
- **Participants** — each comes from Employees, Roles & Groups, or Vendor/Customer Contacts, and has a Title (unique per template), an optional Reason, and Required/Locked settings.
- **Group actions** — Edit, Participant, Rules (limit the group to records that match a condition), Copy (adds a copy of the group, and everyone in it, at the end of the flow), and Delete.
- **Document approval groups** — copied from the template onto each generated document and editable there until the process starts.
- **Process console** — once running, each group in **Groups and participants** shows its status, and a later group stays *Pending* / *not notified* until the current one finalizes.

# 3. Turning On E-Approvals for a Template

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click the **Administration** icon at the bottom of the left navigation bar, then click **Document Templates**.
2. Click **Open** on the template, then click step **3 Approvals & signing** and make sure the **E-Approvals** tab is selected.
3. Check **Use E-Approvals** and select an **Approval process** if one is available for this record type and template type.
4. Click **Save approval settings**.

![Template Approvals & signing step with E-Approvals tab, Use E-Approvals, Approval process, and Save approval settings highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/01-eapprovals.jpg)

# 4. Reviewing a Template's Approval Groups

1. On the **E-Approvals** tab, scroll to **Who approves, and in what order**.
2. Each numbered card is one group. The card header shows the group's sequence number, name, and settings (for example, *accept on complete*), plus the **Edit**, **Participant**, **Rules**, **Copy**, and **Delete** buttons.
3. Each row is one participant, showing the Title (approval placeholder), Source, Approver, and whether they are **required** or **optional**.
4. Use the row icons to set **when this approval is required** (filter icon), the **content controls this approver may edit** (shield icon), or to **remove this approver** (trash icon).

![Template approval groups with Add group, group header, group buttons, participant icons, and Required column highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/02-groups.jpg)

# 5. Adding an Approval Group

1. On the **E-Approvals** tab, click **Add group**. The **Add group** form opens below the existing groups.
2. Enter a **Group name** (required) and an optional **Description**.
3. Check the **Sequence**. It defaults to the next number, and it sets where the group runs in the flow.
4. Choose **For version**: Initial Version Only, Additional/Modified Versions, or All Versions.
5. Choose whether to **Accept tracked changes on complete**, and optionally pick a **Set record status on complete** value to update the record when the group finishes.
6. Click **Save approval group**, or **Cancel** to close the form without saving.

![Add group form with Group name, Description, Sequence, For version, completion options, and Save approval group highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/03-add-group.jpg)

**Tip:** To change an existing group's settings, click **Edit** on its card. To limit a group to certain records, click **Rules** and add conditions; with no conditions, the group is part of every approval process generated from the template.

# 6. Adding a Participant to a Group

1. On the group's card, click **Participant**.
2. Under **Participant is from**, choose **Employees**, **Roles & Groups**, or **Vendor/Customer Contacts**.
3. Select the employee, role/group, or contact (for example, *Assigned Employee/User*).
4. Enter a **Title (unique per template)**, such as *Legal Reviewer*, and an optional **Reason**.
5. Check or clear **Required** and **Locked**.
6. Click **Save participant**, or **Cancel** to close without saving.

![Add participant form with Participant is from, Select employee, Title, Reason, Required, Locked, and Save participant highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/04-participant.jpg)

# 7. Managing Approval Groups on a Generated Document

When a document is generated from a template with E-Approvals on, the template's groups are copied onto the document. They can be adjusted for that one document until its approval process starts.

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click **Administration** → **Merged Documents**, and click **Open** on the document. (You can also open the document package from its record.)
2. Expand the **Approvals** section.
3. Under **Approval Groups**, use **Add group**, or a group's **Edit**, add-participant, or delete icons, to change the flow. Each group shows the record status it sets on completion (for example, *→ Pending*), and the **Participants** column shows each person's title and whether they are required.
4. Review the **Not Started** summary of groups and participants, then click **Set up approval process** when the flow is ready.

![Document Approvals section with Add group, group actions, groups, participants, Not Started summary, and Set up approval process highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/05-doc-groups.jpg)

# 8. Tracking a Running Approval Flow

1. Once the process has started, the document's **Approvals** section shows a notice that the steps are now managed by the running process. Changes to the groups here no longer affect what participants see.
2. The live summary shows the process status (for example, **ACTIVE · group 1 of 2**), the current group marked **NOW**, and each participant's status (*Waiting on them*, *Not notified yet*). Use **Certificate** and **Comments** for more detail.
3. Click **Open the process console**.

![Running approval flow with process notice, Active status, current group, Certificate, Comments, and Open the process console highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/06-running.jpg)

1. In the process console, the summary shows **Status**, **Groups** finalized, **Participants**, **Files**, and **Created**.
2. Under **Groups and participants**, the *current group* is highlighted. Each participant shows a status badge (*In Process*, *Pending*), and later groups stay *not notified* until the current group finalizes.
3. Use **Add participant** or **Resend** on a group, or the row icons to **re-send the invitation**, **replace the participant**, or remove them (not allowed for participants added through the process).
4. Use **Pause**, **End process**, or **Finalize** at the top to control the whole process. **Finalize** is available only after every group is finalized.

![Process console Groups and participants with Pause, End process, Finalize, status summary, current group, and participant actions highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/07-console.jpg)

# 9. Quick Reference Summary

| Task | How to Complete It |
| --- | --- |
| Turn on E-Approvals for a template | Administration → Document Templates → Open → Approvals & signing → E-Approvals → check Use E-Approvals → Save approval settings. |
| Add an approval group | E-Approvals tab → Add group → enter Group name, Sequence, For version, and completion options → Save approval group. |
| Add a participant to a group | Group card → Participant → choose source, person, and Title → Save participant. |
| Limit a group to certain records | Group card → Rules → add conditions → Save rules. |
| Copy or remove a group | Group card → Copy (adds it at the end of the flow) or Delete. |
| Adjust groups on one document | Administration → Merged Documents → Open → Approvals → Approval Groups (before the process starts). |
| Start the approval flow | Document's Approvals section → Set up approval process. |
| Track a running flow | Document's Approvals section → Open the process console → Groups and participants. |