---
title: "3. Approval Groups Grid"
slug: "3-approval-groups-grid-2"
updated: 2026-10-29T17:01:15Z
published: 2026-10-29T17:01:15Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/3-approval-groups-grid-2"
---

> ## 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.

# 3. Approval Groups Grid

**COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

**3. Approval Groups Grid**

*Document Templates Management › E-Approval Flow/Groups › 3. Approval Groups Grid*

**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

The **Groups and participants** section of an approval process's console is, in effect, its approval groups grid: a numbered list of every group in the flow. Each group shows its status (**finalized**, **current group**, or not yet started), when its participants were **notified**, and buttons to **Add participant** or **Resend** the notification. Each participant row shows that person's status (for example, **Approved** or **In Process**), when they acted or were notified, and per-participant actions.

Approval process consoles are opened from **Approvals & Signatures → Negotiation Processes**, which lists "Every approval and signature process, with the controls to intervene in a running one."

# 2. Key Elements

- **Groups and participants** numbers every group in the flow (1, 2, …). The current group is outlined and its number is highlighted.
- Each group header shows a status tag — **finalized** with a date, or **current group** — and a **notified** timestamp.
- **Resend** re-sends the notification to the group. Only the current group can be re-notified, so it's unavailable on finalized groups.
- **Add participant** adds an External participant, Employee participant, or Company contact participant to a group.
- Each participant row shows a status badge, the participant's name and source (for example, **FROM TEMPLATE**), their role, and when they acted or were notified. Row icons let you **Re-send this invitation**, **Replace this participant**, or delete the participant, where allowed.
- The console header shows the process **STATUS**, how many **GROUPS** are finalized, and the number of **PARTICIPANTS** and **FILES**, with **Pause**, **End process**, and **Finalize** actions.

# 3. Navigating to an Approval Process Console

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click the **Approvals & Signatures** icon in the left navigation bar.
2. Select **Negotiation Processes**.

![Approvals and Signatures menu with Negotiation Processes highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/ag-01-negotiation-menu.png)

1. Use the filters to narrow the list: choose **Approvals and signatures**, **Approvals only**, or **Signatures only**; choose a status (for example, **Active**); and check or clear **Started only**. Use **Search** to find a process by name.
2. Click **Open console** on the process's row.

![Negotiation Processes list with type and status filters, Started only, Search and Open console highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/ag-02-negotiation-list.png)

# 4. Reviewing the Process Console

The console opens with the process name, the record it belongs to, and a summary of its progress.

![Approval process console with Open record, Pause, End process, Finalize, summary and Groups and participants highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/ag-03-console-overview.png)

- **Open record** (document icon) — opens the record the process belongs to.
- **Pause**, **End process**, and **Finalize** — control the running process.
- **STATUS**, **GROUPS** (for example, "1 of 2 finalized"), **PARTICIPANTS**, **FILES**, and **CREATED** — summarize the process.
- **Groups and participants** — the approval groups grid (see Section 5).

# 5. Reading the Approval Groups Grid

![Groups and participants grid with group numbers, status tags, notified timestamps, Add participant, Resend, participant statuses and row actions highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/ag-04-groups-grid.png)

1. **Group number** — groups run in order. The current group's number is highlighted and the group is outlined.
2. **Group status** — **finalized** (with the date it finished) or **current group**.
3. **notified** — when the group's participants were last notified.
4. **Add participant** and **Resend** — group-level actions (see Sections 6 and 7).
5. **Participant status** — for example, **Approved** (with the time they acted) or **In Process** (with the time they were notified).
6. **Row actions** — **Re-send this invitation** (bell), **Replace this participant** (people icon), and delete (trash). Unavailable actions are dimmed. For example, a completed participant can't be replaced, and a participant added through the process can't be deleted.

# 6. Resending a Notification

1. Open the process console (see Section 3).
2. To re-notify the whole current group, click **Resend** on the group's header.
3. To re-notify a single participant, click the **Re-send this invitation** (bell) icon on their row.

**Note:** Only the current group can be re-notified; **Resend** is dimmed on finalized groups.

# 7. Adding a Participant to a Group

1. Open the process console (see Section 3).
2. Click **+ Add participant** on the group's header. The **Add a participant to** form opens below the grid.
3. Choose the participant type: **External participant**, **Employee participant**, or **Company contact participant**.
4. Enter the participant's details (for an external participant, **Full name** and **E-mail address**) and, optionally, **Why are they being added?**
5. Click **Add**, or click **Cancel** to close the form.

![Add a participant form with participant type, Full name, E-mail address, reason, Add and Cancel highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/ag-05-add-participant.png)

**Note:** Participants added to a running group are invited as soon as they are added.

# 8. Quick Reference Summary

| Task | How to Complete It |
| --- | --- |
| Find an approval process | Approvals & Signatures → Negotiation Processes → filter or Search. |
| Open the approval groups grid | Open console → Groups and participants. |
| See which group is active | Look for the current group tag and highlighted group number. |
| Re-notify the current group | Group header → Resend. |
| Re-notify one participant | Participant row → Re-send this invitation (bell). |
| Add a participant | Group header → + Add participant → choose type, enter details → Add. |
| Replace a participant | Participant row → Replace this participant (people icon). |
| Pause, end, or finalize the process | Console header → Pause, End process, or Finalize. |