---
title: "Approving & Reviewing Documents - E-Approvals"
slug: "approving-amp-reviewing-documents-e-approvals-1"
updated: 2026-10-29T17:03:07Z
published: 2026-10-29T17:03:07Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/approving-amp-reviewing-documents-e-approvals-1"
---

> ## 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.

# Approving & Reviewing Documents - E-Approvals

**COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

**Approving & Reviewing Documents - E-Approvals**

*Module: Document Collaboration Gateway › Document Collaboration Gateway E-Approvals & E-Signatures › Approving & Reviewing Documents - E-Approvals*

**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

Approving a document is done from the approval process's console: **Open record** reviews the underlying document/record itself, and the console's step-level controls (visible to whoever the current step names) move that step from **In Process** toward finalized, advancing the overall process's **Steps** count.

# 2. Key Elements

- **Open record** on the console reviews the document or record being approved
- The current step's participant sees **In Process** status and can act on it
- Advancing a step moves the process's overall **Steps** finalized count forward

# 3. Navigating to Negotiation Processes

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/completed-approvals-01-negotiation-processes-menu.png)

# 4. Opening an Active Approval Process

1. On the **Negotiation Processes** page, set the status filter to **Active** and the type filter to **Approvals only**.
2. Find the process. Active processes show an **Active** status tag, and **Progress** shows how many groups are finalized out of the total (for example, **0/2**).
3. Click **Open console** on the process's row.

![Negotiation Processes filtered to Approvals only and Active with Open console highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/eapp-01-active-approvals-list.png)

# 5. Reviewing the Approval Console

1. Click the **Open record** icon (next to **Pause**) to review the document or record being approved.
2. Check **Status** (**Active** while the process is running) and **Groups**, which shows how many groups are finalized (for example, **0 of 2 finalized**).
3. Under **Groups and participants**, the group being worked on is tagged **current group**. Its participants show **In Process** until they act; participants in later groups show **Pending** and are not notified yet.
4. As each participant in the current group acts, the group is finalized and the process moves to the next group, advancing the **Groups** count.
5. **Finalize** stays unavailable until every group is finalized.

![Approval console with Open record, Status, Groups, current group, In Process and Finalize highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/eapp-02-approval-console.png)

**Tip:** Use **Resend** to re-notify the current group, **Add participant** to add someone to a group, and the icons on a participant's row to re-send their invitation or replace them.

# 6. Finding Approvals Assigned to You

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click **All assignments** in the **Awaiting action** panel to open **My Assignments**.
2. Choose the record area tab (for example, **Contracts**). The number on a tab shows how many steps are assigned to you there.
3. Click **Assigned to me** for steps that name you directly, or **Assigned to my groups** for steps assigned to your groups.
4. Narrow the list with **Process status**, **My approval**, and **Outstanding only**. The **My role**, **Status**, and **My Approval** columns show where each step stands.
5. Click the action button on the row to act on the step, or the eye icon (**Open the record**) to review the record first.

![My Assignments page with tabs, filters, columns and row actions highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/eapp-03-my-assignments.png)

# 7. Quick Reference Summary

| Task | How to Complete It |
| --- | --- |
| Open Negotiation Processes | **Approvals & Signatures** → **Negotiation Processes**. |
| Find running approvals | Set filters to **Active** and **Approvals only**. |
| Open an approval process | Click **Open console** on the row. |
| Review the document or record | Console → **Open record** icon. |
| See which step is in progress | Console → group tagged **current group**; participants show **In Process**. |
| Track progress | Console → **Groups** (e.g. 0 of 2 finalized), or the list's **Progress** column. |
| Find steps assigned to you | Homepage → **Awaiting action** → **All assignments**. |