---
title: "Initiating an eApproval"
slug: "initiating-an-eapproval-1"
updated: 2026-10-29T17:03:07Z
published: 2026-10-29T17:03:07Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/initiating-an-eapproval-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.

# Initiating an eApproval

**COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

**Initiating an eApproval**

*Module: Document Collaboration Gateway › Document Collaboration Gateway E-Approvals & E-Signatures › Initiating an eApproval*

**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 e-approval is started on a generated document package. When a document is generated from a template that has E-Approvals turned on, the template's approval groups are copied onto the package, dormant until someone starts them. From the record's **Attachments & Templates** tab, the package's **Approvals** action shows the groups and a **Set up approval process** button, which opens the **New approval process** page — “The name, the settings and who is told — before anything is sent.” Once created, the process is tracked from the record's **Actions › Approval Processes** view, a **Negotiation Processes** list scoped to that one record (“Approval processes on [record], with the controls to intervene in a running one”).

# 2. Key Elements

- Record → **Attachments & Templates** → **Merged Document Templates** → **Saved documents** → **Approvals** (check icon) shows the approval groups and **Set up approval process**.
- The **Approvals** section on the document package page offers the same **Set up approval process** button.
- **New approval process** sets the process name, description, who replies go to, what participants are asked for, whether they can take the document away to revise, and how comments are shared.
- Record → **Actions** → **Approval Processes** (Document Processing group) opens a **Negotiation Processes** view scoped to that one record.
- **Show all processes** on the same screen switches to the system-wide list; **Open record** returns to the record.

# 3. Starting an Approval Process

## 3a. From the Record's Saved Documents

1. Open the record (for example, a contract) and click the **Attachments & Templates** tab.
2. Scroll to **Merged Document Templates**. In the **Saved documents** list, click the **Approvals** (check) icon on the document package's row.
3. Review the approval groups shown under **NOT STARTED** (copied from the template).
4. Click **Set up approval process**.

![Saved documents Approvals panel with Set up approval process](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/iea-03-saved-doc-approvals.jpg)

**Note:** If no groups are listed, add approval groups first, either on the template (Approvals & signing › E-Approvals) or on the document package (see 3b).

## 3b. From the Document Package

1. Open the document package (for example, click the **Manage** icon on its Saved documents row, or open it from **Administration › Merged Documents**).
2. Expand the **Approvals** section. Use **Add group**, **Edit**, and the participant icons to adjust who approves and in what order.
3. Click **Set up approval process**.

![Document package Approvals section with Set up approval process](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/mgdp-08-approvals.jpg)

# 4. Creating the Process

The **New approval process** page opens. Nothing is sent until the process is created and sent.

1. Confirm or change the **Name of this process**.
2. Enter a **Description**. It is shown in the email participants receive.
3. Choose who **Replies go to**. This person receives every alert about the process.
4. Choose **What they are being asked for**: **Approval — they approve or reject it**, or **Acknowledgement only — they confirm they have seen it**.
5. Choose **Taking the document away to revise**: **They review it in place**, or **They may check it out and download it**.
6. Choose how **Comments** are shared: **Each person sees only their own**, or **Everyone sees everyone's comments**.
7. Click **Create process**, or **Cancel** to leave without creating it.

![New approval process page](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/iea-04-new-approval-process.jpg)

**Note:** After the process is created, it is sent to the first group. Approvers are invited group by group: within a group they act in parallel, and across groups sequentially.

# 5. Viewing a Record's Approval Processes

1. Open the record and click **Actions**.
2. Under **Document Processing**, select **Approval Processes**.

![Record Actions menu with Approval Processes](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/iea-01-record-actions-approval.jpg)

1. The **Negotiation Processes** view opens, showing only this record's processes (“Showing only this record's processes — Contracts #5”).
2. Click **Open console** on a process to manage it. Click **Show all processes** to switch to the system-wide list, or **Open record** to return to the record.

![Negotiation Processes scoped to one record](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/iea-02-record-scoped-processes.jpg)

The console shows the process status, groups and participants, and files, with **Pause**, **End process**, and **Finalize** controls (see **E-Approvals Processing**).

![Approval process console](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/eap-03-process-console-header.jpg)

# 6. Quick Reference Summary

| Task | How to Complete It |
| --- | --- |
| Start an approval from a record | Attachments & Templates → Saved documents → **Approvals** icon → **Set up approval process**. |
| Start an approval from a document package | Package → Approvals section → **Set up approval process**. |
| Adjust approvers before starting | Package → Approvals → **Add group** / **Edit** / participant icons. |
| Set name, recipient of replies, and options | New approval process page → fill in fields → **Create process**. |
| See a record's approval processes | Record → **Actions** → **Approval Processes**. |
| See all approval processes | Record-scoped view → **Show all processes**. |