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Nudge approvers in Slack, then tell the rep it's ready

A quote over your discount limit waits In Review. One Zap tells the approver in Slack; a second tells the rep the moment it's approved, so it goes out the same morning.

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QuoteCloud's approval workflow, on the Business plan, holds a document In Review until it's approved. With QuoteCloud's Zapier app, Document Review Requested can send the approver a Slack direct message, and Document Review Accepted can tell the document's owner it's ready to send. The decision itself is made in QuoteCloud.

Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team

Two overlapping panels with sample data. Behind, Plinthwork's renewal order form PW-R-2291 for Mossbank Health Partners in QuoteCloud, In Review because the 12% discount is over the 10% limit, waiting for Hollis Grant, the sales director. In front, an illustration of a team chat direct message to Hollis: a Zap's message that PW-R-2291 needs his review, with the owner, the monthly fee, the discount and the term, and a link to review it in QuoteCloud.

Why nudge approvers in Slack?

Plinthwork lets account executives give up to 10% off a renewal. Anything more goes to the sales director, Hollis Grant, through QuoteCloud's approval workflow, and the order form can't be sent until he approves it.

The rule protects margin, but it shouldn't cost a day. Hollis lives in Slack between calls; a direct message the minute a document needs him means Theo's renewal is approved before lunch, and a second message tells Theo it's ready to send.

  • Recipe 1: a document going into review sends the approver a direct message.
  • Recipe 2: an accepted review tells the owner it's ready to send.
  • The approval workflow is on QuoteCloud's Business plan; the Zaps are on Essentials and up.

How does a review request reach the approver?

One QuoteCloud trigger, one direct message.

ZapReview requested: message the approver

  1. When QuoteCloudTriggerDocument Review RequestedFires when a document enters workflow review.Passes on
    • Document title
    • Document number
    • Owner
    • Total
  2. Or SlackSearch · optionalFind User by EmailOnly if the test data names the approver; otherwise choose the approver in the next step.Searches on
    • Email
  3. Then SlackActionSend Direct MessageTo the approver, with a link to the document.Mapped in
    • User: Hollis Grant
    • Message Text

With several approvers, send to a private channel such as #deal-desk with Send Private Channel Message, so whoever is free picks it up.

Theo prepares PW-R-2291 for Mossbank Health Partners with a 12% renewal discount on Monday morning. QuoteCloud's rule, Discount percentage greater than 10, puts it In Review at 10:12 am, and a minute later Hollis has a direct message with the owner, the monthly fee, the discount and a link to review it.

Result

The approver knows a document is waiting the moment it's waiting, without the rep chasing.

Approval workflow: Business · QuoteCloud's Zapier app: Essentials and up

How software teams set discount approvals

Recipe 2: approved, and ready to send

ZapReview accepted: tell the owner

  1. When QuoteCloudTriggerDocument Review AcceptedFires when the workflow review is accepted.Passes on
    • Document number
    • Owner email
  2. Then SlackSearchFind User by EmailSearches on
    • Email
  3. Then SlackActionSend Direct MessageMapped in
    • User (from the search)
    • Message Text

Sending stays with the rep. A Zap could run QuoteCloud's Send Document, but a person checking the approved version first is usually the point.

Hollis approves at 10:41 am. Theo gets a direct message that PW-R-2291 is ready, sends it to Dana Whitcombe and Eamon Kerr before eleven, and Mossbank has it on screen the next morning.

Result

No approved document sits unsent because the rep didn't notice it had cleared.

Approval workflow: Business

Both sides of the approval

PW-R-2291 waiting In Review in QuoteCloud, and the message that told Theo it had cleared.

PlinthworkRenewal order form · draft PW-R-2291 Sample · fictional business

Document workflow

In Review

Triggered when Discount percentage greater than 10

  • Hollis GrantSales directorWaiting

Must be approved before the order form can be sent.

  1. Draft created from 'Renewal order form' by the AI assistant
  2. Approval request sent by Theo Marchetti

Approval workflow · Business plan

Activity

  1. Draft created from 'Renewal order form'By the AI assistant, through QuoteCloud's MCP service
  2. Reviewed by Theo MarchettiSummary checked, seats kept at 140
  3. Approval requested12% is over the 10% limit · Hollis Grant
In Review: 12% is over the 10% limit, so Hollis Grant must approve before it can be sent.

2 Zaps

  1. Document Review Requested
  2. Document Review Accepted
  3. Send Direct Message
Team chat · direct messagePlinthwork Illustration · sample data

Quote alertsDirect message · to Theo Marchetti

  1. Quote alertsPosted by a ZapMon 10:42 am

    Approved: Hollis Grant approved PW-R-2291. It's ready to send.

    Send PW-R-2291 from QuoteCloud

Illustration with sample data: a generic team chat, not Slack's screen. The Zap writes every word you see in its posts.

Theo's direct message once Hollis approved.

The chat is our illustration of a generic team chat with sample data, not Slack's screen. Every business here is fictional.

What goes into the approval messages

Approval nudges: QuoteCloud fields and where they go in Slack
Slack: SlackDirectionQuoteCloud: QuoteCloud fieldGoes intoExample (sample data)Note
Recipe 1 · review requested
User QuoteCloud to Slack Chosen in the Zap (or the approver's email, if the test data has it) Direct message Hollis Grant
Message Text QuoteCloud to Slack Document number, title, owner Direct message Approval needed: PW-R-2291 is waiting for your review
Message Text: figures QuoteCloud to Slack Total, discount (if present) Document field $4,931.60 + tax a month · 12%
Recipe 2 · review accepted
Email (Find User by Email) QuoteCloud to Slack Owner email Slack search theo.marchetti@example.com
Message Text QuoteCloud to Slack Document number Direct message Approved: PW-R-2291 is ready to send

Check each trigger's test data for the field names. All values are sample data.

Variations on approval nudges

  • A deal-desk channel

    Post review requests to a private #deal-desk channel with Send Private Channel Message when two or more people share approvals.

  • Only the big ones

    Your approval workflow already decides what needs approval. A Filter by Zapier step can still limit the Slack nudge to documents over an amount.

  • Decide in QuoteCloud

    The approver opens the document, sees the whole order form and approves or rejects it there. The message is a nudge, not the decision.

  • Build it in Make instead

    Bring your own: connect Make to QuoteCloud with Make's built-in OAuth, take the review events from QuoteCloud's API or Zapier endpoints, and send them with Make's own Slack modules.

Approved before lunch

The approval workflow is on QuoteCloud's Business plan. Start a free 14-day trial and nudge a test approver in Slack.

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Build the approval nudge in five steps

  1. Set up the workflow

    In QuoteCloud, create the approval workflow, its trigger (such as a discount over 10%) and its approvers.

  2. Start with Document Review Requested

    In Zapier, choose QuoteCloud and the trigger, then put a test document into review to get test data.

  3. Choose the approver

    Pick the approver in Send Direct Message, or find them with Find User by Email if the test data names them.

  4. Write the nudge

    Add the document number, the owner and the figures that matter, and a line saying where to approve it.

  5. Add the second Zap

    Build Document Review Accepted to Send Direct Message for the owner, test both, then turn them on.

Questions about approval nudges

Can Slack tell an approver a quote needs approval?

Yes, with a Zap. QuoteCloud's Document Review Requested trigger fires when a document enters workflow review. Slack's Send Direct Message can message the approver, or Send Private Channel Message can post to a deal-desk channel. The approval workflow is on QuoteCloud's Business plan.

Can the approver approve from Slack?

Approve in QuoteCloud. The message links to the document, where the approver sees the whole order form and approves or rejects it. QuoteCloud's Zapier app has an Approve or Reject Document Workflow action, but it records the decision of the approver whose account the Zap uses, so we don't build approvals into Slack on this site.

Does the rep hear when it's approved?

Yes, with a second Zap. Document Review Accepted fires when the review is accepted, and Send Direct Message tells the document's owner it's ready to send. Find User by Email finds the owner when the trigger's test data includes their email.

What happens when a document is rejected?

The rep follows it up in QuoteCloud. QuoteCloud's Zapier app lists triggers for a review being requested and accepted, not a separate one for a rejection, so this site doesn't post rejections to Slack.

More Slack questions

More on QuoteCloud and Slack

Six use cases with the exact Zapier steps, then how to connect, what goes into each message and what it costs.

Approved in minutes, not mornings.

Start a free 14-day trial of QuoteCloud and send your approvers a nudge in Slack the moment a document needs them.

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