Approval Process Steps in Salesforce are sequential stages that define how records move through an approval workflow. As a Platform Administrator, understanding these steps is crucial for automating business processes that require managerial or departmental sign-off.
An approval process consists o…Approval Process Steps in Salesforce are sequential stages that define how records move through an approval workflow. As a Platform Administrator, understanding these steps is crucial for automating business processes that require managerial or departmental sign-off.
An approval process consists of multiple components working together. First, you define Entry Criteria, which determines which records qualify for the approval process. Only records meeting these conditions will enter the workflow.
Each step within the approval process specifies who must approve the record. Approvers can be assigned in several ways: a specific user, a user field on the record (like Manager), a queue, or related users based on hierarchy. You can configure steps to require unanimous approval from all assigned approvers or approval from just one.
Step Criteria allow you to create conditional logic within your process. You can set up multiple steps where records follow different paths based on field values or other conditions. This enables complex routing scenarios where different departments or approval levels are involved based on record characteristics.
For each step, you configure Approval Actions and Rejection Actions. These are automated tasks that execute when the step is approved or rejected. Common actions include field updates, email alerts, tasks, and outbound messages. You can also define Final Approval Actions and Final Rejection Actions that trigger when the entire process completes.
Recall Actions allow users to withdraw submitted records from the approval queue, and you can automate specific behaviors when this occurs.
Administrators must also consider the Initial Submission Actions, which execute when a record first enters the process. The Submit for Approval button or automated submission through Process Builder initiates the workflow.
Best practices include testing approval processes in a sandbox environment, documenting your approval routing logic, and ensuring proper user permissions are configured for approvers to access and act on pending requests.
Approval Process Steps: Complete Guide for Salesforce Administrators
Why Approval Process Steps Are Important
Approval Process Steps are fundamental components of business automation in Salesforce. They enable organizations to establish structured approval workflows that ensure proper oversight, compliance, and accountability for critical business decisions. Whether approving discounts, expense reports, or contract changes, understanding approval steps is essential for any Salesforce Administrator.
What Are Approval Process Steps?
Approval Process Steps are the individual stages within an approval process that define: • Who needs to approve a record • What criteria must be met for a record to enter that step • What actions occur when a record is approved or rejected at that step
Each approval process can contain multiple steps, creating a sequential chain of approvals. Steps are evaluated in order, from Step 1 onward, allowing for multi-level approval hierarchies.
How Approval Process Steps Work
Step Components:
1. Step Name and Description - Identifies the step within the process
2. Entry Criteria - Conditions that determine if a record should enter this step. If criteria are not met, the record skips to the next step or is automatically approved.
3. Assigned Approver - Specifies who must approve. Options include: • Let the submitter choose manually • Automatically assign to a queue • Automatically assign to a specific user or related user field • Automatically assign based on manager hierarchy
4. Approval Actions - Field updates, email alerts, tasks, or outbound messages that execute when the step is approved
5. Rejection Actions - Actions that execute when the step is rejected
Step Behavior:
• Records move through steps sequentially • If a step's entry criteria are not met, the record proceeds to the next step • If no steps have matching criteria, the record receives final approval • Rejection at any step can either reject the entire request or return it to the previous approver
Unanimous vs. First Response: When multiple approvers are assigned to a single step, you can configure whether: • All approvers must approve (unanimous) • Only one approver needs to respond (first response)
Key Configuration Considerations
• A single approval process can have up to 30 steps • Each step can have its own unique entry criteria • Approval actions are step-specific and differ from final approval actions • Delegated approvers can be enabled or restricted per step • Approver recall permissions can be configured
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Approval Process Steps
1. Understand Step Sequence Logic Questions often test your knowledge of what happens when entry criteria are not met. Remember: records skip to the next step, they do not stop or fail.
2. Know the Approver Assignment Options Be familiar with all four approver assignment methods. Exam questions frequently ask which option to use for specific business scenarios.
3. Distinguish Step Actions from Final Actions Step approval actions occur at individual steps, while final approval actions occur only when ALL steps are complete. This distinction appears often in scenario-based questions.
4. Remember the Limits The 30-step limit per approval process is a commonly tested fact.
5. Focus on Entry Criteria Scenarios When a question describes tiered approvals based on amount or criteria, think about how entry criteria at each step would filter records appropriately.
6. Consider Rejection Behavior Know that rejection behavior is configurable - records can be fully rejected or sent back for re-approval. Questions may present scenarios requiring you to identify the correct rejection configuration.
7. Parallel vs. Sequential Approval Multiple approvers in ONE step can work in parallel. Multiple STEPS always work sequentially. This concept is frequently tested.
8. Read Carefully for Keywords Look for terms like 'all managers,' 'any approver,' 'based on amount,' or 'hierarchy' to identify the correct step configuration being described.