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Conga Product Documentation

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Approvals for Salesforce

Creating Approval Processes

Setting Up Auto-Escalation

Enabling auto-escalation in an approval process occurs at the approval step level. While the email templates apply to the entire approval process, you can have different auto-escalation settings for each approval step or you can use the global escalation options.

Once an approval process has started, you can choose to manually escalate an approval request from the Approval Request related list for the object record currently under approval.

To configure auto-escalation for an approval process

You must have completed the configuration tasks to enable auto-escalation functionality.

  1. Create a new approval process or edit an existing one.
  2. When you come to the Notification Templates page, you can leave the Escalation Email Template field empty and it will use the default template or you can override it with a custom template.


  3. Finish creating the approval process and then create or edit an approval step for it.
  4. When you come to the Select Escalation Actions page you must select Step Auto Escalate. Configure the settings as follows:

    Option

    Description

    Expected nn To Complete

    These values are used to trigger the auto-escalation. Once an approval request has been created, the system uses the value of expected time to complete to determine when the request should be auto-escalated.

    Assignee Type

    While you could include any assignee type, the following behavior should be noted. If you select Related User, the assignee name can only be a single word otherwise it cannot be reassigned correctly.

    Also be aware of the differences between selecting a single-step and multi-step assignee type.

    Assignee Name

    This value is dependent on the assignee type.
    Note:

    This page is displayed regardless of whether the auto-escalation feature is enabled.



  5. Save the approval process step to complete the procedure.

    When approval requests for that specific approval step exceed the To Complete values, they will be auto-escalated per the escalation settings.

To manually escalate an approval request

The configuration tasks must have been completed.

  1. Go to an object record that you have submitted for approval. Only the user who initially submitted the approval, or system administrators, can manually escalate a request.
  2. From the Approvals related list, select Escalate.

The request is immediately escalated, according to the auto-escalation settings.

Use Case: Auto-Escalation and Reminders for Agreement Approval Requests

Business Context

An approver can be unavailable when a time-sensitive agreement needs a decision. Conga Approvals can send an automatic reminder to the current approver and, if the request is still not actioned, escalate it to a backup approver after a set number of days. Administrators can also escalate a stalled request manually.

Overview

This use case shows how to select the reminder and escalation email templates on the Contract Value Approval Process, turn on reminders for a rule entry, and add auto-escalation criteria to each rule entry on the Contract Value Approval Rule, so an unactioned agreement approval is escalated to a backup approver. It also covers manually escalating a request.

Important: This use case builds on the approval rule, entries, and process created in Use Case: Auto-Reapproval for Agreement Approval Requests. Complete that use case before you start here. The steps below assume the following configuration already exists and is active:
  • Approval rule: Contract Value Approval Rule (Condition type, Unanimous policy, criteria Total Contract Value > 0).
  • Rule entries: Sales Manager Review (Rachel Kim, applies to every triggered agreement) and VP Sales Review (Marcus Chen, applies when Total Contract Value > USD 250,000).
  • Approval process: Contract Value Approval Process (Rule Driven, Agreement, Entry Criteria Term (Months) > 12), Activated.
  • Approval step: Contract Value Review (Sub Process, Approver Rule: Contract Value Approval Rule).

Persona

FieldDetails
NameAisha Bennett
RoleRevOps Administrator, Meridian Industries
GoalMake sure an agreement approval request is not left unactioned. A reminder should go to the approver after 1 day, and the request should escalate automatically to a backup approver after 2 days if no decision has been made.

Scenario

An 18-month agreement valued at USD 300,000 triggers approval from both Rachel Kim (Sales Manager) and Marcus Chen (VP of Sales). Rachel is out of office and does not act on her portion. Aisha wants the Contract Value Review step to send Rachel a reminder after 1 day, and to automatically reassign her portion to David Osei, Senior Sales Manager, if it is still pending after 2 days. She configures the same behavior for the VP Sales Review entry, escalating to Elena Ruiz, Head of Revenue, as the backup for Marcus Chen.

Prerequisites

  • Use Case: Auto-Reapproval for Agreement Approval Requests is complete and active.
  • You have administrator access to Conga Approvals.
  • Reminder Email Template and Escalation Email Template records exist in Salesforce (Setup > Communication Templates, or the templates that ship with Conga Approvals).
  1. Select the reminder and escalation email templates. For more information see, Setting Up Auto-Escalation.
    1. Log in to your Salesforce org as an administrator.
    2. Click the App Launcher and select Conga Approvals Setup.
    3. Click the Approval Processes tab and open the Contract Value Approval Process.
    4. Click Edit.
    5. Click Next through Step Information, Specify Entry Criteria, and Specify Consolidation Settings until you reach Step 4: Select Custom Notification Templates.
    6. Set the templates using the sample data below and click Save.
      FieldValue
      Reminder Email TemplateConga Agreement Approval Notification (Reminder)
      Escalation Email TemplateConga Agreement Approval Notification (Escalation)
    Note: If Reminder Email Template is left blank, turning on Send Reminders in step 2 has no effect — the system tracks the reminder schedule internally but never sends an email. Set both templates here first.
  2. Turn on reminders for the Sales Manager Review entry.
    1. Log in to your Salesforce org as an administrator.
    2. Click the Approval Rules tab and open the Contract Value Approval Rule.
    3. Click Manage Entries.
    4. Locate the Sales Manager Review entry and click Reminders to open the Setup Reminders dialog.
    5. Set the reminder options using the sample data below and click Save.
      FieldValue
      Send RemindersSelected
      Duration Unit (Days)1
    Note: The Hours field only accepts values from 0 to 23, so anything 24 hours or longer is expressed in Days plus a remaining Hours value. Duration Unit of 1 day gives the current approver one reminder after 1 day, before the 2-day escalation in step 3 takes effect.
  3. Add auto-escalation criteria to each rule entry.
    1. Click the Approval Rules tab and open the Contract Value Approval Rule.
    2. Click Manage Entries.
    3. Open the Sales Manager Review entry and click Escalate To to open the Auto Escalation Setup dialog.
    4. Configure the escalation using the sample data below and click Save.
      EntryAssignee Auto EscalateAssignee Expected Days to CompleteAssignee Expected Hours to CompleteAssignee Escalation To TypeEscalation Assignee
      Sales Manager ReviewSelected20UserDavid Osei (Senior Sales Manager)
      VP Sales ReviewSelected20UserElena Ruiz (Head of Revenue)
    5. Repeat the previous two substeps for the VP Sales Review entry, using its sample data.
    Note: Assignee Expected Days to Complete is set to 2 with Hours at 0, so each entry escalates after 2 full days of inactivity.
  • Scenario A — automatic escalation: after 2 days with no action, the system automatically reassigns the stalled portion to the backup approver. No manual step is required.
  • Scenario B — manual escalation: Aisha can reassign a stalled portion immediately from approval request record, without waiting for the scheduled escalation.
  • Each approver receives one reminder after 1 day, before any escalation occurs.

Scenario A: Automatic Escalation

Rachel Kim does not act on her portion of the agreement. The system handles the escalation without any manual step from Aisha.

Time ElapsedSystem Action
Day 0Request assigned to Rachel Kim (Sales Manager). Assignment email sent.
Day 1Reminder email sent to Rachel Kim.
Day 2System escalates Rachel Kim's portion to David Osei. Escalation email sent.
After escalationDavid Osei can approve, reject, or reassign that portion from My Approvals.

Scenario B: Manual Escalation

An agreement is closing at the end of the quarter and Rachel Kim is on leave. Aisha escalates her portion manually instead of waiting for the 2-day auto-escalation.

  1. Open the Agreement record that Aisha submitted for approval.
  2. In the Approvals related list, click the approval request name to open the Approval Request record.
  3. On the Approval Request record, click Escalate.
  4. Search for and select David Osei (Senior Sales Manager) as the new assignee.
  5. Enter a note explaining the reason for the manual escalation and click Save. David Osei receives a reassignment email.

For more information, see Setting up auto-escalation.

User Guide
Approvals

November 2, 2026