Configuring the Approval Workflow

This section provides the workflow and the sequence of actions you must define to enable Approvals.

To do...	How to define...
Install required packages	Install the latest approvals and dependent packages. Install the Quote or Proposal approvals package to sync the Approval Status and Approval Stage on the Quote header. However, if you are using CPQ approvals, you should not have any approval process defined on Quote/Proposal object.
Approval Status Fields	Define "Approval Required" and "Pending Approval" picklist values.
Custom Settings	Create a record in Approval Custom Config for the primary object ProductConfiguration__c. Configure Cart Approval Callback class: Apttus_CQApprov.CartApprovalCallback in Config Custom Class for CPQ Approvals. To use header and line item approvals, set the approval context type to Multiple. Specify the label name for Line Item in the Child Object Context Type 2 field. For header only approvals, set the context type to single.
Approvals System Properties	Create a record in Approval System Properties and enter the requisite details
Config System Properties	Navigate to Config System Properties, and select the Skip Review check box.
Add Intelligent Approval Field for a Quote	Navigate to Create > Objects > Quote > Configure Products(Field), copy the formula field, and create a new formula field. Add the `useAdvancedApproval=true` parameter to the copied formula. For example: `IF ( LEN( Apttus_QPConfig__PriceListId__c ) > 0 , HYPERLINK("/apex/Apttus_QPConfig__ProposalConfiguration?id=" &Id&"&useAdvancedApproval=true&useDealOptimizer=true", IMAGE("/resource/Apttus_QPConfig__Button_Configure", "Configure Products"),"_self"), NULL)`
Approval Required Check	Create a search filter criterion for approval required check for the header and line item objects (Apttus_Proposal__Proposal__c, Apttus_Config2__LineItem__c, Apttus_Config2__ProductConfiguration__c). These search filters are used to set the approval status to "approval required" on the cart and cart line item objects. The approval required check trigger is the CPQ Approvals default.
Formula Fields (Approvals)	To use reference parameters from related objects, create Formula Fields (Approvals).
Approvals and My Approval Pages	Drag and drop the Approvals and My Approvals buttons to the page layout to execute approval actions from the Quote header page rather than from the shopping cart.
Email Notification Templates	Define email notification templates using sample templates from the Conga Approvals Management package.
Setting Up Approval Rules	Create approval rules for each subprocess and child process if you have multiple approvers for a process. Configure approval rule criteria. Select Approval Rule Type as Condition to use auto re-approval conditions. For each sub- or child process step, create an approval rule entry, step label, approval condition, auto re-approval condition, assignee, and step dependency.
Approval Process Configuration	Create the approval process. Configure process properties. Configure initial and final submission actions. To use auto re-approvals, set the cart status to Ready for Finalization rather than Finalized in the final submission actions, ensuring that a new cart is not created every time.
Approval Process Step Configuration	Configure approval process step, step dependencies, display fields, comments labels. For each standard step you must also define an approval condition, auto re-approval condition, and assignee. Map each sub- or child process step to corresponding approval rules. For standard steps with approval conditions based on child objects (e.g., line items) define Search Filter (Approvals) as of the Child Filter type and use them in the step definition.

Configuring a Custom Approval Action for Non-Salesforce or Conga Profiles	If you create a custom object to replace the default approval action, make sure to code the object correctly to handle `$User.id`.
Setting Up the Backup Administrator	The backup admin user is responsible for handling routing issues that may occur during the approval process, while admin profiles enable you to associate users via their roles with admin-level Approvals access.
Setting Up Backup or Delegate Approvers	Backup approvers are required to "catch" approval requests whose assignees cannot be identified and ensure approval processes progress as expected.
Setting Up Email Templates and Alerts	While Conga provides default email templates for approval requests, if you want the emails to have attachments or have your own specific content, you must customize the templates.
Email Approval System Properties Settings	To enable approval requests to be decided via email, an email service and approval system properties settings for emails must be configured.
Setting Up Custom Expressions	To help create advanced expressions for routing your approvals, you must set up custom expressions.