Day 14 | Salesforce Bootcamp 2023 | Approval Process in Salesforce

Introduction

This tutorial is designed to guide you through the Approval Process in Salesforce, as outlined in Day 14 of the Salesforce Bootcamp hosted by Sanjay Gupta. Understanding the approval process is essential for Salesforce admins and developers, as it automates the approval of records while ensuring compliance with business rules.

Step 1: Understand the Approval Process Concept

• The approval process is a set of steps that automate how records are approved in Salesforce.
• It consists of:
  • Entry Criteria: Conditions that determine if a record should enter the approval process.
  • Approval Steps: Sequential steps involving designated approvers and actions taken at each step.
  • Final Action: What happens to the record after the final approval, such as updating a field or sending notifications.

Practical Tip

• Familiarize yourself with your organization's business rules to effectively set up approval processes that meet specific needs.

Step 2: Create a New Approval Process

1. Navigate to Setup:

   • Log in to Salesforce and click on the gear icon to access Setup.

2. Access Approval Processes:

   • In the Quick Find box, type "Approval Processes".
   • Select "Approval Processes" for the relevant object (e.g., Opportunities, Custom Objects).

3. Click on New Approval Process:

   • Choose "Use Jump Start Wizard" or "Use Standard Wizard" based on your preference.
   • For beginners, the Jump Start Wizard is recommended for simplicity.

4. Define Basic Settings:

   • Enter a name for the approval process.
   • Select the entry criteria for the records that should enter this process.
   • Specify the unique name and description for clarity.

Common Pitfall to Avoid

• Ensure that the entry criteria are specific enough to avoid unintended records entering the approval process.

Step 3: Configure Approval Steps

1. Add Approval Steps:

   • Click on "Add Approval Step" within the approval process setup.
   • Name the approval step and define who will approve the requests (individual users, roles, or public groups).

2. Set Conditions for Approval:

   • Specify the criteria that must be met for this step to be considered approved.

3. Actions on Approval and Rejection:

   • Define actions that will occur if the record is approved (e.g., update a field, send email alerts).
   • Similarly, set actions for rejection.

Practical Tip

• Use email alerts to notify users about the approval status to keep everyone informed.

Step 4: Activate the Approval Process

• After configuring all steps, click “Activate” to make the approval process live.
• Ensure to test the process with sample records to confirm it works as expected.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to set up an Approval Process in Salesforce, including defining entry criteria, configuring approval steps, and activating the process. By implementing these steps, you can efficiently manage approvals within your organization, streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity.

Next steps include testing your approval process and exploring more advanced features like parallel approvals or dynamic approval routing for complex business scenarios. Be sure to refer to the Salesforce documentation for additional resources and best practices.