Automate Approvals
intelligently with cnips
With cnips, approvals can be integrated directly into your existing workflows.
Processes become automated, traceable, and system-driven without additional tools or data silos.
Why modern approvals are business-critical
Manual approval processes are among the biggest efficiency barriers in companies. Requests are sent via email, documents are reviewed separately, and decisions are not tracked centrally. The result is a lack of transparency, long processing times, and increased business risks.
Automation create clear rules, defined review paths, and a traceable sequence of all actions.
A clearly structured approval workflow is essential for compliance, control, and efficiency.
Request submitted
Department review
Finance sign-off
Archived & auditable
Approval matrix
Define rules, thresholds, and responsibilities to automatically involve the right department head or team member.
Multi-step approval workflows
Structure complex decision processes with defined approval sequences, escalations, and delegations.
Form templates & form generator
Standardize approval requests with individual forms and provide decision-makers with structured information.
Real-time tracking & transparency
Follow approval status and processing times throughout the entire process with high-fidelity logs.
Review paths & compliance
Maintain a traceable record of reviews and support compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies.
For developers: Embed approvals into existing applications and workflows through APIs and event-driven processes instead of building approval logic from scratch.
Automated approval workflow use cases
Automated approval workflows are suitable for numerous business areas.
Procurement processes
and purchasing activities
Budget and projects
Certification processes
Data protection and policies
IT access requests
Invitation management
for users and teams
cnips reduces complexity and enables structured decision-making processes.
HR & employee processes
- Onboarding of new employees
- Training
- Access rights to internal systems
- Use of work equipment
IT & Security
- Trigger approvals for critical system changes
- Route security exceptions to the responsible teams
- Require additional review for sensitive deployments
- Escalate high-risk requests automatically
- Document every decision for audit and compliance
- Continue downstream workflows after approval
cnips embeds security approvals directly into operational workflows, ensuring that sensitive changes follow defined review paths and remain traceable.
Approval workflows as part of your iPaaS architecture
In cnips, the feature is not isolated but part of the central orchestration. The functionality can:
Requests are automatically triggered once defined criteria are met. Notifications are sent in real time. Every task is documented by the system.
Create your workflows visually
cnips allows workflows to be modeled visually and integrated directly into existing landscapes. Business departments can design approval processes flexibly while IT retains control over security and integrations.
Typical capabilities of the workflow builder:
Drag-and-drop process modeling
Definition of rules
Integrations of APIs and systems
Workflow adjustments without code changes
What does an approval look like in cnips?
Approval processes are rarely completely linear.
Depending on the request, different responsibilities, approval levels, escalations, or delegations may apply.
With cnips, approval paths can be structured around defined rules, thresholds, and responsibilities and embedded into the surrounding workflow. This allows organizations to model decision processes without hard-coding every approval to a single department or person. Here is an example:
1. Submit the request
An employee initiates a request, for example via a form or an integrated system.
2. Evaluate the request
The workflow evaluates the request based on the defined rules, thresholds, and responsibilities to determine the appropriate approval path.
3. Route to the responsible approver
Instead of relying on one fixed department head, the approval is routed according to the responsibility model defined for the process.
4. Trigger additional approval steps
Depending on the defined process, further reviews can be added. Multi-step workflows can include escalations and delegations where required.
5. Continue the workflow
Once the required approvals have been completed, the workflow continues with the next defined process step. Where required, approved access can be automatically provisioned in the relevant system.
6. Notify the requester
The requester receives a notification about the decision.
The result
All actions and decisions remain documented and traceable throughout the process. Organizations gain greater transparency over approval paths and responsibilities, reduce manual coordination, and maintain control over complex decision processes.
Traditional approvals vs. automated approvals
Unlike isolated approval apps, cnips integrates the feature directly into existing workflows. No separate app, no additional login, no redundant data collection, and no additional tools are required:
Traditional approvals
Approved via email
Manual tracking of status
Unclear responsibilities
Documents stored in multiple locations
High coordination effort
Automated approvals with cnips
Structured approval workflows
Real-time status tracking
Approval matrix with clear rules
Central documentation of all actions
Automated decision logic
The technical architecture of cnips approvals
The cnips approval engine is designed as part of the central orchestration platform. The architecture is based on several core principles:
Event-driven processing
Approval processes are triggered by events, for example new requests, data changes, or system notifications.
API-first integration
All approval processes can be connected to existing systems via APIs. This enables seamless integration with ERP, CRM, HR, or ticketing systems.
Workflow orchestration
The platform manages complex decision processes across multiple systems and ensures that each step is executed in the correct order.
Transparent decision logic
All actions, approvals, and changes are documented and can be traced at any time.
Additional features
Approvals are only one component of the cnips platform. Additional, powerful features help organizations automate complex business processes and orchestrate system landscapes efficiently. Some of them include, but are not limited to:
Agentic Workflows
Agentic Workflows perform tasks within workflows, react to events, and make decisions based on defined rules.
Application integration
cnips connects systems the way you want – fast, secure, and future-proof.
Function as a Service (FaaS)
With FaaS, custom logic can be executed directly within the platform.
Workflow orchestration
Workflows connect multiple systems, automate decisions, and coordinate tasks between teams, applications, and services.
Digital sovereignty
cnips is operated exclusively in Europe. The platform does not store its own data and follows the highest data protection practices.
Companies maintain full control over their processes, documents, data, and compliance requirements at all times.
With cnips, you automate approval workflows, increase transparency, and reduce risks without additional system complexity.
Integrate approvals directly into your workflows
With cnips, approvals become part of your existing processes and systems instead of another isolated tool your teams need to manage.
FAQs: Approvals
What are approvals in the context of iPaaS?
They are automated authorization processes that are integrated into workflows and controlled by the system.
How do automated approval workflows differ from manual approvals?
Manual approvals often rely on emails, separate documents, and manual tracking. Automated approval workflows use defined rules, approval paths, and system-driven tracking to reduce coordination effort, accelerate decisions, and make actions traceable.
How can approval workflows be implemented with cnips?
Approval workflows can be integrated into existing processes and systems via APIs, triggered by events, and embedded into more complex workflows. Rules, thresholds, approval criteria, and process steps can be configured and adjusted as requirements change.
Can cnips handle complex and multi-step approval processes?
Yes. Approval paths can be structured around defined rules, thresholds, and responsibilities. Multi-step workflows can include additional reviews, escalations, and delegations depending on the defined process.
How does cnips support compliance?
Through documented review paths, audit logs, and transparent tracking of all actions.
How can approval workflows be integrated into existing systems?
With cnips, approval workflows can be connected to existing systems via APIs and embedded into more complex workflows. They can interact with ERP, CRM, HR, and other systems and can be triggered by events within the surrounding process.
How flexible is the implementation?
Rules, thresholds, and approval criteria can be adjusted at any time.