Automation and Operations
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Workflow
AI Document Approval
Every document is routed through the right approval chain and its sign-off tracked, without chasing anyone by email.
Approvals stall when a document sits in someone's inbox and nobody knows who has it. AI Document Approval sends each document to the right approver based on what it contains, tracks every sign-off and escalates when someone does not respond in time. Your approvers still make every decision. You get a clear record of who approved what, and when.
- Each document reaches the right approver based on its content
- Automatic escalation when an approver misses the response window
- Complete audit trail of every sign-off and escalation
$5,500
20–30 working days
Optional maintenance $275/mo
What it is
AI Document Approval routes each document through the approval chain you define, based on what's in it, and tracks who has signed off, who is still pending, and what happens if nobody responds in time. Quiet approvers trigger escalation to a backup, and every decision is logged for your audit trail.
Why businesses buy it
Approval by email is where documents go to wait. Purchase orders, policies and contracts sit unsigned while people chase each other, and nobody can say who approved what when an auditor asks. That delay costs deals, supplier goodwill and staff time. After this build, documents move through a defined chain, escalate on their own when someone is away, and leave a complete record behind. The decision stays with your people. The Scope Card lists the chains, escalation rules and connected systems in writing before you order.
Problems this solves
Documents sit in an approver's inbox and everyone waits
Document Approval tracks who has signed off and who is still pending. If an approver stays quiet past the time you set, the document escalates to a backup.
Nobody is sure which approvals a document actually needs
Each document is routed through the approval chain you define, based on what is in it. Up to three document types are set up with their own chains.
There is no clean record of who approved what and when
Every decision is logged with the approver and the time. That log gives you an audit trail without anyone keeping a separate spreadsheet or chasing old emails.
A good fit if
Documents currently get approved over email or Slack, with no clear record of who approved what or when.
Your approval chain depends on what's in the document, such as its amount, department or type, not always the same one person.
You want a clear record of every sign-off, and an escalation path for anything that sits pending too long.
You're comfortable with the approval decision itself staying with a person; this builds the routing and the record, not the judgment call.
Not the right fit if
The document hasn't been checked for completeness yet, so there's nothing solid to approve. See AI Document Validation, the QA stage that runs before Approval.
You need documents sent to the right person or queue by content, not sent through a formal sign-off chain. See AI Document Routing, which decides where a document goes, not whether it's accepted.
You need two versions of a document compared before anyone approves the new one. See AI Document Comparison, useful ahead of an Approval workflow on redlines or renewals.
Your documents are contracts needing risk clauses flagged before approval, not just a sign-off chain. See AI Contract Intelligence, built for that document type.
How it works
- A document arrives, typically one that's already passed AI Document Validation or another QA step, ready for a decision.
- Approval reads the document's content, such as its amount, department or type, to work out which approval chain applies.
- It's routed to the first approver in that chain, with the document and the context they need to decide attached.
- Each sign-off, or rejection, is logged with who made it and when, building a clear audit trail as the document moves.
- If an approver doesn't respond within the time you set, it escalates automatically to the next person in the chain or the one you named as backup.
- We test the workflow against 100 real sample documents before launch and hand you a report showing routing and escalation worked as agreed.
What you provide within 72 hours
Your portal lists these the moment you order. Delivery starts the working day after everything is in and your access is checked.
- Your business information (company basics, hours and brand voice), shared during intake, or confirmation we can reuse what you gave us on an earlier order.
- At least 20 real sample documents for each document type Approval should route, redacted if you need to.
- The approval chains that apply, and which document details decide which chain a document follows.
- Access to the destination system where approved documents and their sign-off record should land.
- How long an approver has before a document escalates, and who it escalates to.
- Admin access and API keys for every connected system, shared by adding our team as a user or creating a key you control, never by email.
- One decision-maker who can approve the chain definitions and sign off at launch.
- An API key for your own AI model account (for example OpenAI or Google Gemini), created for this build with a spending limit.
The 72-hour rule. Send everything on your checklist, including access, within 72 hours of ordering so your build starts on time.
Timeline
Start
Intake verified, sample documents and approval chains confirmed.
Weeks 1–2
Routing logic, escalation rules and sign-off tracking built.
Week 3
Source and destination systems connected and chains tested.
Weeks 3–4
100 sample documents processed, routing and escalation report shared with you.
Week 4
Your review and two rounds of changes.
Go-live
Live, handover report sent, support starts.
| Option | Delivery time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 20–30 working days | $5,500 |
| Express | 15–25 working days | $6,450 |
| Rush | 10–20 working days | $7,450 |
What you receive at handover
- AI Document Approval configured on one intake route and connected to your source and destination systems
- Approval chains for up to three document types, with escalation to backup approvers
- A decision log recording each approval, rejection and escalation
- A test report from 100 sample documents, with an accuracy report
- An admin guide and a written handover report
- 30 days of post-launch support
Expected benefits and how to measure them
- Can shorten the time documents spend waiting for sign-off.
- Helps make sure the right people approve the right documents.
- Makes audits easier with every decision already logged.
- Time from submission to final approval
- Take timestamps from the decision log after launch. Compare with email or tracker dates from before.
- Escalations per month
- Count escalations in the log. Repeated escalations for one approver show where the chain needs changing.
- Documents approved by the wrong person
- Spot-check a monthly sample against your approval rules, before and after launch.
Before you start: Pick recent documents and record how long each took to get approved. Note who approved them and where that was recorded.
These are things to track, not promised results. Outcomes depend on your data, your team and your market.
Running costs
The build price is one-time. Running Document Approval costs roughly $30 to $200 a month in your own accounts, covering OCR and AI usage plus storage, and it moves with how many documents pass through the approval chain each month.
AI usage during the build and testing is billed to your own accounts too, so every provider relationship stays yours, not ours.
Ask about running costsCustom requirements
If you need more than three document types, more than 25 routing fields per type, or a second intake route than the Scope Card lists, add a note at checkout. You get a written Change Quote, and that work only starts once you accept it. Larger or bespoke projects go through the Custom AI request form instead.
Request a custom versionKeep it running
Monthly maintenance covers monitoring, fixes, updates, a health report and change hours each month, enough to adjust a chain or an escalation window. It starts after the 30 days of support end, bills monthly, and can be cancelled any month.
$275/mo (5% of the build price a month, includes 2 change hours)
Optional. Starts after the post-launch support period. Cancel any month.
How maintenance worksHow this compares
| Do it yourself with a SaaS tool | Hire a custom agency | Upmark Labs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | An approval-workflow SaaS charges per user or per workflow every month | A custom agency quotes after discovery calls | Ours is one fixed price, shown on this page before you buy |
| Scope | An approval-workflow SaaS is a general tool you configure chain by chain yourself | An agency agrees scope during the project | Ours is written on the Scope Card before purchase |
| Escalation | An approval-workflow SaaS needs manual reminder rules set up per chain | An agency build depends on what was scoped | Ours escalates automatically once the time you set passes |
| Delivery | An approval-workflow SaaS is instant to sign up but slow to configure well | An agency usually takes several weeks | Ours has a fixed delivery time shown before you buy, with faster options |
Questions about this product
How much does AI Document Approval cost?
The fixed price for each delivery speed is shown in the price and delivery panel on this page before you order. It covers everything on the Scope Card: approval chains for up to three document types, escalation rules, the connection to two systems and the routing report you review before launch. A new chain or document type is quoted in writing first.
How is AI Document Approval different from AI Document Routing?
AI Document Routing decides which person, team or queue a document should reach based on its content. Approval decides whether that document gets accepted, tracking sign-off through a defined chain with escalation. Many pipelines use Routing to get a document to the right place, then Approval to get it signed off.
Does AI Document Approval make the approval decision itself?
No. It builds the routing, the chain logic and the audit trail; the actual decision to approve or reject stays with the person in that chain. Approval makes sure the right document reaches the right approver with the context they need, and records what they decided and when, without deciding for them.
How much does AI Document Approval cost to run each month?
Running costs are paid in your own accounts, and there is no per-approval fee from us. Expect roughly $30 to $200 a month for OCR and AI usage plus storage, scaling with how many documents pass through the chain. Simple forms cost less than long scanned files. Monthly maintenance is optional if you want chains adjusted as your team changes.
What happens if an approver doesn't respond to AI Document Approval in time?
It escalates automatically to the next person in the chain, or to the backup approver you named, once the response window you set passes. Nothing sits waiting indefinitely on one person, and every escalation is logged the same way as a normal sign-off, so the audit trail stays complete.
Is our document content safe with AI Document Approval?
Yes. Every credential and connected account is shared by adding our team as a user or creating a key you control during setup, never by email, and documents move only between the systems and approvers you connected. Approval reads content to decide routing; it doesn't store or share it elsewhere, and sample documents can be redacted before we see them.
How long does AI Document Approval take to launch?
Each delivery speed and its timing are shown in the price and delivery panel on this page, counted from the day your intake is complete and access is verified. Most of the build goes into chain logic and testing escalation against scenarios drawn from your own documents, so have approver and backup names ready during intake.
Can I add a new approval chain later?
Yes. Adjusting an existing chain or its escalation window fits inside the monthly change hours that come with maintenance. A new document type with its own chain is a bigger change and gets a written Change Quote, priced before work starts.
Guides on this topic
All guides Stop chasing approvals over email and Slack.
Order AI Document Approval and it routes and tracks every sign-off on a fixed delivery date. The scope above is what you get, in writing, before you pay.
Works well with
