Extensions
Approval Workflow Layer
Selected actions your AI product takes wait for a person to approve them first.
Some actions are too important to leave to software alone: a refund, a record change, a document sent to a client. This add-on puts a named person in front of the actions you choose. The AI product prepares the action with its reasons, your approver says yes or no, and every decision is recorded. You decide which actions need a signature.
- Holds selected actions until a named person approves them
- Shows the approver the action, reason and data behind it
- Records every approval and rejection with its reason
$1,500
10–20 working days
What it is
The Approval Workflow Layer adds human approval before selected actions of an AI product you already run, or are buying now, such as sending a refund, updating a record or routing a document. The product prepares the action, a named person approves or rejects it, and only then does it happen. Every decision is recorded with its reason.
Why businesses buy it
Letting AI act on its own is where much of the time saving sits, and also where much of the worry sits. An approval step lets you automate the preparation while keeping a person's judgment on the actions that carry real cost or risk. Approvers see the context, so decisions take seconds rather than an investigation. The written scope names the actions, the approvers and backups, what happens when nobody answers, and how each decision is recorded, so control is designed in from the start.
Problems this solves
You hesitate to let the AI act alone on refunds or records
The Approval Workflow Layer stops selected actions until a named person approves them. The product prepares the action, your approver accepts or rejects it, and only then does it happen.
Nobody can say later who signed off on an automated change
Every approval or rejection is recorded with its reason. You can look back and see who decided what, which helps when a customer or auditor asks.
Mistakes slip through because there is no checkpoint before action
You choose which actions need sign-off, such as sending a refund, updating a record or routing a document. Each approval path is tested with the parent product before launch.
A good fit if
Your product acts on its own, and some of those actions carry money, legal or reputational risk.
You want the speed of automation but a person's sign-off on the actions that matter.
You can name who approves which actions, and who covers when they are away.
Your product is an action agent, a workflow automation or a document processing build.
Not the right fit if
You want approval steps as a product in their own right rather than an extension of one Upmark Labs product. Human Approval Workflow is that standalone build.
You want reviewers to see all AI outputs waiting for review in one place. Agent Review Queue gives them one queue.
You want documents routed for sign-off and tracked. AI Document Approval handles document approvals.
You want a record of every action for later review, not a gate before it. Audit Logging Add-on adds that record.
How it works
- You choose the actions. We list which of the product's actions need approval and which can run on their own.
- Approvers are named. Each action type has an approver, a backup, and a time limit before it is escalated or cancelled.
- Requests carry what is needed. The approver sees what the product wants to do, why, and the data behind it.
- Approve or reject. Approved actions run straight away; rejected ones stop, with the reason recorded.
- It is tested with the parent product, then reviewed by you with one revision round before launch.
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.
- The order reference of the product getting approvals
- The actions that need approval, and any amount limits
- Approvers and backups for each action type
- Where approvers should receive requests, such as email, Slack or Teams
- Access to that tool, shared securely in the way we agree at intake
- One person who signs off the approval rules
The 72-hour rule. Send everything on your checklist, including access, within 72 hours of ordering so your build starts on time.
Timeline
Start
Actions, approvers and limits listed
Week 1
Approval rules and time limits agreed
Week 2
Approval step built into the product's actions
Week 2
Approve and reject paths tested with the parent product
Week 2
Your review and one revision round
Go-live
Approvals live, walkthrough recorded
| Option | Delivery time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 10–20 working days | $1,500 |
What you receive at handover
- Human approval steps added before the selected actions in your product
- A record of every approval decision with its reason
- Updated documentation listing which actions need approval and who approves them
- A test report, a handoff note and a short written walkthrough
Expected benefits and how to measure them
- Helps you automate sensitive actions while keeping a person in control
- Makes it easier to answer questions about who approved a change
- Can catch errors before they reach a customer or a record
- Rejected actions
- Count rejections in the approval record each month to see how often the checkpoint catches a problem.
- Approval wait time
- Measure time from request to decision using the approval record timestamps, and review it monthly.
- Errors reaching customers
- Compare corrections or complaints on these actions for the month before launch and the month after.
Before you start: List the actions you want under approval and how they are checked today. Note any recent errors those actions caused.
These are things to track, not promised results. Outcomes depend on your data, your team and your market.
Running costs
Approvals add no fee from us. Requests go through tools you already pay for, such as email, Slack or Teams, and any AI usage for preparing requests stays in your own accounts.
Ask about running costsCustom requirements
Multi-step approval chains, approvals by committee, or limits that change by customer are beyond this add-on. Add a note at checkout and a written Change Quote follows. Larger or bespoke projects go through the Custom AI request form instead.
Request a custom versionKeep it running
Approval rules are covered by the parent product's maintenance, which grows in line with the add-on's price. Changing an approver or a limit uses its monthly change hours.
Adds $75/mo to maintenance
Covered by the main product's maintenance, which grows by this amount.
How maintenance worksHow this compares
| Do it yourself with a SaaS tool | Hire a custom agency | Upmark Labs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | A workflow tool's approval feature is billed monthly per user | An agency quotes approval logic as custom work | Ours is one fixed price, shown before you buy |
| Context | A yes or no button | Depends on the brief | Ours shows the action, the reason and the data behind it |
| If nobody answers | The request sits | Depends on the brief | Ours escalates or cancels after the time you set |
| Record | Varies by tool | Depends on the brief | Ours records every approval and rejection with its reason |
Questions about this product
Which actions can be put behind an approval?
Any action the parent product already takes, such as issuing a refund, sending a message, updating a record or routing a document. You choose which ones need approval and which can run on their own. You can start by gating only actions above an amount limit and widen it later.
What happens if the approver does not respond?
You set a time limit for each action type. When it passes, the request goes to the backup approver, or is cancelled, depending on what you chose. The product never treats silence as approval, and every outcome is recorded with the time it happened.
Where do approvers see requests?
Where they already work, agreed at intake: email, Slack or Microsoft Teams are common. Each request shows what the product wants to do, why, and the data behind it, so the approver can decide without opening another system. A rejection can include a short reason, which is stored with the decision.
Does the approval layer go live at the same time as the product?
Yes. The layer is tested together with the product it controls and follows that product's delivery speed. If you need it sooner, choose Express or Rush for the product, each with a fixed price and date shown before you pay. Name your approvers and backups during intake so testing can use real people.
Can I use it with a customer support chatbot?
Only if the chatbot is an action agent that takes actions on its own. The layer fits action agents, workflow automations and document processing products. For a knowledge chatbot that only answers questions, there is no action to approve, so Human Handoff Setup may be what you need.
Can we loosen approvals once we trust the product?
Yes. Moving an action from approved-first to automatic, or raising an amount limit, is a small change handled under the parent product's maintenance. Starting strict and relaxing limits once you have seen the decisions it prepares is a sensible path. Each change is recorded, so you can always see which rules applied on a given date.
Keep a person's signature on the actions that matter.
Add the Approval Workflow Layer and the actions you choose wait for a named approver, with the context to decide and a record of every decision.
Works well with
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