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# Five Signs You Need a Formal Approval Workflow
- URL: https://blog.jestor.com/signs-you-need-approval-workflow/
- Published: 2026-09-17T22:35:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T22:35:04.000Z
- Author: Bruno Bannach

The **signs you need an approval workflow** are specific rather than general. Informal approval works genuinely well at small scale, and the failures when it stops working are recognizable.

## The five signs

Any two of these together usually mean the informal version has run out.

- **One person approves everything**, and volume now exceeds their attention
- **Nobody can say who approved a given payment**, months later
- **Entries reach the ERP before review**, and corrections happen afterwards
- **Committed spend is invisible** until month-end closing
- **Approvals wait** when one person is away

## What changes with a formal flow

| Before                                     | After                                   |
| ------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------- |
| Requests by message, in no standard format | A form with the fields the ERP requires |
| Approval remembered                        | Approval recorded on the request        |
| Everything to one person                   | Routed by cost centre or value          |
| Spend known at closing                     | Approved value per cost centre, live    |

## How to set it up in Jestor

1. Register cost centres in **Jestor** with a named owner for each.
2. Build the request form with the fields your **ERP** needs, marking them required.
3. Hold submissions in a queue and review them on a **Kanban**.
4. Connect the ERP so approved entries post automatically.
5. Add the dashboard: pending, approved, rejected, and value per **cost center**.

## Why Jestor is the best complement to Omie for approvals

The integration is native, with no middleware in between — which is why an approved request becomes a payable without a second entry.

The ERP keeps accounting and tax; Jestor covers the request and review that precede the entry, which is where the informal version was operating.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is informal approval always wrong?

No — it works until volume exceeds one person's attention. See [jestor.com](https://jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com).

### Can I see committed spend before closing?

Yes, as approved value per cost centre.

### What happens when an approver is away?

Cost centres can list more than one responsible user.

## Video Tutorial: Step by Step

Check out other practical tutorials on the Jestor YouTube channel.

## Get to know Jestor

With **Jestor**, you can automate workflows, connect teams, and build internal systems your way — all without code and powered by **AI**. Discover Jestor at [jestor.com](https://jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com) and see how to take your company's operations to a new level of efficiency and control.