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# Single or Multi-Level Approval: Which Should You Configure?
- URL: https://blog.jestor.com/single-or-multi-level-approval/
- Published: 2026-09-17T22:33:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T22:33:05.000Z
- Author: Bruno Bannach

Choosing between **single or multi-level approval** is a trade-off between control and speed. Every additional level adds a place for a request to wait.

## The cost of each extra level

Approval layers are added for good reasons and rarely removed.

- A second signature that delays every request, including trivial ones
- Approvers who rubber-stamp because they lack context
- Requests bouncing between levels over small corrections
- Cycle time growing faster than the control gained

## When each fits

| Setup                      | Fits when                                                   |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Single level**           | The budget owner has authority for the full range of values |
| **Value-based escalation** | Only requests above a threshold need a second signature     |
| **Multi-level always**     | Regulation or policy requires it regardless of value        |
| **Parallel review**        | Different specialists check different aspects               |

## How to configure it in Jestor

1. Register cost centres in **Jestor** with a named owner for each.
2. Route requests to the owner as the first and usually only approval.
3. Define the value range that owner can approve alone.
4. Add a second phase on the **Kanban** for requests exceeding it.
5. Use **SLA** data per phase to see what each additional level actually costs in time.

## Why choose Jestor for approval design?

**Jestor** records dwell time per phase, which means the cost of an extra approval level becomes measurable rather than assumed — often the argument needed to remove one.

Because phases are configured visually, adding or removing a level is a change the process owner makes directly rather than a project.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How many levels should a request pass through?

As few as authority and regulation allow. See [jestor.com](https://jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com).

### Can escalation depend on value?

Yes, with a second phase for requests above a threshold.

### How do I know what a level costs?

From the dwell time recorded for that phase.

## 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.