How to use Secure Approvals

Send monday.com items for approval and make sure only the assigned approvers can set the result.

Before you start

• A monday.com account where you can install apps (account admins can always install; members can if the admin allows it).
• A board with a status column that will show the approval result. Any status column works; the app adds the labels it needs.

1. Install the app

1. Open Secure Approvals in the monday.com apps marketplace and click Install.
2. Choose the workspaces where the app can be used and confirm.

2. Add it to an item

1. Open any item on your board.
2. In the item card, click + next to the tabs (Updates, Files, …) and choose Secure Approvals.

3. Connect once and choose the status column

1. Click Connect and authorize the app. This is needed once per account: it lets the app keep approval statuses protected when nobody has the item open.
2. Choose the status column that should show the approval result and click Use this column. This is done once per board, by a board owner or an account admin.

4. Send an item for approval

1. Choose the approvers. Add more steps with + Add step; in a step with several approvers you can let any one of them decide.
2. Optionally add a note and keep Also email approvers on to send them a link.
3. Click Send for approval. The status becomes Pending approval and is locked.

While the approval is pending, a manual status change by anyone — including board owners — is put back automatically and recorded in the history.

5. Approve, reject or request changes

• Approvers are notified in monday.com. They open the item, go to the Secure Approvals tab and choose Approve, Request changes or Reject, with an optional comment.
• From email, the link opens a confirmation page; the decision is recorded only after Confirm.
• When every step is approved the status becomes Approved. A rejection or a change request ends the round with Rejected or Changes requested.
• The requester can cancel a pending request; the item gets back the status it had before.

Approvers outside monday.com

Type an email address in Or add an external approver by email. External approvers get the email link and decide without a monday.com account. They do not get access to your board. (Business plan.)

Templates and the board’s default route

• Build a route and click Save route as template to reuse it on any board.
• In Board settings, choose a default route for new requests and whether activity is posted to the item’s Updates.

Start approvals with an automation

1. Open the board’s Automate menu and create an automation.
2. Pick a trigger, for example When status changes to Ready for review.
3. As the action choose Secure Approvals → Request approval, pick a saved route and, optionally, a text column to use as the note.

To react to the result, use regular monday.com automations on the status column, for example When status changes to Approved, notify….

Subitems

Open a subitem, add the Secure Approvals tab and choose the subitems’ status column. Board owners of the parent board set it up.

Plans

The Free plan includes 10 approval requests a month with one approval step. Pro and Business add multi-step routes, email approval, templates, automations, subitems, Updates posts, “Request changes” and (Business) external approvers. Plans are managed in monday.com; the Upgrade button in the app opens the plan page.

Questions

• Who can see approvals? Everyone who can see the item. Viewers see the status and history but cannot send requests.
• What happens if I uninstall? The app stops protecting statuses and the access token is deleted. Status values already on your board stay as they are.
• Need help? Email support@devrok.com.