How to Set Up Approval Workflows with BeeSign

Sometimes a document needs internal sign-off before it goes out for signature — a manager blessing a contract, legal reviewing an NDA, finance approving a quote. BeeSign's approval workflows let you add one or more approvers to a document so it only gets released to signers after every approver has approved it. In this guide, we'll walk through the entire approval workflow from start to finish.

Step 1: Start a New Document

From your BeeSign Dashboard, click "New Document" to begin. This is the same starting point you'd use for any document — approval workflows aren't a separate feature, they're an option you add on top of the standard send flow.

Upload your PDF as usual. You'll add approvers in the next step alongside your regular recipients.

Step 2: Add an Approver Recipient

When adding recipients, choose the "Approver" role for anyone who needs to review and sign off on the document before it goes out to signers. You can add as many approvers as you need — the document will only be released to signers once every approver has approved.

Approvers don't sign the document — they just approve or decline it. Think of them as gatekeepers who ensure the document is good to go before signers ever see it.

Step 3: Send for Signature

Once your approvers and signers are added and your fields are in place, click "Send for Signature". BeeSign will first notify your approvers — signers won't receive anything yet. The document is essentially held in escrow until approval is complete.

Step 4: Track Approval Status from the Dashboard

Back on your dashboard, you can see the live status of the document. While approvers are reviewing it, the status will show as "Awaiting Approval". You'll always know exactly where each document stands in the approval pipeline.

If you have multiple approvers, you can see exactly who has approved and who hasn't — no more guessing or sending "did you get a chance to review this?" follow-ups.

Step 5: Approver Receives an Approval Email

Each approver receives an email from BeeSign letting them know a document is awaiting their approval. They click "Review & Decide" to open the document and make their decision.

Like signers, approvers don't need a BeeSign account — the email link takes them straight to a secure review page.

Step 6: Approve or Decline the Document

The approver sees the full document along with two clear actions: Approve or Decline. They can scroll through the document, review every detail, and make an informed decision.

Step 7: Optional Decline Reason

If the approver chooses to decline, they're shown a dialog where they can optionally provide a reason — for example, "Please update the pricing section" or "Wrong counterparty name". This message is shared with the document sender so they know exactly what to fix.

Whether they approve or decline, a confirmation message appears letting them know their decision has been recorded successfully.

Step 8: Other Recipients Are Notified, Then Signing Begins

Once a decision is made, the other recipients on the document receive an email letting them know the document has been approved or declined. If every approver has approved, the document is automatically released to signers — they receive their own emails and the signing flow begins as usual.

If any approver declines, the document is halted and the sender can revise it and resend — no signers are bothered with a document that wasn't ready.

Recap: The Full Approval Workflow

• 1Start a new document from your dashboard.
• 2Add an approver recipient alongside your signers.
• 3Send for signature — approvers are notified first, signers wait.
• 4Track approval status from your dashboard.
• 5Approver receives an email and clicks "Review & Decide".
• 6Approve or decline the document with one click.
• 7Optional decline reason lets the approver explain their decision.
• 8Signers are released only after every approver has approved.

Approval workflows are perfect for any situation where a document needs internal sign-off before it goes out — sales contracts that need manager review, legal documents that need compliance approval, quotes that need finance to bless the numbers. Set it up once and your team never sends an unreviewed document again. Sign up for free and add your first approver today.