Approval Dashboard

The Approval Dashboard provides a centralized view of all approval activities, pending items, and approval metrics. This guide covers dashboard features and customization.

Overview

The Approval Dashboard enables you to:

• View pending approvals
• Track submitted requests
• Monitor approval metrics
• Analyze processing times
• Identify bottlenecks
• Manage approval queue

Accessing Dashboard

Navigate to Approvals → Dashboard from the main menu.

Understanding the Dashboard

Dashboard Sections

Section	Description
Pending Queue	Items awaiting your action
My Requests	Items you submitted
Recent Actions	Your latest decisions
Delegated	Items you're covering
Statistics	Approval metrics
Overdue	Past SLA items

Queue Categories

Category	Description	Color
Urgent	High priority	Red
Overdue	Past due date	Orange
Normal	Standard priority	Blue
Delegated	On behalf of others	Purple

Status Indicators

Status	Icon	Meaning
Pending	⏳	Awaiting action
Approved	✓	Accepted
Rejected	✗	Denied
Returned	↩	Sent back
Escalated	⬆	Moved up

Dashboard Views

My Queue

Your pending approval items:

• Sorted by priority/date
• Filterable by type
• Quick action buttons
• Bulk processing option

My Requests

Items you submitted:

• Current status
• Approval progress
• Pending approvers
• History timeline

Team View

Manager view of team:

• Team pending items
• Workload distribution
• Coverage status
• Team metrics

Admin View

Organization-wide:

• All pending items
• Process bottlenecks
• SLA compliance
• System metrics

How-To Guides

How to Use the Approval Queue

Viewing Pending Items

1. Go to Approvals → Dashboard
2. Default view shows My Queue
3. Items sorted by priority
4. Click item to view details

Filtering Queue

Narrow down items:

• Type: Purchase, Expense, Leave
• Priority: Urgent, Normal
• Age: Today, This Week, Older
• Amount: Threshold ranges

Sorting Queue

Order by:

• Date submitted (oldest/newest)
• Priority (high to low)
• Amount (high to low)
• Requester name

Quick Actions

From queue view:

• View - Open full details
• Approve - Quick approve
• Reject - Quick reject
• Delegate - Pass to another

How to Process Approvals

Single Approval

1. Click item in queue
2. Review details:
   • Document information
   • Requester details
   • Supporting documents
   • Previous approvals
3. Add comments (optional)
4. Click Approve or Reject

Bulk Approval

Process multiple items:

1. Select items (checkbox)
2. Click Bulk Action
3. Choose action (Approve/Reject)
4. Add common comment
5. Confirm action
6. All selected processed

Conditional Approval

Approve with conditions:

1. Open item
2. Click Approve with Conditions
3. Enter conditions
4. Requester notified
5. Conditions tracked

How to Track Request Status

Viewing Your Requests

1. Go to My Requests tab
2. See all submitted items
3. View current status
4. Check approval progress

Request Timeline

Each request shows:

Submitted: Jan 15, 10:00 AM
    ↓
Level 1: Manager - Approved Jan 15, 2:30 PM
    ↓
Level 2: Director - Pending
    ↓
Level 3: VP - Waiting

Request Details

View full information:

• Original request data
• Approval chain status
• Comments from approvers
• Time at each level
• Expected completion

How to Monitor Approval Metrics

Key Metrics

Metric	Description	Target
Pending Count	Items in queue	Lower
Avg Processing Time	Hours to decision	<24 hrs
SLA Compliance	On-time rate	>95%
Rejection Rate	Denials vs total	<10%

Dashboard Widgets

Add metrics widgets:

1. Click Customize
2. Select widget type
3. Configure parameters
4. Position on dashboard
5. Save layout

Trend Analysis

View over time:

• Daily processing volume
• Weekly approval rates
• Monthly SLA trends
• Quarterly comparisons

How to Identify Bottlenecks

Bottleneck Indicators

Watch for:

• Items pending > SLA
• Approver with many pending
• Specific approval levels slow
• Certain document types delayed

Bottleneck Report

1. Go to Reports → Bottlenecks
2. View pending analysis
3. Identify slow approvers
4. See common delays
5. Take action

Resolution Steps

1. Identify stuck items
2. Determine cause:
   • Approver unavailable
   • Missing information
   • Complex decision
3. Escalate or redirect
4. Follow up

How to Customize Dashboard

Layout Options

Arrange sections:

• Drag and drop widgets
• Resize sections
• Show/hide elements
• Save custom layout

Widget Types

Available widgets:

• Pending queue summary
• Recent activity feed
• Metrics charts
• SLA countdown
• Team workload

Saved Views

Create custom views:

1. Configure filters
2. Set sorting
3. Arrange layout
4. Click Save View
5. Name and save

How to Use Mobile Dashboard

Mobile Access

On mobile devices:

• Simplified queue view
• Quick approve/reject
• Push notifications
• Offline capability

Mobile Actions

From phone/tablet:

1. Open approval notification
2. View summary
3. Swipe to approve/reject
4. Add quick comment
5. Confirmation sent

Advanced Features

Dashboard Alerts

Configure notifications:

• Items awaiting action
• SLA warnings
• Escalated items
• Queue threshold

Approval Analytics

Deep insights:

• Processing time analysis
• Approval patterns
• Workload distribution
• Efficiency metrics

Team Management

For managers:

• Team queue overview
• Reassign items
• Monitor performance
• Identify training needs

Integration Views

Connect with:

• Calendar integration
• Email summaries
• Slack notifications
• API webhooks

Best Practices

⏰ Processing

• Check queue daily
• Process oldest first
• Don't let items age
• Use bulk when appropriate

📊 Monitoring

• Review metrics weekly
• Address bottlenecks
• Track SLA compliance
• Monitor trends

🎯 Efficiency

• Set up filters
• Use keyboard shortcuts
• Enable notifications
• Delegate when needed

👥 Collaboration

• Add helpful comments
• Communicate delays
• Coordinate coverage
• Share insights

Configuration

Dashboard Settings

Navigate to Settings → Dashboard:

• Default View - Initial tab
• Items Per Page - List length
• Refresh Rate - Auto-update
• Notifications - Alerts

Widget Settings

• Available Widgets - What to show
• Default Layout - Arrangement
• Color Scheme - Visual style
• Data Range - Time period

Alert Settings

• Queue Threshold - Count alerts
• SLA Warning - Time alerts
• Escalation - Auto-notify
• Summary Frequency - Daily/weekly

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Queue not loading

• Check internet connection
• Clear browser cache
• Verify permissions
• Try refresh

Items missing from queue

• Check filters applied
• Verify not already processed
• Review delegation status
• Check date range

Metrics not updating

• Wait for refresh cycle
• Check data source
• Verify calculation period
• Clear cache

Cannot process item

• Verify you're the approver
• Check item not locked
• Review delegation
• Contact administrator

Next Steps

Learn about Approval Notifications to configure alerts and reminders for timely approvals.