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Approvals

Some work needs a sign-off before it counts as finished. In Arketic, an approval is a checkpoint: the person doing the work finishes it, and someone with authority confirms it — or sends it back.

Approvals show up in two places:

WhereWhat it does
On a taskAn Approval done condition that a reviewer must approve before the task can be marked Done
On a requestA request type can require approval before the receiving team starts work

1. Approval as a done condition​

Approval is one of the done-condition types you can add to a task. It works like a gate: everything else can be finished, but the task stays open until the approval is given.

Setting it up​

Add an Approval condition when you create the task, or later from the task's edit view:

  1. Open the Done Conditions section.
  2. Click + Add Condition.
  3. Choose Approval as the type.
  4. Write a clear description — this is what the reviewer reads, so say exactly what is being approved (for example, "Finance approves the final budget").
  5. Leave Required ticked so the task cannot be completed without it.

See Completion Conditions for the full list of condition types.

tip

Write the description as a question the reviewer can answer with yes or no. "Approve the vendor contract draft" is easier to act on than "Contract".

Answering it​

The reviewer opens the task, finds the condition in the Done Conditions list, and clicks one of two buttons:

ButtonResult
ApproveThe condition is met and turns green with a strikethrough. The task can now be completed.
RejectThe condition stays unmet, and the task goes back for more work.

Once answered, the condition shows who responded, so there is a record of the decision.

caution

A task with an unmet required condition cannot be marked Done. The footer of the task shows "{n} condition(s) pending" and the Mark Done button stays disabled until everything is resolved.

2. The Pending Approval status​

Pending Approval is a task status, alongside Backlog, To Do, In Progress, In Review, Done and Cancelled.

How a task gets there​

When you click Mark Done on a task that requires approval, the task does not go to Done. Instead:

  • The status changes to Pending Approval.
  • A confirmation message appears: "Task pending approval".
  • The card on the board shows an amber Approval badge.

While it's pending​

  • The status is locked. In the task's edit view, the status field reads "Pending Approval (managed by approval workflow)" — you cannot pick a different status by hand.
  • Dragging the card to another column on the board snaps it back with a message explaining that approval is required. The same happens if you try to change the status from the list view.

How it resolves​

OutcomeWhat happens to the task
ApprovedThe task completes and moves to Done.
RejectedThe task returns to In Progress so the work can be corrected and re-submitted.
info

Pending Approval cannot be selected manually. A task only enters it by being marked done while an approval is outstanding, which means nothing slips through by someone picking the wrong status.

3. Who can resolve an approval​

Not everyone can clear a task out of Pending Approval. Resolving it — approving, rejecting, or cancelling — is limited to:

WhoScope
AdminsAcross the organization
ExecutivesAcross the organization
Department managersTasks in a department they manage

Regular members can see that a task is waiting on approval, but they cannot approve it themselves.

Separately, only managers and admins can add, change, or remove done conditions on a task — so an assignee cannot quietly delete the approval requirement to get around it.

4. For reviewers​

You are notified when something is waiting on you. There are three reliable ways to find approvals that need your attention:

Where to lookWhat you'll see
NotificationsAn alert telling you a task needs your approval
The boardCards carrying the amber Approval badge
DashboardManagers and admins can review pending work from the Tasks → Dashboard tab

See Notifications for how alerts reach you.

Reviewing well​

  1. Open the task and read the Description and the Done Conditions — the other conditions show what was actually delivered.
  2. Check the Comments tab for the assignee's notes and the Files tab for anything they attached.
  3. Approve, or reject with a comment explaining what needs to change.
tip

When you reject, always leave a comment first. Reject on its own sends the task back but doesn't tell the assignee why — a comment saves a round trip.

5. Service request approvals​

Requests sent to another department can also require a sign-off before the receiving team starts working. This is set on the request type, not on each individual request.

Making a request type require approval​

When a manager or admin creates a request type, there is a checkbox:

Requires manager approval before work starts

Tick it, and every request submitted under that type arrives in a pending approval state instead of going straight into the team's queue.

Approving or rejecting a request​

Open the request from the Requests tab under Tasks. If it is waiting on approval and you have authority over the target department, two buttons appear:

ButtonResult
ApproveThe request opens, so it can be assigned and worked on
RejectA Reject request box opens asking for a reason before the request is closed

The reason you type is passed back to the requester, so they understand the decision rather than just seeing a cancelled request.

info

Approval authority on a request follows the target department — the team the request was sent to. Admins can act on any request; a department manager acts on requests sent to their department.

See Managing Requests for the full request workflow, and Creating Requests for how to submit one.

Tips​

  • Managers: review promptly. A task sitting in Pending Approval is still counting against its time target, so delays show up in your team's numbers.
  • Assignees: before you click Mark Done, add a comment summarising what you did and attach the supporting files. Reviewers approve faster when they don't have to ask.
  • Be specific in the condition description. "Approve" tells the reviewer nothing; "Legal approves the final NDA wording" tells them exactly what to check.
  • Use one approval condition per decision. If two different people need to sign off on two different things, add two conditions rather than one vague one.
  • Check your notifications regularly — approvals block someone else's work until they're resolved.