Multi-Step Approval Chains Inside Salesforce
Configurable approval workflows powered by Custom Metadata. Define approvers, gate stage transitions, and maintain a complete audit trail — without writing a single line of Apex.
The problem
Most teams “approve” things by sending a Slack message and hoping someone responds. Or by forwarding an email chain to a manager with “can you sign off on this?” buried in paragraph three. Or by putting a checkbox on a spreadsheet that anyone can toggle.
The result: no audit trail, no enforced order, no way to prove who approved what or when. When the auditor asks “who authorized this change?” the answer is a 20-minute search through Slack history.
Approvals are not a communication problem. They are a data model problem. You need structured records with enforced sequencing, gated transitions, and immutable timestamps. That's what this is.
How It Works
Three steps from zero to enforced approval chains. No Apex. No deploy. Just metadata.
Configure approvers in metadata
Define ApprovalStep__mdt records: who approves, in what order, and which workflow stages require approval. No Apex, no deploy — just point-and-click in Setup.
Assign to stages
Map approval steps to WorkflowStage__mdt records. When a work item enters a gated stage, the approval chain fires automatically.
Approvals auto-trigger
DeliveryApprovalChainService orchestrates the chain. Approvers get notified, approve or reject inline, and the work item advances — or doesn't — based on the outcome.
What You Get
Six capabilities that ship with the free package. No add-ons, no tiers, no per-approval fees.
Configurable chains
Define any number of approval steps per stage via ApprovalStep__mdt. Add approvers, reorder steps, change thresholds — all from Setup, no deploys.
Stage gating
Work items cannot advance past a gated stage until every required approval is granted. No more "I thought that was approved" conversations.
Parallel & sequential
Need three approvers at once? Sequential sign-off? Both patterns are supported. Mix and match within the same workflow.
Full audit trail
Every approval decision records who approved (or rejected), when, and why — riding the existing ActivityLog__c infrastructure. Compliance-ready from day one.
Per-workflow config
Different approval chains for Software Delivery vs Change Management vs Loan Approval. Each workflow type gets its own rules without code changes.
Portal approval
External stakeholders can approve from the client portal via token-gated URLs. No Salesforce license required for the approver.
Under the Hood
ApprovalStep__mdt defines the approval chain: who approves, in what order, whether it's parallel or sequential, and which stages require sign-off before a work item can advance.
DeliveryApprovalChainService is the Apex orchestrator. When a work item enters a gated stage, the service queries the relevant approval steps, creates approval records, fires notifications to approvers, and evaluates the chain on every response. If all approvers approve, the work item advances. If any rejects, it stays put and the rejection reason is logged.
Every decision — approve, reject, delegate — writes to ActivityLog__c with the user, timestamp, and comment. This is the same audit trail used by document signing, stage transitions, and every other action in Delivery Hub. One unified history.
What it costs
$0
Ships in the free package
Approval workflows are part of the core Delivery Hub package. No per-approval fee, no enterprise tier, no add-on. Install the package, configure your approval steps in Custom Metadata, and start gating stage transitions immediately.
Need help designing your approval chains? Implementation packages start at $2,500.
Replace Slack Approvals with Real Audit Trails
Install Delivery Hub. Define your approval steps in Custom Metadata. Gate your stage transitions. Every decision recorded, every chain enforced.