How to Create a Slack Approval Workflow

If you've ever sent a DM to your manager asking for sign-off only to watch it disappear beneath a flood of @mentions, you know the pain of unstructured approvals. Setting up a Slack approval workflow solves this by automating how requests get submitted, reviewed, and tracked. Gentle nudges turn into awkward nagging, important requests vanish in busy channels, and when finance finally asks "who said yes?" there's no audit trail to reference.

Slack's built-in Workflow Builder fixes this chaos by letting you collect requests through forms, route them to the right approver, and log every decision automatically. No more lost messages, no more emoji guessing games, and no more "just bumping this" reminders.

In this guide, you'll learn what a Slack approval workflow is, how to build one step-by-step (we'll create an Expense Approval together), and see three ready-made templates you can implement today. We'll also show when upgrading to a dedicated tool like Suptask makes sense for more complex approval needs.

What is a Slack Approval Workflow?

A Slack approval workflow is an automated series of steps that lets teammates request something, allows a decision-maker to click Approve or Deny, and then automatically notifies everyone while storing a permanent record. Instead of scattered messages and lost context, everything happens in one organized flow.

The Key Parts of Any Workflow:

The Request

It starts when someone fills out a form with all the necessary information. No more missing details or back-and-forth clarifications.

The Decision

A message is automatically sent to the right person or channel with clear "Approve" and "Deny" buttons. No ambiguity, no confusion.

The Outcome

An automatic notification is sent back to the requester, and a permanent record is created for future reference.

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It's Faster

No email chasing or context switching needed

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It's Clear

One-click buttons beat emoji guessing games

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It's Organized

Every approval lives in one searchable thread

How to Set Up a Slack Approval Workflow

To make this easy to follow, we'll build a common workflow together: a simple Expense Approval. You can swap the form questions to suit any other use case like PTO requests or software access.

Step 1

Open Workflow Builder

In Slack desktop, click your workspace name → Tools → Workflow Builder. This opens the automation hub where all your workflows live.

Workspace Name → Tools → Workflow Builder

Pro tip: Bookmark Automations in the sidebar for one-click access to all your workflows.

Step 2

Start a New Workflow

Hit ➕ New Workflow → From scratch, name it "Expense Approval," then click Next. Choose a clear, descriptive name since people will see this in their shortcuts menu.

Pro tip: Use clear names that tell users exactly what the workflow does. Avoid abbreviations.

Step 3

Choose How It Starts

Select Shortcut → "Use a shortcut" → save. A shortcut keeps approvals available from any channel. For PTO requests, you might prefer "Link" so HR can pin it in their channel.

Pro tip: Shortcuts work best for workflows used across multiple channels. Links are better for department-specific processes.

Step 4

Add Your Form

Click ➕ → Open a form. This is where you'll collect all the information approvers need to make a decision. Add these fields for our expense example:

💰 Expense amount Short answer

📝 Purpose Paragraph

🏢 Cost center Dropdown

📎 Receipt File upload

Pro tip: Toggle "Make response required" on key fields so approvers aren't missing critical information.

Step 5

Add Approve/Deny Buttons

Next step → Send a form response → choose the manager or #expenses-approvals channel. Check "Include buttons to approve or deny." This creates the actual decision interface.

Pro tip: Slack lets you disable multi-click or add up to five custom buttons if you need more paths like "Needs More Info" or "Escalate."

Step 6

Set Up Outcome Messages

Configure what happens after a decision is made. Under "If approved," add a DM to the requester: "✅ Your expense is approved!" Under "If denied," add: "❌ Sorry, your expense was denied. Reason: {comment}."

Pro tip: Use variables like {Submitter} and {Form field} to personalize messages and include relevant details.

Step 7

Publish & Test

Click Publish to make your workflow live. Run the shortcut in a #test-channel, submit a dummy request, and approve it to ensure both approval and denial paths work correctly.

Pro tip: Ask a teammate (not the creator) to test the workflow since permissions can differ between users.

Examples of Common Approval Workflows in Slack

Each workflow follows the same Request → Decision → Outcome pattern. Just tweak the form fields and approver routing to match your specific needs. Here are three workflows you can build today:

Use Case	Form Questions	Who Approves
Requesting Time Off	• Start date • End date • Covering colleague • Reason (optional)	Direct manager
Social Media Post Approval	• Draft copy (long text) • Image link • Publish date • Platform selection	Marketing lead → Legal (two-step via conditional branches)
New Software Request	• Tool name • Seats needed • Budget owner • Security checklist file	IT admin → Finance

When to Use a Tool like Suptask (For Advanced Approvals)

Slack's native builder is brilliant for single-step approvals in Slack, but you'll quickly hit limits when your approval needs grow:

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Multi-stage sign-offs (like manager → finance → HR) require manual branching and max out at five paths

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Automatic reminders for slow approvers have to be hand-built with extra steps or external bots

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No central dashboard means you can't see all pending approvals in one place for better oversight

Suptask solves these gaps with ordered approver chains, built-in nudges, and a Kanban-style board showing every pending, approved, or denied request. If your team needs that next level of control for business-critical approvals, Suptask provides advanced Slack-native approval automation.

Explore Advanced Approval Features →

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Approve a Request on Slack (and What Happens Next) +

When you receive an approval request in Slack, you'll see clear Approve and Deny buttons directly in the message. Simply click your choice, optionally add a comment, and submit. What happens next depends on your workflow setup: the requester gets an automatic notification with your decision, the request may route to another approver if it's a multi-step process, and a permanent record is logged. For workflows built with tools like Suptask, approved requests can automatically create tickets or trigger integrations with other systems.

How to Add or Change Approvers in a Slack Workflow +

To modify approvers in Slack Workflow Builder, go to your workspace menu → Tools → Workflow Builder, then select your workflow and click Edit. Find the "Send a form response" step and update the recipient to a different user or channel. For dynamic approver assignment based on request details (like amount thresholds), you'll need to use conditional paths or upgrade to a tool like Suptask that supports complex routing rules. Remember to republish your workflow after making changes for them to take effect.

How to Find and Manage Pending Approval Requests in Slack +

Native Slack workflows don't provide a centralized view of pending approvals. To find pending requests, you'll need to search the specific channel where approvals are posted or check your direct messages. For better visibility, consider creating a dedicated #pending-approvals channel where all requests are tracked. Advanced tools like Suptask offer built-in dashboards showing all pending, approved, and denied requests in one place, along with SLA tracking and automatic reminders for overdue approvals.

Are there Slack-integrated tools for handling IT approvals? +

Yes, several options exist. Slack's native Workflow Builder handles basic requests, but for robust IT approvals with proper ticketing, audit trails, and SLA management, dedicated tools like Suptask, ClearFeed, and Wrangle are purpose-built for managing IT support and approval workflows directly in Slack.

Can I use Slack to approve employee access requests? +

Absolutely. Access request approvals are one of the most common and valuable use cases. You can create standardized forms to capture which application is needed and why, route it to the employee's manager for approval, then forward approved requests to IT for fulfillment. Everything happens while creating a complete audit log for compliance.

How does a Slack-based helpdesk handle approvals and escalations? +

In a Slack-based helpdesk like Suptask, approvals are formal steps in a ticket's lifecycle. Agents can trigger approval requests (for example, for refunds) which route to designated approvers. Decisions are logged in the ticket's audit trail. Escalations are automated based on SLAs: if a high-priority ticket isn't addressed within set time, the system automatically notifies managers.

Can I automate manager approvals for access in chat tools? +

Yes. Automating manager approvals is a core function of workflow automation tools. Within Slack, dedicated apps can manage the entire process. Requests are automatically sent to the correct manager as a direct message, allowing them to approve or deny with a single click. Their decision is logged and the workflow proceeds to the next step automatically.

What should I look for in a Slack-based approval system? +

Prioritize solutions that are truly Slack-native, allowing the entire process to happen without leaving Slack. Key features include: standardized request forms, multi-step and conditional routing capabilities, permanent audit trails for every decision, and built-in SLA management with automated reminders and escalations to prevent bottlenecks.

How to Create a Slack Approval Workflow (A Step-by-Step Guide)