An approval workflow is the workspace setting that decides whether posts in Planable need sign-off before they are scheduled or published.
→ What is approval in Planable?
→ Approval workflows compared
→ How to open approval settings
→ None: no approval workflow
→ Optional approval
→ Required approval (Pro plan)
→ Multi-level approvals (Enterprise plan)
→ Other approval settings
→ Frequently asked questions
Planable has four approval workflows: None, Optional, Required and Multi-level. Each workspace uses one of them, so you can set a strict sign-off process for one client and a relaxed one for another.
What is approval in Planable?
Approval is a user's sign-off that a post is ready to be published. It is one of the core collaboration features in Planable.
An approval workflow is the set of approval settings a workspace uses, such as whether approval is needed, who can approve, and what happens after a post is approved.
Approval workflows compared
| Workflow | What it does | Plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | Approvals are disabled and not needed for publishing. | All plans | Solo creators and one-person teams |
| Optional | Approvals are enabled, but not required for publishing. | All plans | Flexible teams that want feedback without blocking publishing |
| Required | A member has to approve the content before publishing. | Pro and Enterprise | Agencies and teams that need client or manager sign-off on every post |
| Multi-level | 2+ members need to approve content before publishing, level by level. | Enterprise | Organizations with several reviewers, such as team, client and legal |
How to open approval settings
Approval settings live in your Workspace settings. Hover over your workspace name, click the 3 dots, and open the approval settings:
Good to know: Only workspace owners and admins can change the approval workflow. Planable asks you to confirm every change (for example, "Are you sure you want to change from Optional to Required?").
None: no approval workflow
None is the right choice if you work alone or nobody else needs to review your content.
With the None workflow, nobody has to approve posts and the approval option is not visible at all.
Optional approval
Optional approval fits flexible teams that want to collaborate on content but still need to publish on their own when it is urgent.
Posts can be scheduled and published with or without approval.
To ask for a review, hover over the approval icon on a post and click Request approval. Learn more about requesting approval.
Because the workflow is optional, you can still schedule and publish a post even if nobody has approved it.
Required approval (Pro plan)
*Required approval is available on the Pro and Enterprise plans.
Required approval is built for teams that need a sign-off on every post, such as marketers and agencies working closely with clients.
With this workflow, no post can be scheduled or published until at least one approver has approved it.
You request approval the same way as in the Optional workflow, but the post cannot be scheduled or published while it is unapproved.
The same Request approval popup appears when you hover over the Schedule button, together with a note explaining why the post cannot be scheduled yet.
What happens to scheduled posts when you switch to Required
If the workspace already has scheduled posts that are not approved, Planable asks "Auto-approve scheduled posts?" when you switch to Required.
- Click Yes, auto-approve to approve those scheduled posts automatically so they keep their publishing slot.
- Click No, leave unapproved to keep them unapproved until an approver signs off.
If nobody in the workspace has the Approve permission yet, Planable warns you that scheduled posts will stay unapproved and existing approvals may be lost. Assign at least one approver before switching.
Multi-level approvals (Enterprise plan)
*Multi-level approvals are available on Enterprise plans.
Multi-level approval requires two or more members to approve a post, one level after another, before it can be published. Read the Multi-level approvals article for setup steps.
Other approval settings
When the approval workflow is set to Optional or Required, the same approval settings page has a few more options to fine-tune how your team collaborates.
Who can approve content?
Choose which collaborators in the workspace have permission to approve posts.
Lock content after approval
Make the approver's sign-off final. When this setting is on, nobody can change the post after it is approved: text, media, date and time, image order, link URLs and so on.
To change an approved post, unapprove it first, or turn this setting off.
Schedule posts automatically on approval
When an approver approves a post that already has a date and time, Planable schedules it automatically. Learn more about scheduling on approval.
Automatic reminders for pending approvals
Send approvers a nudge when posts are still waiting for their approval. Learn how automated reminders work.
Frequently asked questions
Which approval workflow should I choose?
Choose None if you work alone, Optional if you want feedback without blocking publishing, Required if every post needs sign-off before it goes live, and Multi-level if several people or teams must approve in a set order.
Are approval workflows available on every plan?
None and Optional are available on all plans. Required approval needs the Pro or Enterprise plan, and Multi-level approvals need an Enterprise plan.
Who can change a workspace's approval workflow?
Only workspace owners and admins can change the approval workflow. Other members do not see the approval workflow options.
Can different workspaces use different approval workflows?
Yes. The approval workflow is set per workspace, so each client or brand workspace can have its own approval process.
Can I edit a post after it is approved?
Yes, unless Lock content after approval is turned on. With that setting on, unapprove the post or turn the setting off before editing.