Still managing approvals with paper forms or endless email threads? An invoice sits on someone’s desk for days, or you spend hours searching through email chains to see who approved a purchase. It’s inefficient, frustrating, and slows down month-end close.
Fortunately, there’s a better way. Gravity Software’s automated approval workflows, built on the Microsoft Power Platform, modernize the process — helping finance teams save time, increase accountability, and improve visibility across every entity.
Why expense approvals waste so much time
Even companies using advanced technology still handle approvals manually. Expense reports are printed, signed, and passed around offices or emailed to managers who might be traveling. By the time the report is approved, accounting teams are left scrambling to reimburse expenses or finalize reports.
This back-and-forth also affects departmental or executive-level approvals. A buyer requests authorization, emails supporting documents, and waits days or weeks for responses. Negotiations on pricing or quantities drag on, discounts expire, and accountability becomes unclear.
In family offices or multi-entity organizations, it’s even more complicated. For example, an assistant authorized to purchase artwork might need approval from several executives before accounting can process payment. Without automation, every step introduces delay and risk.
The limits of approval workflows in QuickBooks
Many businesses have moved past paper-based processes, and entry-level systems like QuickBooks offer basic approval workflows. However, these tools often stop short of what growing or multi-entity organizations need.
Most only let you define a dollar threshold and one approver. They can’t accommodate complex routing, multi-entity approvals, or dynamic conditions like vendor, department, or project.
You might consider adding third-party approval software, but layering more tools into your stack increases cost and complexity — and not every stakeholder wants to log into yet another system.
How Gravity's approval workflows work
Gravity Software takes a different approach. Its approval workflows leverage Microsoft Power Automate, giving you flexibility to design approval paths that match how your business operates.
You can route approvals by department, entity, vendor, or amount, and choose the method that best fits your workflow — via email, dashboard, or Microsoft Teams.
1. Email-based approvals
Ideal for companies with approvers who aren’t daily users of accounting software.
Example: A nonprofit receives a $5,000 invoice for catering services. Approvals are required from the CFO, CEO, and the head of the finance committee.
Without automation:
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Enter the invoice manually.
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Draft an email to all three approvers.
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Attach supporting documents.
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Track responses individually.
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Re-enter approval updates in accounts payable.
With Gravity Software:
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Once the invoice is entered, it automatically routes to the correct approvers via email.
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Approvers can approve or reject directly from their inbox — no login required.
The British Institute of Innkeeping streamlined this process by implementing Gravity’s approval workflows, eliminating long email chains and reducing turnaround time significantly.
2. Dashboards approvals
If your organization has many transactions reviewed by a few leaders, dashboard-based approvals keep inboxes clear.
Approvers can log into Gravity and view all pending approvals in one place — checking boxes to approve or drilling into specific invoices for details.
This setup works perfectly for healthcare companies, family offices, large nonprofits, and other organizations with high approval volume. It simplifies oversight while maintaining complete visibility across entities.
3. Microsoft Teams approvals
If your organization uses Microsoft Teams, Gravity integrates seamlessly so approvers can act directly within Teams.
Approvers see pending items in their navigation bar, review them without switching applications, and approve or reject instantly.
This option is ideal for companies already operating in Microsoft 365, enabling faster response times and keeping financial workflows aligned with everyday communication.
The benefits of Gravity's approval workflows
When evaluating solutions, finance leaders want measurable results — faster processing, stronger controls, and tools that grow with their business. Gravity Software delivers all three through approval workflows that make expense management simple and secure.
Efficiency through workflow automation
Automation speeds up every step. Once an invoice is approved, Gravity can automatically post it to accounts payable, eliminating manual data entry. Accounting teams stay focused on analysis, not administration.
Security and fully audit visibility
Every response and approval is logged automatically, providing a complete audit trail. Attached PDFs or documents give approvers full transparency before sign-off.
Scalability across every entity
As your business grows, workflows scale with you. Whether you manage 5 or 500 entities, you can maintain consistent approval policies across all companies.
Why businesses choose Gravity for workflow automation
Choosing the right accounting system isn’t just about automating approvals — it’s about building a foundation that scales with your organization. Gravity Software delivers a complete multi-entity accounting platform where approval workflows are seamlessly integrated, not added as an afterthought.
Finance leaders choose Gravity because it combines powerful automation, Microsoft-native integration, and flexibility for complex entity structures — all in a single, cloud-based solution designed for growing businesses.
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Multi-Entity Accounting: Manage approvals, consolidations, and reporting for all entities in one shared database. Eliminate manual reconciliations and maintain visibility across your entire organization.
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Microsoft Integration: Connect effortlessly with Power BI, Teams, Outlook, and other Microsoft 365 tools for real-time collaboration and insights.
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Flexible & Configurable: Adapt workflows and accounting processes as your organization grows — without costly custom development.
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Cloud-Native Security: Built on Microsoft Azure for enterprise-grade reliability, uptime, and data protection.
With Gravity, finance teams can manage multi-entity operations, automate key processes, and strengthen internal controls — all within a unified platform that simplifies complex accounting.
See Gravity's approval workflows in action
If your accounting team is juggling multiple systems, managing manual approvals, or struggling with visibility across entities, Gravity Software can change the way you work.
Our cloud-based multi-entity accounting solution gives you everything in one place — core financials, automated approvals, and powerful reporting tools — so you can close faster, improve accuracy, and gain real-time insight into performance across all your entities.
Schedule a demo to experience how automated workflows can transform your approval process — and free your team to focus on strategic work that drives growth.
Gravity Software
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