Approval Request

Not every approval process warrants a dedicated system. Budget allocations, travel arrangements, project initiatives, equipment purchases, and departmental requests all need to go through some form of authorization — but building a separate workflow for each one is impractical. The alternative most organizations fall back on is email, which provides no structure, no visibility, and no reliable record of who approved what and when.

The Approval Request template for SharePoint, built with Infowise Ultimate Forms, provides a structured, general-purpose approval form that covers any request type — giving employees a consistent way to submit requests for authorization and giving managers a documented, auditable record of every decision.

How it works

The request form

Employees submit approval requests through a structured SharePoint form that captures the information needed to evaluate and authorize any type of request — the nature of the request, its purpose and justification, the department and budget line it relates to, the estimated cost or impact, and any supporting documentation. The structured format ensures that every request arrives with the same level of information regardless of type, making it straightforward for approvers to assess and decide without needing to ask for additional context.

Flexible request categories

The form is designed to handle a wide range of request types within a single system — budget allocations, purchases, travel arrangements, project initiatives, and any other departmental need that requires formal authorization. Request categories can be configured as a column, with conditional logic showing or hiding additional fields depending on the type of request selected. This keeps the form concise for simple requests while capturing the extra detail that more complex ones require.

The approval process

Once submitted, the request is routed to the appropriate approver through the built-in approval workflow. The approver reviews the full request in context, makes their decision, and records any comments directly within the form. Every approval, rejection, or request for further information is captured as part of the record — creating a complete, chronological account of the decision-making process for every request submitted.

Transparency and accountability

With every request and every decision stored in a standard SharePoint list, managers and administrators have a complete, real-time view of all active, pending, and historical approval requests across the organization. There is no need to chase individuals for status updates, no ambiguity about whether a request has been seen, and no gap in the audit trail when a decision needs to be justified after the fact.

What you get

• A structured general-purpose approval form covering budget, purchase, travel, project, and departmental requests
• Flexible request category column with conditional logic to show additional fields based on request type
• A built-in approval workflow routing requests to the appropriate approver with full decision documentation
• Every request and approval decision stored as an auditable record in a standard SharePoint list
• Real-time visibility of all active, pending, and historical approval requests for managers and administrators
• Configurable columns, categories, and workflow to match your organization's specific authorization requirements
• Free for all Ultimate Forms customers, installed automatically with a single click

Built on standard SharePoint lists

The Approval Request system is built entirely on standard SharePoint lists. There is no external data storage and no custom interface. All request and approval records stay inside your SharePoint environment, governed by your existing permissions and data policies. The system can be extended or adapted at any time in the browser by the administrator who manages the site.