Most approval processes live in people's heads or buried in a wiki paragraph: "send it to your manager, and if it's over $5,000 it also needs finance." That ambiguity is exactly why requests stall. An approval process flowchart turns those unwritten rules into a diagram anyone can follow.
This guide walks through how to map one, using a real request-to-sign-off flow as the example. For the format basics, see What Is a Flowchart? and the flowchart symbols guide.
What an Approval Flowchart Shows
A good approval flowchart answers three questions that plain text usually leaves vague:
- Who reviews the request, and in what order?
- What happens when the request is incomplete or gets rejected?
- Where does an approved request actually end up?
The second question is the one most people forget. A linear "submit → approve → done" diagram isn't an approval flow — it's a wish. Real approvals have rejection loops, and showing them is the whole point.
Step by Step
Here is the flow our approval flowchart template maps, which you can use as a model for your own:
1. Start — submit request. The process begins when someone submits a request: a purchase, a content draft, a budget, a contract.
2. Completeness check (decision). "Info complete?" If No, the request goes to a Revise request step and loops back — nobody should review an incomplete request. If Yes, it moves forward.
3. Manager review. The first approval stage. The reviewer evaluates the complete request.
4. Approval decision (decision). "Approved?" This is the core branch:
- Yes → Process and file → Approved (end state)
- No → loops back to Revise request so the requester can address the feedback and resubmit
5. End states. The flow has two clear terminators: Approved (request processed and filed) and the implicit rejection loop that sends work back rather than dropping it.
That loop-back on rejection is what makes this a flowchart and not a checklist. Open the flowchart maker with this template to see how the rejection arrow routes back to the revision step.
Common Mistakes
No rejection path. If your diagram only shows the happy path, it's documenting what you hope happens, not the process. Every approval decision needs a "No" branch.
Unlabeled decision exits. Every diamond exit needs a label — "Yes / No", "Approved / Rejected". An unlabeled branch forces the reader to guess.
Skipping the completeness check. Sending incomplete requests into review wastes reviewers' time. A quick "Info complete?" gate up front catches this.
Too many approval layers. If a request passes through five sequential approvers, the diagram (and the process) becomes a bottleneck. The flowchart often makes over-engineered approval chains obvious — which is a good reason to draw it.
When to Use a Swimlane Instead
If your approval crosses several departments — requester, manager, finance, legal — a swimlane layout makes the handoffs clearer by giving each party its own lane. For a single-team approval, the standard flowchart above is simpler and faster to read.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an approval process flowchart?
An approval process flowchart is a diagram that shows how a request moves from submission through review to a final decision, including what happens when information is missing or the request is rejected.
How do you show rejection in an approval flowchart?
Use a decision diamond like "Approved?" with a "No" branch that loops back to a "Revise request" step. The revised request then re-enters review.
Ready to map your own? Start from the approval flowchart template — it loads with the request, review, and rejection-loop structure already in place, no signup required.
Related Reading
- Types of Flowcharts — process, swimlane, and more
- Approval flowchart examples — real layouts to copy
- Flowchart Symbols Guide — every shape explained
- How to Make a Flowchart — the general tutorial
