G-Suite Users Can Now Get Doc Approval Requests!

Approval is a standard part of the workflow for many companies. Whether it's approving new versions of a crucial document or project or managing the endorsement of various stages in a development journey, a poor approval process can hold your entire business in limbo. Fortunately, as Google G-Suite adoption continues to spread among today's cloud users, Google is introducing new ways to make your workforce more productive and efficient.

The arrival of new tools in the G-Suite environment has addressed various problems lately, including secure emailing, and even the management of offline documents. Now, Google is introducing something new for people who need help with requesting and getting approval on their G-Suite slides, sheets, and documents.

The latest development from Google aims to replace the somewhat disjointed process of having to send a superior a draft or version of a project over email and have them confirm that the project is approved in the inbox. With the arrival of a new workflow functionality in Google Drive, authors will be able to request approval of Slides, Docs, and Sheets, either from multiple reviewers or a single manager. You can even add a due date to the project to let managers and administers know how quickly you need approval for a critical project.

Editors are notified via email when a document needs approval, and Google also automatically sends alerts when the deadline gets closer, to avoid people missing crucial project closing times. If action hasn't been taken after the deadline occurs, Google will also send yet another notification via Gmail.

Making Approval Easier to Access

In a wide variety of business environments, it's common for employees to need to request approval from a higher-up in their network. Google Drive, up until now, has never offered a simple way to keep a watch on who needed to offer approval for what. However, that has finally changed with the latest upgrade to the G-Suite portfolio. Today's G-Suite customers can now join a beta that allows them to request and review sheets, documents, slides, and other approvals. 

In simple terms, Google is offering companies an easier and more seamless way to prove that documents have been reviewed by specific people - which can be crucial for record and tracking purposes. The beta model of the solution allows user to request document approvals and review the permissions, as well as making notes on documents and slides as usual. 

If the person who needs approval on a document or project only designates one reviewer for the file, then the file can be classified as rejected or approved based on a single person's input. However, Google also provides a solution for cases wherein multiple reviewers might be necessary. If the file is sent to a range of reviewers, then all of the reviewers included on the file details will need to have approved the content before the file can be confirmed as "approved." The document will be rejected if any reviewer does not approve it.

Before You Begin Using G-Suite Approval

Getting approval for a G-Suite document or slide has never been easier. However, before you and your team rush off to try the Beta for yourself, it's worth making sure you know how the tool works. For instance, once a document is submitted into the approval process, the content of that file cannot be changed or edited until the confirmed editor unlocks it. However, reviewers will have the option to forward a document or assign tasks associated with that document to other parties.

For users who want to request a review, there's a new "Approvals" option available, which appears when you right click on the file. G-Suite also provides an email notification for editors that allows them to act on a file immediately, by clicking on their email. Editors can also leave notes in the preview pane of the slide or doc.

Domain administrators can apply for the Approval beta on Google Drive today. Unfortunately, only certain G-Suite accounts will be eligible. For instance, you can't use this feature if you're on a Basic or Free Google plan.

The new offering comes just after Google introduced their new offline saving mode for people who prefer to save versions of their documents and files on the Google Drive online. Testers are currently being accepted for the offline saving feature too.