Approval groups

An approval group is a named set of your dashboard users who review requests. You create groups under Settings → Organization → Approval Groups, then bind a group to a plan on the plan's Approvals tab. The plan's subscriptions then need approval, and the group's members are notified.

What is an approval group in Apiable?

An approval group is a named set of dashboard users who act as reviewers. On its own it decides nothing. It takes effect when a plan points at it, or when it is chosen in your portal's details.

A group holds a name and a list of members drawn from your organization's dashboard users. Its members are emailed about requests on the plans that use it, and they see Approve and Reject on those requests' pages.

How do you create an approval group?

Open Settings → Organization → Approval Groups, select + Add Group, name the group, and check the dashboard users to add. Saving stays disabled until the group has a name and at least one member.

1. In the dashboard, open Settings and select Approval Groups under the Organization group.
2. Select + Add Group.
3. Type a name in the Approval Group Name field.
4. In the members table, check each dashboard user to add. Use the select-all control to add everyone at once.
5. Save. Until the group has both a name and a member, the save button reads "At least one user is required" or "Approval Group Name is required" instead.

How do you assign an approval group to a plan?

Open the plan, go to its Approvals tab, and pick the group. The plan's subscriptions then need that group's approval. Choose No Approval Group to remove the requirement.

1. Open the plan and select the Approvals tab.
2. The tab lists No Approval Group, then each approval group with its member names.
3. Select the group that should review this plan's subscriptions.
4. Save the plan.

To create a group without leaving the plan, use the add option below the list. The new group is created and selected for the plan in one step.

Choosing a group needs the dashboard's product controls. Creating or editing a group from the plan also needs the Organisation Admin role.

What happens when a plan has an approval group?

The plan's subscriptions need the group's approval, and its members are emailed about them. Scope requests on the plan's subscriptions also go to the group.

A plan with an approval group cannot use auto-enrollment.

Can a plan use auto-enrollment and an approval group together?

No. They are mutually exclusive. While auto-enrollment is on, the plan's approval group list is disabled. While a group is set, the auto-enrollment switch on the Onboarding tab is disabled.

• To add an approval group, turn auto-enrollment off on the Onboarding tab first. The Approvals tab says "Approval group selection is disabled because auto-enrollment is active on this plan."
• To turn on auto-enrollment, set the plan to No Approval Group first. The Onboarding tab says "This plan requires subscription approval. Approval and auto-enrollment are mutually exclusive."
• Creating a group with the add option on the Approvals tab selects it for the plan and switches auto-enrollment off.

What if a plan has no approval group?

On a plan without a sandbox, new subscriptions need no approval. They become active at once, or go to payment first on a paid plan. On a sandbox plan, the move to production is still reviewed, whether or not the plan has a group.

Your portal can also name a Default Approval Group in Settings → Portal Settings → Portal details. It does not add approval to plans without a group. It is only emailed about scope requests, and about sandbox subscriptions submitted for production, on plans that have no group of their own. The dashboard describes it as "Currently used for scope grant requests."

Who can approve a request?

Members of the plan's approval group are emailed and see Approve and Reject on the subscription's own page. The Requests queue under Consumers is not limited to the group: dashboard users who open it can approve or decline pending requests there.

New API Portal registrations can wait for approval too. That group is chosen separately, as the registration approval group in Portal details. See Registration and details.

Who can manage approval groups?

Accounts with the Organisation Admin role, on a plan that includes approval groups. Apiable checks both on its server, and refuses creating, editing, or deleting a group otherwise.

Without the role, the page shows a banner, and + Add Group and the edit actions are disabled. See Members and roles.

What happens when you delete an approval group?

The group is deleted even if a plan or a portal setting still uses it. Plans that pointed at it keep requiring approval, and nobody sees Approve and Reject on their subscriptions' pages. Before you delete a group, move its plans to another group or to No Approval Group, and check Portal details.

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