Approval form templates: design, budget, project and purchase

Muhammad Khawaja
Muhammad Khawaja
Updated

An approval form is a structured request plus a recorded decision. A good approval form format has five parts: what is being approved (with a version or reference), who is asking, the details the approver needs to decide (cost, dates, scope, files), the decision itself (approved, approved with changes, or not approved) with reasons, and a signature and date. Get those right and you replace long email threads with one clear record of who approved what, and when.

This guide gives ready structures for the approval forms teams use most (design, website, client project, project proposal, budget, content and purchase), then covers approval logic, signatures, and how to route results to the right people.

Two kinds of approval forms

Before picking a template, decide which kind you need, because the person filling it in is different:

  • Request for approval: the requester fills it in and an approver decides later. Budget requests, project proposals and purchase requests work this way. The form has to give the approver everything they need so they do not have to ask follow-up questions.
  • Sign-off form: the approver fills it in to record a decision on something that already exists. Design approvals, client milestone sign-offs and content approvals work this way. The form has to make the decision and the required changes unambiguous.

Many processes use both: a request form to start, and a short decision form for the approver.

The approval form format: fields every template needs

Field Why it matters
Item or project name So the record can be found later
Version, round or reference number Prevents approving the wrong file or an outdated draft
Requester or reviewer details Who asked, who decided, and how to reach them
Key details (amount, dates, scope, files) What the decision is based on
Decision: approved / approved with changes / not approved Three options cover real life better than yes or no
Changes or conditions Exactly what must happen before it counts as approved
Reasons (for rejection or conditions) So the requester can fix it and resubmit
Deadline or urgency When the decision or the changes are needed
Signature and date A clear record of who approved and when

Everything else depends on the type of approval.

Approval form templates by type

Design approval form

For graphic design, packaging, ads, brand assets and any creative work signed off in rounds. The reviewer records a decision, lists changes and signs.

Structure, as in the design approval form template:

  1. Project or design name
  2. Version or round
  3. Reviewer details
  4. Decision: approved as is, approved with changes, not approved
  5. What needs to change (shown only when changes are needed)
  6. Marked-up files (upload)
  7. How urgent the changes are: can wait for the next round, needed this week, blocking launch
  8. Signature to confirm the decision

Tip: ask for one consolidated set of changes per reviewer per round. If three stakeholders review, send each their own link and merge the feedback before the next round, rather than letting changes arrive in pieces.

Website design approval form

Website approvals need feedback per page and a clear go-live decision. The website design approval form template asks the client to rate the overall look and how easy the site is to navigate, pick which pages need changes (or "none, all approved"), describe the changes, attach annotated screenshots, and answer whether you can move to the next stage: yes, yes after the changes, or let's talk first. It ends with a signature.

Send it at each milestone (wireframes, design, staging site) so the client signs off one stage before you build the next. If you are still at the brief stage, the website design intake form guide covers what to ask first.

Client project approval form

Agencies and freelancers use this to get sign-off on a proposal, a milestone deliverable, a change request or the final delivery. The client project approval form template asks what is being approved, the milestone name, the approver's details, the decision (approved, approved with conditions, not approved), conditions or reasons, a satisfaction rating, and a signature.

A signed milestone approval is useful when a client later asks for changes to work they already accepted, and it is a natural point to send the invoice for that milestone.

Project approval form

For internal project proposals: someone wants to start a project and needs leadership to say yes. The project approval form template collects:

  1. Who is proposing it and which team
  2. Project name
  3. The problem it solves and the goal
  4. Estimated budget
  5. Proposed start and target completion dates
  6. Resources needed: staff time, contractors, software, equipment, training
  7. Main risks or dependencies
  8. Priority: low, medium, high, critical
  9. A proposal or business case attachment (optional)

Approvers can then record their decision in a short sign-off form (see the routing section below).

Budget approval form

A budget approval request needs enough detail for the approver to compare the spend against alternatives. The budget approval request form template asks:

  1. Requested by, and department or cost center
  2. What the budget is for
  3. Amount requested
  4. One-off, monthly or yearly
  5. Cost breakdown
  6. What happens if it is not approved
  7. Alternatives considered
  8. When the money is needed
  9. Quotes or invoices (upload)

The two questions people skip in email, "what happens if not approved" and "what alternatives did you consider", are what make a budget request easy to decide.

Content approval form

For blog posts, social posts, campaigns, press releases and anything that needs legal or brand review before publishing. There is no dedicated template, but the design approval template adapts well. Use this structure:

  1. Content title and link to the draft
  2. Content type and channel (blog, social, email, ad, press release)
  3. Planned publish date
  4. Review type: brand and tone, factual accuracy, legal or compliance
  5. Decision: approved, approved with edits, not approved
  6. Required edits (shown on "with edits" or "not approved")
  7. Signature

Put the draft link in a hidden field (see below) so the reviewer does not have to paste it.

Purchase approval form

A purchase request asks to buy something specific; a budget request asks for money for a purpose. Start from the budget approval request template and change the questions to:

  1. Requested by, department or cost center
  2. Item or service and vendor
  3. Quantity and unit cost
  4. Total cost (the requester enters it; FlowyForm has no calculated price fields, so ask for the total as a number)
  5. Business reason
  6. Needed by
  7. Quotes attached
  8. Preferred vendor or alternatives

For small, routine purchases, a lighter expense reimbursement form after the fact may be all you need. For a wider set of request forms (service, IT, resources), see our request form templates guide.

Approval logic: show only what applies

Conditional logic keeps approval forms short and makes the answers cleaner. Useful rules:

  • Branch on the decision. If the answer is "approved as is", go straight to the signature. If it is "approved with changes" or "not approved", ask what needs to change or why first.
  • Ask for more justification above a threshold. If the amount is greater than 5,000, show an extra question asking for the business case or a second quote.
  • Different endings for different outcomes. A rejection can end on a screen that explains how to resubmit; an approval can end on a screen that explains the next step.
  • Use hidden fields for context. Put the project name, round, request ID or draft link in the form URL, for example ?project=spring-campaign&round=2. The values are stored with the response and can be used in logic, so reviewers never have to type them.
  • Recall earlier answers. Repeat the item name or amount in the decision question ("Do you approve the 4,800 request for the new CRM seats?") so the approver knows exactly what they are signing.

Signatures on approval forms

A drawn signature at the end of an approval form gives you a clear record of who approved and when, stored with the rest of the response. In FlowyForm, the signature block lets the approver sign with a mouse or finger, which works well on phones and tablets for clients who review on the go. See collecting digital signatures in your forms for the setup.

Electronic signatures are accepted for many business approvals, but legal requirements vary by country and document type. Internal and client approvals are usually fine as form signatures. For contracts or documents that need a certified signing process, use a dedicated e-signature tool. Our guide to forms with electronic signatures explains the difference.

Routing results to the right people

An approval form is only useful if the right person sees each submission and the decision gets back to the requester. FlowyForm records requests and decisions but does not have a built-in multi-step approval engine (assigning approvers, chaining approval levels, chasing late approvers). Here are the patterns that work, from simplest to most automated.

Notify the approver directly

Turn on the email notification for each response, or post every submission to the approvers' Slack channel. The approver reads the request and replies. This works for small teams with one approver.

Two forms: request and decision

Use a request form for the requester and a short decision form for the approver. When a request arrives in Slack or email, the approver opens the decision form through a link that carries the request ID in a hidden field, picks approved, approved with changes or not approved, adds reasons and signs. Both forms send rows to the same Google Sheet, so you can match requests and decisions by ID.

Google Sheets as the approval log

Connect Google Sheets so every request becomes a row, and add columns for status, approver, decision date and notes. Filter views give each approver their pending items. This is often the cheapest way to get a shared, searchable approval history.

Webhooks into an approval workflow tool

For multi-level approvals, use a webhook to send each submission as JSON to an automation tool and build the approval steps there. Microsoft Power Automate, for example, has approval actions that let approvers approve or reject from their email inbox, and Zapier, Make or n8n can route a request based on its amount or department. The webhook guide shows how to set this up.

If your process needs several approval levels, automatic reminders, escalations and a formal audit trail for every step, a dedicated approval workflow tool or the approval features in your finance or project management software may fit better than a form builder. FlowyForm is a good front end for collecting clear requests and sign-offs; it is not a full workflow engine.

Best practices for approval forms

  • One decision per form. Do not bundle "approve the design and the budget" into one submission.
  • Always include a version or round, so nobody approves an old file.
  • Offer "approved with changes". Forcing yes or no leads to approvals with side conversations attached.
  • Make changes specific. Ask "what exactly needs to change?" and ask for marked-up files.
  • Set a decision deadline and put it in the request.
  • Decide in advance who can approve what (for example, managers up to a set amount, finance above it) and write it on the form.
  • Keep the record. Export responses to CSV or keep the Google Sheet as your history.

How to build an approval form in FlowyForm

  1. Pick the closest template: design approval, website design approval, client project approval, project approval or budget approval request.
  2. Edit the decision options and add logic so change and reason questions appear only when needed.
  3. Add hidden fields for the project, round or request ID, and include them in the links you send.
  4. Keep the signature block at the end of sign-off forms.
  5. Connect Google Sheets for the approval log, plus Slack or email notifications for approvers, or a webhook if you are building steps in an automation tool.
  6. Share the link, or embed the form in your client portal or intranet.

All of this, including logic, signatures and integrations, works on the free plan. Premium adds respondent confirmation emails, so clients get an email confirming their decision was received, and custom domains if you want approval links on your own domain.

FAQ

What is an approval form?

An approval form is a document or online form used to request permission for something (a budget, project or purchase) or to record a decision on finished work (a design, content or deliverable). It captures what is being approved, who decided, the decision, any conditions, and a signature and date.

What should an approval form include?

The item or project name, a version or reference, the requester or reviewer, the details needed to decide (cost, dates, scope, files), a decision with three options (approved, approved with changes, not approved), changes or reasons, a deadline, and a signature with the date.

How do I create an approval form?

Start from a template that matches your approval type, keep the questions to what the approver needs, add logic so reasons and changes appear only when relevant, add a signature, and connect the results to email, Slack or Google Sheets so approvers see each request.

Can an approval form include an electronic signature?

Yes. A signature block lets the approver draw their signature, which is stored with the response. This suits internal and client approvals; for contracts or documents with specific legal requirements, use a dedicated e-signature tool.

How do I send an approval form to multiple approvers?

Send each approver their own link (with a hidden field for their role or the request ID) and collect decisions in one Google Sheet. For sequential approvals where the second approver only sees requests the first approved, use a webhook into an automation tool with approval steps.

What is the difference between an approval form and an approval workflow?

The form is where the request and decision are captured. The workflow is the routing around it: who gets notified, in what order, and what happens after each decision. Simple workflows can run on notifications and a shared sheet; complex ones need an automation or workflow tool.