Cin7 Core has an "Awaiting Approval" status on sales orders that a lot of teams either ignore or use the wrong way. Used properly, it is the difference between a clean approval workflow and a pile of orders that everyone assumes someone else is checking. Here is what it is, when to use it, and how to wire it into your day-to-day.
What "Awaiting Approval" actually is
It is a sales order status that sits between Draft and Authorised. The order is fully captured but cannot progress to picking, packing, or invoicing until someone with approval rights signs it off.
It exists because not every order should auto-flow. Discounted orders, large orders, credit-risk customers, and overrides on standard pricing all benefit from a second pair of eyes before stock leaves the warehouse.
When to actually use it
- Orders above a dollar threshold (e.g. anything over $5,000)
- Orders with manual price overrides
- Orders with discounts above an agreed limit
- Customers on stop or with overdue debtor balances
- First orders from new customers
- Orders that draw on stock you do not yet have (deep backorders)
If you flag everything for approval, the queue becomes noise and the approver rubber-stamps. Pick three or four real triggers and stick to them.
How to set it up
- Define who can approve. In Settings → Users & Roles, give the approver role the "Authorise Sales" permission. Strip it from the sales reps who raise the orders.
- Decide the trigger rule. Cin7 Core does not auto-route to Awaiting Approval based on order value out of the box — sales reps set the status manually, or you build the rule into a Make.com / Zapier scenario that watches new orders and flips the status when conditions are met.
- Use the filter. The approver opens the Sales list, filters Status = Awaiting Approval, and works the queue daily. Same as how Xero approvers work the "Awaiting Approval" bills queue.
- Notify on creation. A simple webhook to Slack, Teams, or email when a sales order hits Awaiting Approval keeps it from sitting unread.
The three mistakes we see
- No-one owns the queue. Awaiting Approval is set up but nobody is the named approver. Orders sit there for days. Customers chase. Fix: assign one approver, name a backup, and put the queue on the approver’s daily checklist.
- Approvers cannot see why. The approver opens the order and has no idea why it was flagged. Fix: use the order Notes field for a one-line reason ("manual price override", "new customer, no credit check yet").
- Sales reps work around it. If approval is slow, reps will start authorising their own orders by changing roles, or they will split a $6k order into two $3k ones. Fix: same-day SLA on the approval queue, and a monthly check that nobody is splitting orders.
What to pair it with
- Credit limits set on customer records, so the approver sees the customer is already at limit before authorising.
- Stock allocation rules, so backordered stock is not promised to two customers at once.
- A simple dashboard showing average time in Awaiting Approval — if it creeps past 24 hours, the workflow is broken.
We configure Cin7 Core approval workflows for clients — including the Make.com scenarios that auto-route orders by value, customer, or discount. Book a 15-minute call if you want one in place this month.
