Approvals Excel Alternative

Your Approvals database at a glance

This template centralizes internal submissions, reviewer assignments, and decision statuses into a structured workflow. It eliminates scattered email threads and missed handoffs by keeping every review visible in one location.

Key tables for Users, Departments, Approval Requests, and Comments link together seamlessly. Requesters are paired with their department heads and designated approvers, while discussion records attach directly to the specific request.

Integrated Database AI agents automatically classify request categories from descriptions and evaluate the sentiment of reviewer feedback.

When approval requests live across disconnected workbooks

Managing sign-offs across workbook copies creates confusion. An attached workbook sent for sign-off quickly forks into multiple versions, leaving managers guessing whether an expense or access request was actually approved or who holds the final decision.

Sharing whole workbooks also means sensitive budget items and internal feedback become visible to everyone who receives the file.

What a structured database changes

In a structured database, every submission is a dedicated record tied to real users and departments. Columns enforce strict types, ensuring review statuses, timestamps, and linked approvers remain accurate.

Instead of copy-pasting feedback into new tabs, comments link directly to the parent request while rollups tally activity automatically. This is exactly what Softr Databases are designed for.

While Softr can connect an online Excel file as a live data source, moving to a native database gives your team a reliable backend built for scale.

What you can do with this template

Assign requests to specific managers, monitor changes across states like Pending Review or Needs Changes, and track complete audit trails without broken formulas.

Built-in AI auto-categorizes incoming items into types such as Budget Expense or Tool Access so approvers can prioritize reviews immediately.

Who is this Approvals database for

This template is designed for operational teams needing clear oversight on incoming requests:

• Department heads: Review and sign off on budget items or team resource needs without chasing email updates.
• Operations managers: Standardize submission criteria across departments and maintain clear audit logs.
• IT and facilities leads: Handle hardware and tool access requests with structured routing and clear ownership.
• Team members: Submit requests quickly and track review status transparently from submission to sign-off.

How to take it further

Customize your workflow by adjusting status options, adding custom approval thresholds, or creating new classification categories in the native database.

Bring in historical review data using CSV import to preserve past records, or sync ongoing data automatically via API.

When ready, you can build an app on top of your database using Softr's AI Co-Builder. Generate custom employee portals and manager review dashboards from a single prompt, then refine the layout visually. With granular users and permissions, requesters see only their submitted items while approvers access only the tasks assigned to them.