Approvals are a critical component in the deal lifecycle to ensure compliance, oversight, and accountability. Deal Manager supports configurable approval workflows at both the company and property levels. These approvals are only automatically triggered if defined criteria are met and the necessary configuration is in place.
Overview of Approval Configuration
Approval requirements can be configured at three levels:
Company Level
Property Level
Deal Level (ad hoc)
Configuration allows organizations to ensure approvals are enforced at specific stages of a deal or proposal, with varying complexity and criteria tailored to business needs.
Setting Up Approval Requirements
To configure a new approval requirement:
Navigate to either the Company or Property level settings.
Click the Add New button (top right).
Enter the necessary approval rule details:
Key Configuration Fields
Enabled: Toggle this to activate/deactivate the rule.
Auto Advance Stage Gate: Automatically advances the deal to the next stage upon approval.
Stage Gate: Defines the specific stage requiring approval (e.g., Proposal, Lease Negotiation, Executed).
Allow All Users to Edit Proposal after Approval: Overrides user role restrictions, enabling universal edit access post-approval.
Order: Determines the sequence of approvers (e.g., 0 = first).
Deal Type: Applies rule to specific deal types like New, Expansion, or Relocation.
Lease Type: Filters by lease type (e.g., NET, Gross).
Transaction Type: Includes options such as Landlord Lease, Tenant Rep Lease, Sale, or Fee.
Industry: Filters by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).
Add Agents as Approvers: Automatically includes assigned leasing agents as approvers.
Defining Approvers
Approvers are the users or roles required to review and approve deals or proposals.
Approver Types
Users: Specific user IDs that must approve.
Roles: Entire user roles included as approvers.
Attributes: Property attributes matched to Deal Manager usernames.
Agent-Based Approvals
Leasing agents assigned to deals can be approvers via:
Users: Specific leasing agents.
Roles: Groups of agents based on roles.
If multiple approvers are set up on a single approval step, only one of the defined users need to approve the step for it to be completed. If multiple users need to approve on a certain stage gate, then multiple approval requirement steps will need to be created.
Watchers
Watchers are non-approving users who are notified at each approval step.
Users: Individuals to receive notifications.
Roles: Groups of users who should stay informed.
Attributes: Uses property attributes to assign watchers.
Combined Email Option
Enabled: All parties receive a single email (Approvers in “To”, Watchers in “CC”).
Disabled: Separate emails sent individually.
Approval Messaging and Logic
Approval Language: Custom text included in approval notification emails.
Check Criteria: Choose whether any or all selected criteria must be met to trigger the approval.
Approval Criteria
Approval workflows can be triggered based on any of the following metrics:
Category | Criteria |
Area & Rent | Deal square footage, Initial Rent, Annual Net Rent, Total Rent (incl. expenses), Year 1 Rent (incl. costs) |
Financials | TI Allowance, Breakeven %, Initial Cost, NER, IRR, Total Commission, Transaction Costs, Security Deposit |
Rent Schedule | Escalation %, Free Rent months |
Variance Metrics | Acceptable Variance Range: Budgeted/Market/Benchmark Rent, NER, IRR, TI |
Each metric can be set with specific thresholds. Approvals will only be triggered if values fall within (or outside) the defined parameters.
Approval Levels Explained
Company Level Approvals
Use this level to set global approvers that apply to all properties:
Required: User must have the Access to all Properties and Is Verified flags enabled.
Property Level Approvals
Use this for property-specific workflows:
Required: User must have access to the specific property or property list and Is Verified status.
Deal Level Approvals
Approvals will only be automatically applied if criteria match company or property-level rules. However, with correct user role permissions, you can:
Add ad hoc approvers
Modify the approval workflow manually within a deal
Conclusion
Configuring approval workflows effectively ensures that deal reviews are timely, compliant, and in line with business objectives. Whether managed globally or by property, the flexibility of the system allows precise control over who must approve what, when, and under what conditions.
If you need help with setting up approval thresholds or criteria, feel free to refer to your system’s Company Settings or reach out to your Deal Manager administrator.