Internal operations
Replacing an email approval chain with a two-click process
Mid-sized professional services firm
Problem
Purchase and time-off approvals travelled by email. Requests stalled with no visible owner, managers were chased in person, and nobody could say how long anything actually took.
Solution
A lightweight internal tool where a request is submitted once, routed automatically by amount and department, approved in two clicks from a phone, and logged permanently with full history.
Result
- 2 days
- average approval time, down from 9
- 100 %
- of requests with a visible owner
- 0
- lost or forgotten requests
Management gained a factual view of where time is spent, and staff stopped spending their week chasing answers.
Before — done by hand
- Send the email~3 min
- Chase the approver~12 min
- Ask where it stands~8 min
Typical time, every single time
~23 min
After — automated
0 days
average approval time, down from 9
0 %
of requests with a visible owner
0
lost or forgotten requests
Technical details
- Architecture
- State-machine driven workflow engine with role-based routing rules, immutable audit log, and notification fan-out.
- Technologies
- TypeScript · React · PostgreSQL
- Integrations & APIs
- Company SSO · Email and chat notifications · Payroll export
- AI / decision logic
- None required — the value came from clarity, not prediction.
- Deployment
- Single-tenant deployment with row-level access control and daily backups.
Does this sound like your business?
Tell me which process costs your team the most time and I will tell you honestly whether it can be removed.
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