Approve, Reject, Hold, Ping, Revoke: The Five Approval Actions
The five approval actions are Approve (advance the request), Reject (end it, with a recorded reason), Hold (pause it), Ping (remind the current approver), and Revoke (take back your own approval — without breaking the evidence).
Four decisions and one escalation path cover every situation a request can be in. This page is the complete reference — what each does, when to use it, and what each records. The product doc: Action Buttons.
The five, one by one
| Action | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Approve | Advances the request; at the final stage, marks it fully approved | The decision is sound — everything checks |
| Reject | Ends the request permanently; reason required and recorded | The answer is no — and the why matters for the record |
| Hold | Pauses the request — removes it from pending lists until resumed | Waiting on a missing page, a vendor answer, an external fact |
| Ping | Sends an urgent email reminder to the current stage's approver | The request is stuck and the timer's gone red |
| Revoke | Returns the request to your stage for re-evaluation; original decision and reason preserved: Smart Revoke | You approved by mistake — and the fix must stay honest |
What every action has in common
Each one lands on the audit trail the moment it's clicked: who, what, when, at which stage. There is no off-the-record action — which is precisely what makes the on-the-record ones trustworthy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Hold and Reject?
Hold pauses — the request stays alive, waiting on something, invisible in pending lists until resumed. Reject ends it permanently, with the reason recorded.
Can a rejected request be reopened?
No — rejection is final and permanent by design; the correct path is a new request, which then carries its own full history. Evidence that can be edited isn't evidence.
Approvdit's five actions each record instantly to the tamper-evident trail — decisions, pauses, reminders, and corrections all leave their fingerprints. Book a live demo.