# Guard a business record with an approval

Require an approval before a record of another app reaches a locked state, such as a product becoming sellable, and ask for that approval from the record itself.

A request type of the kind **Business document** puts an approval in front of the records of another model. It names the **Records That Need Approval**, the states those records reach only with a valid approval (**Locked Until Approved**), and the values the approval covers (**Fields Locked After Approval**). The check runs on the server at every change a user makes, from a form, an import or another app. The demo type **Heavy Equipment Price Approval** lets heavy equipment priced from 50,000 become sellable only at an approved price.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- You need the **Administrator** access right on **Approval** and the right to edit records of the model you guard.
- Only a system administrator may check **Automatic Changes** too, or choose the actions that run after the decision.
- Technical models, such as users, companies, currencies and settings, cannot be guarded.

## Set up the rule {#rule}

1. Open **Approval/Configuration/Request Types**, click **New**, name the type and choose the **Kind** **Business document**.
2. In the **Steps** tab, add at least one step ([Configure a request type](configure-an-approval-type)); **Person on the document** asks someone the record names. In the **Request Form** tab only **Attachments** and **Requester Signature** count.
3. In the **Document Rule** tab, choose the **Model** and write the **Action Being Approved**, the words every message uses. **Check Approval** is **When entering and on every later change** or **Only when entering**. **Applies to Members of** checks only the changes some groups make, and **Offer in the List Action Menu** adds **Ask for Approval** to the **Actions** menu of the model's list.
![The model, the action being approved, when the approval is checked and whether automatic changes are checked too.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17624-2a60d6d0/approvals-guard-a-business-record-document_rule-en.png)
4. Set **Records That Need Approval** and **Locked Until Approved**, and pick the **Fields Locked After Approval**. Never lock a value that the action being approved sets itself, or a status. **After Approval** and **After Rejection** can run an action of the same model after the decision.
![Heavy equipment from 50,000 needs an approval before it can be sold, and the approval covers the sales price.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17628-26126a52/approvals-guard-a-business-record-rule_domains-en.png)
5. Save. The type now reads **Not guarding yet**; before the first save, the new form shows **Guarding** by mistake. When records already sit in the locked states, a warning counts them: with **When entering and on every later change**, their next change will need an approval.
![Stopped, the type reads Not guarding yet and offers Start Guarding.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17648-cc7b276d/approvals-guard-a-business-record-not_guarding-en.png)
6. Click **Start Guarding** and confirm with **Ok**. A rule that cannot work is refused with the reason; otherwise the type reads **Guarding**.
![Starting asks for a confirmation; from then on a record that needs approval cannot reach the locked states without one.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17652-0106279f/approvals-guard-a-business-record-start_confirm-en.png)

On a phone, the dialog fills the screen.

![A business document type that guards products; it is guarding now.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17620-6426e859/approvals-guard-a-business-record-guarding_type-en.png)

## What users see on the record {#on-the-record}

Every record the type applies to shows an approval panel atop its form; this product has no approval yet:

![The approval panel on a guarded product that has no approval yet.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17632-b78924ac/approvals-guard-a-business-record-panel_needed-en.png)

Reaching the locked states without an approval is refused, with the record, the type and the action in the message:

![Making the product sellable without an approval is refused, with the type and the button to use.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17636-976b9b73/approvals-guard-a-business-record-save_refused-en.png)

On a phone, the dialog fills the screen.

**Ask for Approval** opens a dialog with a title, a priority, a note for the approvers and attachments; **Send for Review** starts the request ([Decide a request](decide-a-request)).

![The Ask for Approval dialog, with a title, a note for the approvers and attachments.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17638-31c7a625/approvals-guard-a-business-record-ask_dialog-en.png)

On a phone, the dialog fills the screen.

Under review, the panel shows the open steps and their approvers, an approver finds **Accept** and **Decline** in it, and the locked fields cannot change.

![A product under review; the panel shows the open step and its approver.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17640-71f255b7/approvals-guard-a-business-record-panel_review-en.png)

Once approved, the record may reach the locked states. Changing a locked field afterwards outdates the approval: the panel names the field and offers **Ask Again**. With **When entering and on every later change**, that change is refused while the record sits in the locked states; outside them it passes, and entering them needs a new approval.

![The price changed after the approval, so the approval no longer matches and a new one is needed.](https://jaah.app/web/image/17644-7f6f41c5/approvals-guard-a-business-record-panel_outdated-en.png)

## FAQ {#faq}

### A save is refused for lack of an approved request. What do I do? {#refused}

Discard the change, click **Ask for Approval**, and make the change once the request is approved.

### Do approvers need rights on the record? {#rights}

No. The **Document Snapshot** tab of the request shows them the locked values as they were when it was sent.

### How do I withdraw an approval already given? {#revoke}

A supervisor opens the request and chooses **Cancel Request** with a reason. The record then needs a new approval; an action already run **After Approval** is not undone.

### How do I stop guarding? {#stop}

Click **Stop Guarding**. The panel disappears; the requests and their history stay.

### What if a guarded record is deleted? {#deleted}

Deleting is not blocked. Its requests are marked, and those still open are cancelled.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/approvals/guard-a-business-record
- Updated: 2026-11-01
- Version: Approval 19.0.1.0.0
- Verified: 2026-11-01