Automate Team Approvals in Google Workspace – A Quick Guide for Busy Managers

You’ve got a mountain of requests coming at you every day – budget sign‑offs, vacation forms, project kick‑offs. If you’re like most managers, you spend more time clicking “Approve” than actually doing the work you hired for. That’s why the latest post on Workspace Wizardry shows you a simple way to let Google Workspace do the heavy lifting.

Why Automation Matters Right Now

The pandemic taught us that remote work isn’t going away. Teams are spread out, time zones clash, and email threads get lost in the shuffle. When approvals get delayed, projects stall and morale drops. A few minutes of setup in Google Workspace can save you hours each week. And the best part? You don’t need to be a coder – just a bit of curiosity and a willingness to click a few buttons.

What You’ll Need

• A Google Workspace account with admin rights (or at least permission to create Google Forms and use Google Apps Script).
• A basic Google Form that collects the info you need for the approval.
• A Google Sheet that stores the form responses.
• A little time – about 30 minutes total.

If any of those sound unfamiliar, don’t worry. Workspace Wizardry has walked you through each of these tools before, so you already have the basics.

Step 1: Build a Simple Approval Form

1. Go to Google Forms (forms.google.com) and click Blank.

2. Title the form “Team Project Approval” – keep it clear.

3. Add the fields you need:

   • Project Name (short answer)
   • Owner (short answer)
   • Budget Requested (number)
   • Justification (paragraph)

4. Turn on Collect email addresses at the top right. This lets you know who submitted the request.

5. Click Send, copy the link, and paste it into a Slack channel or an email template you already use.

That’s it. Your team now has a single place to drop requests instead of scattering them across inboxes.

Step 2: Link the Form to a Google Sheet

When you’re still in the Form editor, click the Responses tab, then the green Sheets icon. Choose Create a new spreadsheet and name it “Project Approvals”. All new submissions will automatically appear here.

Step 3: Add an Apps Script to Send Approval Emails

1. Open the Google Sheet you just created.
2. Click Extensions > Apps Script. A new tab opens with a blank script editor.
3. Delete any starter code and paste the following (it’s only about 30 lines):

function sendApprovalEmail(e) {
  // e is the event object that contains the new row data
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
  var row = e.range.getRow();
  var data = sheet.getRange(row, 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn()).getValues()[0];

  var projectName = data[1]; // adjust index if you added columns
  var ownerEmail = data[2];
  var budget = data[3];
  var justification = data[4];
  var submitter = data[5]; // email collected automatically

  var managerEmail = "[email protected]"; // change to your address

  var subject = "Approval Needed: " + projectName;
  var body = "Hi Manager,\n\n" +
    "A new project request needs your approval.\n\n" +
    "Project: " + projectName + "\n" +
    "Owner: " + ownerEmail + "\n" +
    "Budget: $" + budget + "\n\n" +
    "Justification:\n" + justification + "\n\n" +
    "To approve, reply to this email with the word APPROVE.\n" +
    "To reject, reply with REJECT.\n\n" +
    "Submitted by: " + submitter;

  MailApp.sendEmail(managerEmail, subject, body);
}

4. Save the script as “ApprovalNotifier”.
5. Click the clock icon (Triggers) on the left, then Add Trigger. Set it to run sendApprovalEmail on From spreadsheet → On form submit. Save.

Now, every time someone fills out the form, you’ll get an email with all the details and a simple “reply with APPROVE or REJECT” instruction.

Step 4: Let the Manager Reply to Approve or Reject

You might think you need a fancy workflow tool, but a plain email reply works fine for most small teams. Here’s how to make it automatic:

1. In the same Apps Script project, add another function:

function processReply(e) {
  var message = e.mail.getPlainBody().trim().toUpperCase();
  var thread = e.mail.getThread();
  var subject = thread.getFirstMessageSubject();

  // Extract project name from subject line
  var projectName = subject.replace("Approval Needed: ", "");

  // Find the row in the sheet that matches the project name
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName("Project Approvals");
  var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();

  for (var i = 1; i < data.length; i++) {
    if (data[i][1] == projectName) { // column B holds project name
      if (message == "APPROVE") {
        sheet.getRange(i + 1, 7).setValue("Approved"); // column G for status
        MailApp.sendEmail(data[i][5], "Your project is approved", "Good news! Your project \"" + projectName + "\" is approved.");
      } else if (message == "REJECT") {
        sheet.getRange(i + 1, 7).setValue("Rejected");
        MailApp.sendEmail(data[i][5], "Your project is rejected", "Sorry, your project \"" + projectName + "\" was rejected. Check the justification and try again.");
      }
      break;
    }
  }
}

2. Save, then add another trigger: From Gmail → On new email → processReply. Choose the Gmail account you used for the manager email.

Now the manager just replies, and the script updates the Google Sheet and notifies the requestor. No extra clicks.

Step 5: Keep an Eye on the Dashboard

Back in the “Project Approvals” sheet, add a simple filter view to show only rows where column G (Status) is blank. Those are the pending items. You can also create a quick chart that counts Approved vs Rejected – a visual that fits nicely on a dashboard tab.

Workspace Wizardry loves these tiny dashboards because they give you a snapshot without opening a dozen emails.

Quick Tips from Workspace Wizardry

• Name your columns clearly – it saves you from hunting down the right index number in the script.
• Test with a dummy request before you roll it out to the whole team. A single typo in the email address can cause the whole flow to stop.
• Use Gmail filters to label manager replies. That way you can see at a glance which approvals are still pending.
• Don’t forget to set script permissions. The first time you run a script, Google will ask you to allow access to Gmail and Sheets. Click “Allow” – otherwise nothing will happen.
• Add a “Notes” column for any extra comments the manager might want to add later.

When to Keep It Simple

If your team is huge or you need multi‑level approvals (e.g., manager → finance → legal), the basic script can get messy. In that case, Workspace Wizardry recommends looking at Google Cloud’s “Workflows” or a dedicated tool like Zapier. But for most small‑to‑medium teams, the steps above are more than enough.

Wrap‑Up

Automation doesn’t have to be scary. With a few clicks in Google Forms, Sheets, and Apps Script, you can turn a chaotic email chain into a tidy, trackable process. As a busy manager, you’ll get back minutes every day – minutes you can spend on strategy, not on chasing approvals.

Give this a try next week. If you hit a snag, swing by Workspace Wizardry and check out the other guides on Google Workspace tricks. You’ll be surprised how many little time‑savers are hiding in the tools you already use.