Approving a request you were asked to sign off

Approving a request

Some tickets and changes can’t proceed until someone signs them off — a budget holder for a software purchase, a line manager for a leaver flow, a headteacher for an out-of-policy software install. If your name’s on that list, you’ll get an email when the request reaches your step.

What the email looks like

The email names the ticket and the requester, includes a short reason, and has two big buttons — Approve and Reject. Click whichever applies.

You don’t need to be signed into Keystone. The buttons carry a signed token that proves the email reached you and is valid for 30 days. After that the link expires and the agent needs to re-send.

The confirmation card

The button takes you to a one-screen confirmation page that shows the ticket subject and your intended decision, with a Confirm button. This is a deliberate speed bump — clicking a button in an email by accident shouldn’t commit you to a £5,000 software purchase.

There’s an optional comment box. If you’re rejecting, a one-line reason helps the agent understand what to change before re-asking. If you’re approving, it’s usually fine to leave blank.

Click Confirm. You’ll land on a thank-you screen.

What if the request has already been decided?

The confirmation card tells you. This can happen because someone else on the same step has already approved it, or because the requester withdrew the change. Your decision is silently ignored — no email goes out twice.

Gotchas

• The link is single-use per decision intent. If you click Approve and confirm, you can’t go back and reject. Talk to the agent if you change your mind.
• The email contains both Approve and Reject links. Don’t forward it — the next person could decide for you.
• Approvals don’t time out the ticket itself. If you ignore the email, the ticket sits at the approval step until you act or the agent escalates.

Related

• Approval chains