Asana approvals provide a decision point for a request or deliverable. Before introducing them, agree what needs approval, who should decide and what the team must do when the answer is a request for changes rather than permission to proceed.
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Check access and the meaning of the decision
Approvals are available on Advanced, Enterprise and Enterprise+, plus legacy Business and Legacy Enterprise. An incomplete approval is pending; completed outcomes are Approved, Changes requested or Rejected. Downgrading from Advanced or legacy Business removes approval features, and completed approvals appear as ordinary completed tasks. Approval availability and outcomes.
Illustrative example: a studio needs a client case study signed off before release. Define the decision narrowly: approval of the named text and design version for the stated destination. A vague instruction to “check everything” makes it difficult for the reviewer to know what they are agreeing to.
Record the acceptance conditions before choosing a workflow. For this example, the reviewer might need to confirm the wording, permitted images and intended publication location. These are suggested planning questions, not a substitute for the studio’s own requirements. Keep separate decisions separate when different people are responsible for them.
Create a request the reviewer can act on
To create an approval, use Add task and select Add approval, or open an existing task’s three-dot menu and choose Mark as Approval. Subtasks can also be approvals. Creating an approval task.
Asana recommends giving the approver instructions in the description, attaching the material and assigning an approver and due date. Preparing the approval request.
For the studio, identify the current version with an unambiguous filename or document link. State the question at the top of the request and explain where a response is expected. Check that the reviewer can open the material with their normal account. A beautifully structured task is unhelpful if its attachment is unavailable to the intended decision-maker.
Do not mistake assignment for exclusive authority
An approval can be completed by someone other than its assignee. Asana points to comment-only projects when only the assignee should approve. Check the actual project permissions before relying on assignment as a restriction. Who can complete an approval.
Agree a named decision-maker and a cover arrangement for absence. Rehearse access with harmless sample material and the roles that will actually participate. Do not use a live client file to discover who can see or change it. If the project is shared in several places, ask its owner to explain how the approval is meant to be controlled.
Make requested changes a real handover
Use comments to explain the decision. For visual material, proofing anchors comments on images or PDFs and creates actionable subtasks. If work needs changes or is not approved, Asana recommends returning it to the person responsible for revising it. Feedback and revision handovers.
For the case study, explain which passage or design element needs work and what would make the next version acceptable. Confirm who will revise it and when it will return for review. Do not let a completed task become a shorthand signal to publish without checking the recorded outcome. A request for changes should lead to a clear next action.
Connect approval to intake and repeatable delivery
Our Asana forms guide covers gathering the initial request. Receipt of a brief and approval of the finished work are different checkpoints. Keep the original purpose visible so a polished deliverable is not approved against the wrong request.
For repeated work, our Asana task templates guide explains reusable task structures. Include prompts for the current reviewer and version, rather than copying a previous client’s decision into a new job. Choose someone to maintain those instructions when real requests reveal ambiguity.
Rehearse before making sign-off routine
Use a harmless sample to walk through approval, requested changes and rejection. Check that the responsible person understands the outcome and can find the supporting comment. These are proposed checks, not reported Asana product tests. Record who may release the final work and what evidence they should inspect before doing so.
Sources reviewed 19 October 2026 against official vendor documentation. Examples and suggested rehearsal checks are illustrative, not reported product tests.
