Configuring stages and approvals

This is the setting that determines the sequence in which Products progress and what needs to be approved before moving on to each stage. Since this is the part where users get stuck the most when using the system for the first time, we recommend reading from here.

Distinguishing three similar names#

The three have an order. You create the slots, create the types of review, and then connect the two.

If you do not connect them, stages exist but can be passed through without any conditions. If you connect them, approval must be completed at that stage before moving on to the next.

1. Product stages: The path to take#

Projects → Product stages

When you create a project, six stages are automatically included.

You can freely change the names, add or remove stages, and configure them differently for each project.

Classifications are fixed to four types: Start, In progress, Completed, and On hold. Unlike names, they change how the stage behaves.

• Start: New Products start at the first stage with this classification. Reordering stages does not change where they start, because the category decides it.
• In progress: An intermediate stage.
• Completed: Reaching this stage puts the Product into the Confirmed state.
• On hold: Out of order. Adding or removing items does not require following a sequence or getting approvals.

Start, In progress, and Completed must each have at least one stage remaining, so you cannot delete the last remaining one. A stage in the On hold category does not have this restriction and can be deleted.

If the stage you are deleting holds Products, a confirmation screen appears on save and those Products move to the preceding stage before it is deleted. The very first stage cannot be deleted, because there is no preceding stage to move them to. A stage that still has approval items or stage movement history is not deleted outright; it drops to Archived stages and leaves the list.

Stages that open label requests#

In Edit product stages, you check whether each stage is one where label requests can begin. The default is only the Completed stage.

Once all required approvals are completed on the checked stages the Product has passed, labels can be requested. Approvals on checked stages not yet reached are not taken into account. If a checked stage has no required approvals, requests open simply by reaching it, and they stay open as the Product moves to later stages. Requests cannot be made from a stage in the On hold category.

Even when the stage conditions are met, requests are not possible unless label issuance is enabled in the Contract. The full set of conditions is laid out in Request and issue Label issuances.

2. Approval types: What is being reviewed#

Project → Approval types

Approval types are divided into two categories. The screen is also split into two sections.

Stage approval#

These are approvals that must be obtained before moving a product to the next stage. Six are provided by default. They are Concepts, Product design (AI), Package (AI), Mockup, Product sample, and Finished product.

Ad-hoc approval#

These are applications submitted separately when needed, regardless of the stage. Three are provided by default: Promotional materials, Overseas manufacturing, and Import permit. They do not block Product stages.

Settings per type#

Changes to the name, default stage, reviewer, and color, as well as deletions, are only applied when you click Save.

3. Stage-by-stage approval: Connecting the two#

This is the core of this setting. There are two places to connect, and each has a different meaning.

Apply to the entire project: Default application stage of approval types#

In the approval types screen, you select the Default application stage for each type. At the selected stage, that type becomes a mandatory approval.

• It is automatically applied to newly created Products. The moment a Product is registered, an approval item is created for it for each mandatory approval set at that time.
• It is also reflected in the stage-by-stage approvals of existing Products. When you take it off a stage, only the items not yet requested disappear; items already requested stay as review history.

For example, if you set the default application stage of Product Design (ai) to Design Draft, all Products in this project must receive Product Design approval at the Design Draft stage to move to the next stage.

Add or remove for a single Product: Stage-by-stage approval settings in Product details#

You can add or remove approval items only for that specific Product in the Product details. Use this for Products that need to be set differently from the project defaults. For example, remove Packaging (ai) from a Product that has no packaging, or add an item only to Products that require additional review. The IP Provider approver is the one who edits this; a Partner can only view the items on their own Products.

Items that have already been submitted cannot be removed because review history must be retained. Only items before submission can be removed.

Product Concepts also cannot be removed. This is a rule fixed by the product to ensure that Products do not proceed without concept approval, and it is displayed as First stage fixed on the approval types screen as well. This requirement sits on the first stage of the Start category. If reordering stages changes where products start, the requirement follows to the new starting stage — and a confirmation screen shows what will change before you save.

4. Rules of Product Movement#

To the next stage#

You can move only when all mandatory approvals for the current stage are completed. If even one remains, that stage appears inactive in the stage movement list with the label Current-stage approval needed. Only two decisions satisfy the condition: Approved and Conditionally approved. Revision needed and Rejected do not.

Once approvals are complete, the approval area displays Every approval this stage needs is complete., and you can send it directly to the next stage from that spot. It does not transition automatically. A human always sends it.

Skipping intermediate stages is free. The approval requirements on a skipped stage do not disappear, though: they stay as earlier-stage approvals, and you request and review them where they are, without moving the Product back.

To the previous stage#

Always free. Approvals do not matter.

To the completed stage#

Approvals for all preceding stages must be completed. Skipping intermediate stages is free, but the completed stage is the exception. Because it is the final stage, placing a Product there leaves no room to request remaining approvals.

The same applies to the IP Provider. Other stages move freely, but the completed stage requires remaining approvals to be finished. If those approvals are not needed for this Product, you can remove the item in Stage-by-stage approval settings.

The one who moves freely is the IP Provider approver. A project operator sets up stages and approval types and can move Products too, but takes the approval condition exactly as a Partner does. The role does not carry decision authority.

To on hold#

Because it is out of sequence, you can put it in and take it out at any time. Approvals left on an on-hold stage do not count toward the completed check, and they do not pile up as earlier-stage approvals either. The stage is also left out of the suggested next stage.

5. Tasks by Role#

IP Provider#

This is the configuring side.

1. In Projects → Product stages, modify the stages to fit the project.
2. In Projects → Approval types, determine the types and persons in charge, and set which stage's mandatory approval it will be as the Default application stage.
3. Review when a Partner applies. Decisions are made into four categories: Approved, Conditionally approved, Request for revision, and Rejected.
4. If a specific Product needs to be handled differently, add or remove items in the Step-by-step approval settings of that Product's details.

Partner#

This is the executing side.

1. Register Products. They start from the first stage of the Start category (Planning in the default setup).
2. Check the approvals required for this stage in the approval area of the Product details and apply.
3. Once all approvals are completed, send it to the next stage.
4. If a request for revision or rejection is received, review the reason and resubmit.

6. Troubleshooting#

The next stage is disabled and I don't know why. There are mandatory approvals in the current stage that are not yet finished. Hovering over the disabled item will show the reason, and the approval area will show which approvals are remaining.

Only the final stage does not work. There are unfinished approvals in preceding stages. You can skip intermediate stages, but the final stage requires all preceding approvals to be completed. If those approvals are not needed, remove them in Stage-by-stage approval settings.

I cannot remove an approval item. This happens in two cases. If the item has already been submitted, it cannot be removed because review history must be retained. If that stage has mandatory approvals and it is the only item left, it cannot be removed because at least one must remain. If it is further along, add another approval first, or remove that stage from the Default application stages of the approval type first.

I cannot delete an approval type. It is either a default type or currently used as an approval condition for a stage. If it is further along, remove it from Default application stages first.

I opened the stage-by-stage approval settings, but there are no types to choose from. You need to create approval types first. Go to Projects → Approval types. The order is to create the types first and then connect them.

What happens if I don't create any stage approval types at all? Products move freely between stages without any conditions. The approval type screen displays this state as is: There are no stage approval types. Products move freely between stages.

Related features#

• Apply for approval and review: Application, submission, review, re-submission, multi-step approval
• Register Products and advance stages: Stage movement, assignee assignment, view switching
• Upload Concepts and get Approved: When Concept approval is a prerequisite for Product progress
• Request and issue Label issuances: Stages that open label requests and request eligibility