Short Circuit an Approval (Revert to Previous Status)

There is an option to change the current status of an approval request such that it reverts to its previous status. In CivilPro Cloud, this is known as Short Circuit an Approval and can happen for various reasons, for example, an approval has been rejected in error and needs to be rectified. 

Although you can delete approvals (which will then re-set the checklist), this is not recommended as it means that you will lose the audit trail of the changes that occur. Using the "short circuit" function maintains the transparency of the approval rectification process.

1. Under Spec and Conformance, select "Approvals".

(Tip: Make sure your view is not filtered, select "Standard" view by clicking on the "Three Column" icon on the right panel.) 

2.  Click on the relevant approval request. 

3.  On the right panel, click on the "Action Step" icon, then "Short circuit".

4. Select "Yes".

5. Complete the following fields in the "Short circuit workflow" dialog box:

• New status - select from the dropdown list the status that you want to revert the Approval to e.g. Requested
• Days to complete next step - enter the relevant number of days 
• Attachments - attach any document to support your action, if applicable  
• Comment - add notes so you have an audit trail of why you re-starting the step

Click on the "Short circuit" tab. 

Note : The Approver will receive an email that is automatically triggered based on the step you chose. In this example, the Approver would be sent another email with the Approval request.