---
title: "How approvals work"
summary: "Each client has its own approval rule. Learn the default rule, who can approve, who can skip approval, and what happens when an approval comes late."
url: https://kredia.io/help/en/approvals/how-approvals-work
lastVerified: 2026-10-24
---

# How approvals work

Approvals make sure the right people check a post before it goes out. Each client has its own approval rule, set by an Owner or Admin on the client's **Team & approvals** tab.

## The default rule

Until someone changes it, every client uses the default rule:

- **One approval from any Admin or the Owner** is needed before a post can publish.
- **The Owner and Admins can publish without waiting,** so their own posts go straight through.
- **Editors' posts wait** in **Approvals** until an Admin or the Owner approves them.

## What a client's rule can say

An Owner or Admin can set, for each client:

- **Who works on the client.** Each person is an **Approver** (their approval counts) or a **Collaborator** (they create and edit, but their approval doesn't count). Only these people see the client's posts in their **Approvals** inbox.
- **How many approvals a post needs:** 0, 1, 2 or 3. Zero means posts publish on schedule without approval; history is still kept.
- **Who can publish without waiting for approval:** the Owner always, Admins if switched on, and any named people. Every time someone does this, the post's history shows who.
- **Whether editing an approved post asks for approval again.** Changing the caption, media, platform or time then resets the approvals.
- **Whether authors can choose "publish as soon as approved"** instead of waiting for the scheduled time.

See [How to set up approvals for a client](https://kredia.io/help/en/approvals/set-up-client-approvals).

## Rules that always apply

- **You can't approve your own post.** The author's approval never counts.
- **An approval is for one version.** If the post is edited after you approve it, your approval can be reset and the post comes back to your inbox.
- **Nothing publishes late on its own.** If the scheduled time passes before the last approval, the post is held and marked red (Overdue). Someone has to click **Post now** or reschedule it. See [An approved post didn't publish](https://kredia.io/help/en/troubleshooting-and-platform-limits/approved-post-not-published).

![The Approvals page with the Needs me, Waiting on others and Decided tabs](https://kredia.io/help/img/how-approvals-work/1-en.webp)

## How approvers find out

Notifications are inside Kredia only: a badge on **Approvals** in the sidebar, the **Needs my approval** button on **Scheduling**, and live updates. Kredia doesn't send approval emails, and the mobile app has no push notifications yet. In the mobile app, approvers use the **Approvals** tab.

## What clients can't do yet

Clients can't approve posts. The client portal is view-only today: it shows which accounts are connected and lets the client connect Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. Client sign-off is planned for later.

## See also

- [How to set up approvals for a client](https://kredia.io/help/en/approvals/set-up-client-approvals)
- [How to approve a post or request changes](https://kredia.io/help/en/approvals/approve-or-request-changes)
- [Posts are stuck waiting for approval](https://kredia.io/help/en/troubleshooting-and-platform-limits/posts-stuck-pending-approval)
- [Roles and permissions](https://kredia.io/help/en/team-and-roles/roles-and-permissions)
- [The client portal](https://kredia.io/help/en/client-portal/client-portal-overview)