Offer approvals route an offer through approvers before it can be sent to the applicant. Offers and Openings share one approval service: the same Approvals settings page, the same rule builder, and the same approvals queue. For Openings, see Opening Approvals.
Set Up Offer Approval Rules
A rule decides which offers need approval and who approves them. Follow the steps below to create one.
Click your initials in the top right of any Fountain page, then click Company Settings.
Click Approvals.
On the Approver rules tab, click Create approval rule and choose the offer rule type. The Create offer approval rule panel opens.
Enter a Rule name.
Under Apply this rule to, choose All offers or Offers that meet conditions. For conditions, choose a Condition type, such as Location, then select the values. Click Add condition to add more. Offer rules can also use data keys and applicant pay, for example a rule triggered when Expected Pay equals Above standard rate.
Under Approvers, choose who approves. To add a fallback, click Add backup approvers, choose the backup approvers, and set If no response after to a number of days.
To add another level, click Add level. Give each level a name, and use its Conditions to decide when that level applies.
Click Create approval rule.
▶ See how to create an approval:
Understand How Rules Run
Keep the following in mind when you build rules.
Every offer a rule applies to passes through each level in order. A level is skipped when its conditions do not apply.
An offer can match more than one rule. Each matching rule is listed separately, with its own levels and approvers, and the offer needs approval under each one.
When you edit a rule that is already in use, choose whether the change applies to new items only (the default, so approvals in progress finish under the old rule) or to existing and new items (approvals in progress restart).
No Rule Means No Approval Step
With no approval rule configured, offers work exactly as they do without approvals.
Manage Approval Rules
The Approver rules tab lists every rule with its Type, Trigger, and Approvers.
Click Offers or Openings to switch between offer rules and Opening rules.
Use Search rules to find a rule by name.
Turn the Enabled toggle off to stop a rule from applying without deleting it.
Click the pencil icon to edit a rule, or the trash icon to delete it.
Send an Offer for Approval
When an offer needs approval, the recruiter fills in the offer, checks who will approve it, and sends it for approval instead of straight to the applicant.
On the applicant table, click the Details needed status for the offer letter, for example Main Offer Letter - Details needed.
In the Document details panel, fill in the offer fields, then click Preview document.
In the Document preview panel, review the letter. The Approvers section lists each matching rule and its approvers.
Optionally, click Download document, or click Upload custom document to replace the generated letter.
Click Send for approval.
The applicant's status changes to Awaiting approval, for example Main Offer Letter - Awaiting approval.
Approval Does Not Send the Offer
By default, an approved offer is not sent to the applicant until Send to applicant is clicked. To send approved offers automatically, turn on Send the document to the applicant as soon as it is approved in the Document Signing stage's settings.
If no approval rule applies, the Document preview panel shows Send for signing instead, and the offer goes straight to the applicant. To learn how offer letter templates are built, see Build Document Signing Templates with Variables.
Approve or Reject an Offer
Approvers are notified by email. The subject reads Offer approval needed, followed by the applicant and position. The email shows the applicant, position, location, and approver rule, says whether any one approver on the level can clear it, and includes a Review this request button. Approvers sign in to Fountain to review and respond.
Use the Approvals Tab
On the Approvals settings page, the Approvals tab lists offers and Openings waiting for a decision.
Click My approvals to see the items where you are an approver.
Filter by Type and Status, or search by Opening or applicant.
Each row shows the Opening and applicant, the Approver rule, and the Approval status of each level, such as Level 1 Approved or Level 1 Awaiting decision.
Click Preview offer letter to read the letter, or Review to decide.
Review the Offer
Clicking Review opens the Offer pending approval panel.
The Approvers section lists each rule and level, each approver's status, and when the request escalates to backup approvers.
The letter appears on the right. Click Download offer to save a copy.
From here, you have several options:
Click Approve offer to approve. Fountain confirms that your approval was recorded.
Click Reject offer to reject. Enter a Rejection reason, which the requester will see, then click Reject offer again.
Click Edit offer to change the offer details, then click Preview new offer.
Editing Restarts the Approval
Editing any offer details restarts the approval process from the beginning. Approvers who have already approved need to review and approve the offer again.
Control When Edits Need Approval Again
For offers already sent, the Document Signing setting Edits to an approved document re-trigger approval decides what happens after an edit. It is on by default.
When the setting is off, an edit that does not trigger a rule is sent to the applicant again. An edit that does trigger a rule always runs a full approval cycle.
Set Up Auto-Approval
Offers can be approved automatically after a set number of idle days, from 1 to 30. Auto-approval is set separately for offers and Openings, and is off by default.
Manage Approver Permissions
The Approvals permissions section includes two offer permissions: one to approve or reject offers, and one to edit offers pending approval. [UI LABEL UNCONFIRMED — need the exact names of both permissions] Anyone who can approve Openings has both.
Holding a permission is not enough to act on an offer: you also have to be an approver on that item.
If a pending approver leaves your account or loses the permission, the item shows Cannot approve with the reason. An admin can unblock the level by reassigning the approver, removing them, or escalating.