Approving a contract document confirms it's the right, valid file and records who approved it and when. This guide is for anyone who reviews documents uploaded by their team or by suppliers.

Before you start

Only users whose role has Approve Documents for Contract Management can approve contract documents. To check your access, see Viewing Your Access Rights. A document can only be approved once its file has been uploaded.

Approve a document

Open the contract

Go to Contract Management > Contracts and click the contract.

Open the Documents tab

To show only documents that still need approval, set the Status filter to Pending.

Check the file

In the Action column, open the menu for the document and click View or Download to check it before you approve it.

Tick the Approve checkbox

Tick the checkbox in the Approve column. It's greyed out while the supplier hasn't uploaded the file yet, and once the document has been approved.

Confirm

In the Approve Document dialog, click Yes.

📌 Important: Approval can't be undone, and there's no option to reject a document. If a file is wrong, don't approve it: archive it and upload or request it again. See Archiving and Unarchiving Contract Documents.

What happens next

  • The approval is recorded: the Approved By and Approved Date columns are filled in. They're hidden by default, so add them with Edit Columns above the table.

  • Contract Owners are told: the contract's owners receive a Contract document approved notification in oboloo and by email.

  • The document counts as valid: it's no longer counted under Unapproved Documents, and it shows as a tick on the Contract Compliance page until it expires.

  • Automated renewals can include it: approved documents that were uploaded by the supplier and have an expiry date can be renewed automatically. If you approve a replacement that automated renewal requested, the original is marked Renewed and Notifications stopped, and its expiry reminders stop. See Automate Supplier and Contract Document Renewals.

💡 Note: Expiry reminders don't depend on approval. Contract Owners are reminded 30 and 7 days before the expiry date of any document that isn't archived, whether or not it's approved.

Troubleshooting

I can't see the Approve checkbox

Your role doesn't have Approve Documents for Contract Management. Ask your administrator to update your role.

The Approve checkbox is greyed out

Either the document has already been approved, or it was requested from the supplier and they haven't uploaded it yet. Its Status shows Awaiting upload by supplier.

I can't see who approved a document

Click Edit Columns above the documents table and add Approved By and Approved Date.

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📌 Need Further Help?
If you need further assistance, please contact your internal platform administrator for support. Otherwise please reach out to oboloo's support team. If you are unable to view the above area in the oboloo platform, please check your user permissions and access rights.