Set up Information Update Approvals

The article provides guidance on setting up information update approvals in BambooHR. It emphasizes the importance of these approvals for monitoring changes employees make to their personal information. Users can configure approval workflows by selecting approvers who will receive notifications when updates require approval. There are various options for approvers, including Account Owners, Full Admins, and Managers. The article also outlines the multi-level approval process, allowing up to five levels, with notifications sent only to the first approver. If any approver denies a request, the process halts, and the employee is notified. Additionally, it is noted that a full admin can bypass all users in the workflow.

  • Jul 1, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
Set up Information Update Approvals
Article Text
This feature is included in the Core, Pro, and Elite packages.

How do I set up an information update approval?

Purpose: Information update approvals help you stay updated on changes that your employees make to their personal information. This guide will teach you how you can set up approval workflows for information updates.

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Table of Contents

Approvals

Through an information update approval, you can decide who will receive an email notification when an employee makes a change in their profile that needs to be approved. Selected users can view and take action upon receiving information update requests.

To configure an information updates approval, log in to BambooHR and click Information Updates under the Approvals section within Settings.

Once in this section, you can select who you would like to approve information updates for employees. After choosing the approver(s), click Save Changes for the new settings to be in effect. 

You can create advanced approval paths to help you be sure that the right people are approving changes for each department, division, or location.

What are the options for approvers?

Account Owner:

  • Only the Account Owner will receive an email notification for an information update and a pending request.
  • The Full Admin user(s) and Account Owner can access all information updates through their inbox.

Full Admin(s):

  • The Full Admin user(s) and Account Owner will receive an email notification when an employee makes a change in a field that requires approval.
  • The Full Admin user(s) and Account Owner can access all information updates through their inbox.

Manager (Reports to):

  • The manager will receive an email notification when an employee who directly reports to them (as determined by the Reports to field on the Job Tab) makes a change in a field that requires approval. 
  • The Full Admin user(s) and Account Owner will still retain the ability to view and take action on any information updates by accessing their inbox. However, they will not receive the email notification alerts.
  • This is the only option for a manager to view and take action on an information update for their employees.

Manager's Manager:

  • The manager of the employee's manager will receive a notification about an information update.
  • The Full Admin user(s) and Account Owner will still retain the ability to view and take action on any information updates by accessing their inbox. However, they will not receive the email notification alerts.

Access Levels

  • All users in the selected access level(s) will receive an email notification about an information update, and they can access the request in their inbox.
  • Once one of the users takes action on a request, it is considered complete, and other users from the access level(s) do not need to take further action.
  • The Full Admin user(s) and Account Owner will still retain the ability to view and take action on any information update by accessing their inbox. However, they will not receive the email notification alerts.

Specific Person:

  • The specifically selected user will receive an email notification about an information update, and they can view details of the request in their inbox.
  • The Full Admin user(s) and Account Owner will still retain the ability to view and take action on any information updates by accessing their inbox. However, they will not receive the email notification alerts.

Multi-level approvals

If your company requires a multi-level approval process for information updates, you can create up to five different approval levels. You can do this by clicking + Add and selecting the desired approval option for each level. Be sure to save your changes.

When you set up a multi-level approval workflow, only the first approver receives a notification when the employee submits an information update request. If the first recipient approves the request, the next level approver will receive an email notification, and they will follow through accordingly. The employee will not receive a notification about their request until the final approver has approved the update. The multi-level approval process will end if any approver denies the request before completing the process, and the employee will receive an email notification about their denied request.

If you list the same person two or more times in an approval workflow, the system will only require them to approve the first time they appear in the workflow.

For example, Olivia Sterling is the Account Owner and assigned to two levels of approval. Olivia is Approver 1, set to Account Owner, and Approver 3 as Specific Person - Olivia Sterling (Account Owner). Olivia will only need to approve as Approver 1 - Account Owner. 

Can I bypass one person in an approval workflow?

A full admin user can bypass all users in the approval workflow, but it is not possible to bypass only one level in the multi-level approval. 

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