Approve or reject requests
Some things require approval before they can be reserved. If you're an approval group member, you can approve or reject requests for the rooms, resources, and event request forms that your approval group is assigned to.
When a room, resource, or event is requested, the request is sent to all members of the assigned approval group(s). Only one person from each approval group is required to approve or reject a request.
If you request a room or resource that's assigned to your approval group, the request is automatically approved, and other approval group members are not notified. However, if you submit a request through an event request form, the request must still go through the approval process, even if you're an approver.
View pending requests
When a new request requires your approval, you'll receive an email and see a yellow dot on the Approvals tab of the Events page.
To view pending requests on the Approvals tab:
Select the Events page from the top navigation in Calendar.
Select the Approvals tab to see any approval requests that require your action:
Conflicts: This section only appears if you're a conflict resolver, and there are pending conflicts to resolve. If an event has a conflict, approval notices are not sent out until it is resolved.
Event requests: This section shows pending events created through an event request form. Below the request, you'll see the approval groups your response applies to. If you're part of multiple approval groups, your single response applies to each group.
Booking requests: This section shows events with pending room or resource requests.
You can also filter the Events page by booking status or event request status to see pending events (highlighted in yellow) or rejected events (highlighted in red).
Head to the Respond to a request section to learn how to respond to different types of requests. Once requests have been rejected or approved, they're removed from the Approvals tab. Approved events will appear on the Calendar tab.
Respond to a request
When you're ready, you can approve or reject requests from the Approvals tab on the Events page.
Warning
Once you approve or reject a request, it cannot be reversed.
If you select the wrong button and need to change your response for a requested room or resource, you must remove the room or resource from the event, add it back, and then take the correct action.
Respond to room or resource requests
Select the Events page from the top navigation in Calendar.
Select the Approvals tab.
Go to the Booking requests section.
Choose a response using the buttons in the bottom right of a request, or select the event name to open the event page.
For events with one requested room or resource: Select Reject or Approve to respond to the request.
For events with multiple requested rooms or resources: Select Selective to choose which items you'd like to approve or reject. You can also select Reject [number] items or Approve [number] items to apply the same response to all requests.
Respond to event request form submissions
To respond to event request form submissions:
Select the Events page from the top navigation in Calendar.
Select the Approvals tab.
Go to the Event requests section.
Choose a response using the buttons below an event request, or select the request name to open the pending event page.
If rooms and resources haven't been requested for the pending event, you can select Reject event or Approve event to respond give event-level approval or rejection for the request.
If rooms and resources have been requested for the pending event, you must select View event request and apply the requested rooms and resources to the event before approving it. This allows you to edit the requested rooms or resources before notifying the corresponding approval groups.
You can also select Reject event if you know the event can't happen at this time.
If you selected View event request, select Apply & Edit in the bottom right of the Requested Rooms and Resources section.
Edit the requested rooms and resources or answer any required questions.
Select Save in the bottom right.
Select Yes, make these changes in the confirmation popup. This sends a request to the corresponding room and resource approval groups.
Select Approve or Reject from the banner at the top to give event-level approval or rejection. Your decision only applies to the approval group(s) you're a part of.
Important
If multiple approval groups are assigned to the event request form, the event remains pending until all approval groups have responded.
If any assigned approval group rejects the event, the entire event is automatically rejected and must be resubmitted.
Once all approval groups have responded to the event request, the requester receives an email notification of the decision. You can choose to include a custom message with the notification. If you're responding to a Groups event request, email your approval and other comments to the requester using the Activity tab, as they may not have access to Calendar.
Tip
If you only need to reject specific instances of a recurring event (e.g., every Thursday except the 16th), you can approve the event anyway and delete those specific instances afterward. Make sure to communicate those changes to the event requester using the Activity tab.
Communicate using the Activity tab
If a room or resource isn't available or you need more information before responding to a request, ask for more details on the event's Activity tab.
Select the Events page from the top navigation in Calendar.
Select the Approvals tab.
Select an event name from the list of pending requests to open the corresponding event page.
Select the Activity tab.
Use the text box above the activity feed to add an internal comment. If this is an event request, you can choose whether to add an internal comment or send an email.
Important
The Send email option only appears on event requests and is only available for the event owner and any approval group members that are assigned to the form, rooms, or resources associated with the request.
Add internal comment: Add an internal comment if you're communicating with the event owner, managers, or approval group members in Calendar. Internal comments appear on the activity feed for anyone who can see the event in Calendar.
The event owner, managers, and subscribers can respond with internal notes. You can edit your internal notes at any time.
Send email: If you're viewing an event request form submission, select Send email to communicate with requesters who don't have Calendar access. Your email and the requester's email responses will appear on the activity feed for anyone who can see the event in Calendar.
Use the toolbar at the top of the text box to format your email.
Select the 📎 paperclip icon in the toolbar to upload an attachment. You can only upload attachments up to 10MB each, up to 5 per email, for a total of 10MB.
Add images using the 🖼️ image icon in the toolbar, or drag and drop the image file directly into the editor. Refer to the image sizing guide for file size restrictions.
Select the {{ }} curly brackets button in the toolbar to insert a placeholder. Placeholders appear in the template with
{{ }}curly brackets, but are replaced by the actual text when the email is sent.
Select the Add Comment or Send Email button in the bottom right of the text box to send your message.
Emails sent from the Activity tab are shown on the activity feed and highlighted in blue. When the event requester responds to the email, it will appear in the event activity feed, highlighted in yellow.
The event owner and other approvers in the form's default approval group are CC'd on all emails between the event and the requester. Event subscribers are not CC'd on requester emails, but can view all emailed comments in the Activity tab.
What happens when a room or resource is approved or rejected?
Approved: The event owner and manager are notified, and the event is no longer highlighted yellow in the month view.
If an event with a previously approved room or resource is rescheduled, it reverts to a pending state, and the assigned approval groups are notified via email and the Approvals tab.
Rejected: The event is declined and the owner and manager are notified. The event is highlighted in red in the month view, but can still be added to Church Center if desired. For the event to happen, the owner or manager can remove the declined room or resource and add another room or resource (if needed).
What happens when an event request is approved or rejected?
If an event request form submission is approved or rejected on the event level (using the banner at the top of the pending event), the following takes place:
Approved: The pending event is no longer highlighted yellow in the month view and is included on shared iCal feeds, kiosks, and embeds. If the event's Church Center visibility is set to Published, it will be included on the public Church Center calendar.
Rejected: The pending event moves to a view-only "rejected" state. You can view the rejected event using the Rejected event request status filter on the Events page or the form's Submissions tab, but it cannot be restored or edited. On the rejected event's Overview tab, you can either delete or duplicate the event.
What happens if you don't approve or reject a request in time?
If an event request is neglected until the requested date passes, the request disappears from the Approvals tab but remains active and accessible in the Requests tab of the form. If the requested date is moved to a date in the future, the approval request reappears on the Approvals tab for the approvers.