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Version: Current

FAQ: What happens when I reject a document?

When you click the Reject button for a pending approval step assigned to you:

  1. Reason Required: You will almost always be prompted to provide a Reason for the rejection. This is crucial for feedback and the audit trail. Enter a clear and concise explanation.
    • (Example: Rejection reason prompt)
  2. Your Response Recorded: Your response status for that specific approval step is recorded as REJECTED.
  3. Milestone Evaluation: Zudello evaluates the current Approval Milestone based on the rejection:
    • If the step's failure criteria (criteria_fail) are met by your rejection (e.g., if only 1 rejection is needed to fail the step, which is the default), the entire Milestone status changes to REJECTED.
    • If more rejections are needed to fail the step (e.g., criteria_fail = 2), the milestone remains ACTIVE, and the step remains PENDING overall until enough users reject or approve.
  4. Workflow Stops/Redirects: If the Milestone status becomes REJECTED:
    • Any other PENDING steps within that same milestone are typically cancelled.
    • Any subsequent PENDING milestones in the approval flow are marked as CANCELLED.
    • The overall approval flow for the document effectively stops progressing down the "happy path".
  5. Trigger Rejection Automation: The REJECTED outcome for the milestone triggers an event. An Automation Sentence configured for When an approval outcome is received with Outcome REJECTED will run.
  6. Rejection Actions: This "Rejection Sentence" typically performs actions like:
    • Set Status: Changing the document's status back to an editable state for correction (e.g., Reject Review, User Review, or Draft).
    • Assign User: Assigning the document back to the original submitter (submitted_by) or another designated user/group for correction.
    • Add Note: Posting a note to the chat indicating the rejection and potentially including the reason.
  7. Notifications: Notifications are usually sent (depending on configuration) to the submitter or relevant parties informing them of the rejection and the reason provided.

In essence, rejecting a document stops the current approval path and typically routes the document back for correction based on the configured rejection workflow.

See also: Approving and Rejecting Documents.