When Does an Approval Become Overdue?

Each workflow stage has a deadline measured in hours. When content enters a stage, the deadline clock starts.

Default Deadlines by Workflow:

  • Simple: 24 hours (Ready stage only)
  • Standard Review: 48 hours per stage (Draft, Editorial Review)
  • Enterprise Approval: 72h (Draft), 48h (Editorial Review), 24h (Final Approval)
  • Custom Workflows: You configure deadline hours per stage

Example Timeline:

  1. Content submitted at 10:00 AM Monday
  2. Draft stage deadline: 72 hours = Thursday 10:00 AM
  3. If not approved by Thursday 10:00 AM, it becomes overdue

Who Gets Notified During Escalation

When an item becomes overdue:

  1. Current approvers receive an overdue notification (email + in-app)
  2. If auto-escalation is enabled, escalation targets are added to the notification list

Escalation targets are users with the role specified in the stage's "Escalate to Role" setting. Typically:

  • Draft stage escalates to Editors
  • Editorial Review escalates to Admins
  • Final Approval escalates to Owners

Automatic vs Manual Escalation

Automatic Escalation

Automatic escalation happens when:

  1. The stage has "Auto-Escalate" enabled
  2. The stage has an "Escalate to Role" configured
  3. The deadline passes

What happens:

  • Request marked as escalated
  • Users with escalation role gain approval authority
  • Audit log records: "Auto-escalated due to deadline (>48h)"
  • Both original approvers and escalation targets can now act

To enable automatic escalation:

  1. Navigate: Workflows → Edit Workflow → Edit Stage
  2. Enable "Auto-Escalate on Deadline"
  3. Select "Escalate to Role" (e.g., Admin, Owner)
  4. Save

Manual Escalation

Admins can manually escalate any pending approval:

  1. Navigate: Approval Dashboard → Find the request
  2. Click the request to open details
  3. Click "Escalate" button
  4. Select target role or specific user
  5. Add escalation notes (required)
  6. Confirm

Manual escalation creates an audit record showing who escalated and why.

Configuring Escalation Settings

Workflow-Level Settings

Navigate: Workflows → Edit Workflow → Settings

Options:

  • Escalation Enabled: Master toggle for this workflow
  • Escalation Hours: Global fallback if stage doesn't specify (default: 48h)

Stage-Level Settings

Navigate: Workflows → Edit Workflow → Edit Stage

Options:

  • Deadline Hours: How long before item becomes overdue (default: 48)
  • Auto-Escalate: Enable automatic escalation when deadline passes
  • Escalate to Role: Which role receives escalated items
  • Notify on Deadline: Send warning when deadline approaches

How Overdue Checks Work

ILLIXIS runs an automated check every hour.

The check:

  1. Scans all active tenants
  2. Finds pending requests past their stage_deadline
  3. Marks them as is_overdue = True
  4. Sends overdue notifications
  5. Auto-escalates if configured on the stage

Timing: Checks run at the top of each hour (X:00). An item due at 2:30 PM will be flagged as overdue at 3:00 PM.

Resolving Overdue Approvals

Overdue approvals can be resolved the same way as normal approvals:

Option 1: Approve

  • Original approvers or escalation targets click "Approve"
  • Moves to next stage (deadline resets) or completes workflow
  • Overdue flag clears automatically

Option 2: Request Changes

  • Returns to submitter or previous stage
  • Overdue flag clears
  • New deadline starts when resubmitted

Option 3: Reject

  • Ends the workflow entirely
  • Request marked as rejected

Option 4: Reassign

  • Admin reassigns to specific user
  • Creates new audit record
  • Deadline optionally reset

Viewing Overdue Items

Approval Dashboard:

  • Navigate: Content Hub → Approvals
  • Filter by "Overdue" to see only overdue items
  • Overdue items show red badge and warning icon
  • Sort by "Deadline" to see most urgent first

Statistics:

  • Dashboard shows count of overdue items
  • "Overdue" stat visible in approval summary card
  • Weekly digest emails include overdue count

Audit Trail for Escalations

Every escalation action is logged in the approval history:

Automatic Escalation Record:
```
Action: Escalated
Performed by: System
Notes: Auto-escalated due to deadline (>48h)
Timestamp: 2024-01-15 14:00:03
```

Manual Escalation Record:
```
Action: Escalated
Performed by: admin@company.com
Notes: Escalating to owner - original approver on leave
Timestamp: 2024-01-15 10:30:22
```

View escalation history:

  1. Open the approval request
  2. Scroll to "Activity History" section
  3. Filter by "Escalate" action type

Priority and Urgency

Priority affects notification frequency and dashboard sorting:

  • Urgent: Highlighted in dashboard, more frequent reminders
  • High: Sorted above normal items
  • Normal: Standard behavior
  • Low: Sorted below other items

Set priority when submitting for approval or update it later from the request detail page.

Best Practices

Set realistic deadlines:

  • Don't set 24h if your team typically takes 48h
  • Account for weekends (48h deadline set Friday = due Sunday)

Configure escalation paths:

  • Every stage should have an escalation target
  • Ensure escalation role has at least one active user

Monitor the dashboard:

  • Check overdue count daily
  • Address escalated items within 24h

Use priority wisely:

  • Reserve "Urgent" for true emergencies
  • Overusing priority dilutes its meaning

FAQs

Q: What if no one has the escalation role?
A: Escalation notification fails silently. Item remains overdue but no additional approvers are notified. Assign users to escalation roles to avoid this.

Q: Can I disable escalation for a specific request?
A: No. Escalation is controlled at the workflow/stage level. Use a different workflow if you need different escalation behavior.

Q: Does weekend time count toward deadlines?
A: Yes. Deadlines are calculated in clock hours, not business hours. A 48h deadline set Friday at noon expires Sunday at noon.

Q: How do I know if something was escalated?
A: Check the approval detail page for "Escalated" badge. The activity history shows escalation events with timestamps.

Q: Can I change the hourly check frequency?
A: The overdue check runs every hour by default. Contact support if you need different timing for enterprise deployments.

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