How do I let someone without a Zendesk license approve a ticket (email or Slack)?
With the Approve app, approvers action requests from email, Slack, or the approver portal, so they never need a Zendesk seat. They just need to exist as a Zendesk user, then add them as a recipient on the approval definition and they get Approve and Decline buttons wherever they are.
How to do it with Approve
- Open the Approve app, go to Approval definitions, and open or create the approval definition.
- To reach a specific external person, first add them as a Zendesk end user: on a ticket click + Add, choose Select user, enter their name and email. Then in Recipients, search and select their email.
- To also deliver in Slack, click Addons at the bottom of the Approve menu, enable Slack integration, and connect your workspace. Approvers then get requests in Slack.
- The approver gets Approve and Decline buttons in email, Slack, or the portal, and never signs in to Zendesk.
Most approvals go to people who do not live in Zendesk: a department head, a customer, a vendor, the requester's manager. Making them buy a seat just to click yes is a non-starter, so Approve takes the request to them by email, Slack, or a simple portal instead.
The quickest way is the SweetHawk Suite: one click installs Approve and the rest of the suite into your account, with a free trial and no credit card. You can also install Approve on its own from the Marketplace.
How this compares to native Zendesk
Zendesk's native approvals can only send to an end user if an admin turns on the setting that allows end users to approve, and it depends on your plan. Approve sends to anyone by email, Slack or portal with no seat and no admin gate, and adds dynamic approvers, reminders and escalation on top.