Deal Approvals & Stage Gate

Install from the HubSpot Marketplace · Setup guide · Plans and pricing

Deal Approvals & Stage Gate adds deal approvals to HubSpot Free, Starter and Professional, where HubSpot’s own pipeline approvals (Sales Hub Enterprise only) are not available. It is a HubSpot app for sales managers, finance and admins who need a sign-off before a deal enters a stage or when a discount is large. Free plan; Pro is USD 29 per month per HubSpot account; every new account gets a 14-day Pro trial, no card needed. It cannot block a stage change before HubSpot saves it: it moves the deal back within a couple of seconds, and if you have Sales Hub Enterprise you should use HubSpot’s own approvals.

Deal approvals for HubSpot Free, Starter and Professional accounts. Choose the pipeline stages that need sign-off, which deals need it and who signs off. When a deal is moved into a gated stage without approval, the app moves it back within a couple of seconds, writes a note on the deal and asks the approvers. Approvers approve or reject from a card on the deal, with a comment, and the history stays on the record.

Deal Approvals & Stage Gate is an app for HubSpot by Kayabyte.

What HubSpot already does, and where this app fits

HubSpot’s own pipeline approvals are part of Sales Hub Enterprise. Quote approvals exist on Professional, but they approve the quote, not the move to a deal stage. Sales Hub Professional has pipeline rules that stop reps from skipping stages and can lock editing in a stage, and Starter and Free have neither. This app adds the approval step itself on every plan: the request, the approvers, the decision and the record of it. On Professional it works together with HubSpot’s pipeline rules and can set them up for you.

Apps cannot stop a stage change before it is saved. The deal really is in the gated stage for a moment, and then the app moves it back. Automations that run on “deal entered stage” can still fire in that moment, so trigger them on the approval status or on a later stage instead (the setup guide explains how).

What it does

• Gate any stage, and every stage after it. Pick the first stage that needs approval, for example Contract sent. That stage and every later one are gated, except closed lost, so a deal cannot skip past the gate to Closed won either. A deal created straight into a gated stage is caught too.
• Approval only when it matters. Conditions on the deal amount, a discount property, the deal type, the deal owner’s team or any other deal property, with “all” or “any” matching. Small deals move freely.
• The right approvers, in the right order. Named users, whole teams or the deal owner’s team lead. One step, or up to five steps in a row (for example sales manager, then finance from 100,000), each with its own conditions, and “any one” or “all” approvers per step. Requesters can never approve their own request.
• Request, approve and reject on the deal. The Approvals card shows what is needed, who is waiting and the history. Approvers get a HubSpot task, so HubSpot’s own notifications reach them. Approve moves the deal on; reject needs a reason and goes back to the deal owner as a task.
• A waiting stage, if you want one. Moving a deal into a waiting stage (for example Decision maker bought-in) opens the request by itself. Approval moves the deal on; rejection sends it back to where it came from.
• Approvals that stay honest. An approval covers the deal as it was approved. If the amount goes up or a deciding value changes, the next move into a gated stage needs a new approval. A lower amount keeps the approval.
• An Approval status property. Use it in reports, lists and workflows. The app keeps it in line with its own records and puts it back if someone edits it by hand.
• HubSpot pipeline rules in one click (Sales Hub Professional and up). The app can turn on “restrict skipping” for the waiting and approval stages and limit editing in the waiting stage to your approvers. HubSpot then stops most unapproved moves before they happen, and the app catches the rest (super admins, workflows and other apps bypass HubSpot’s rules).
• Changes that always pass. Let a CPQ or sync tool, imports, workflows or named users move deals without a check.
• A workflow step (Pro, on HubSpot Professional and Enterprise). “Request deal approval” opens a request from a workflow and waits for the decision, so later actions can branch on approved or rejected.
• History you can export. Every move back, request and decision, with who and when, on the app’s home page. Pro keeps 12 months and exports CSV.

Plans

Free covers one pipeline with one approval step and 20 approval requests a month. Pro is USD 29 per month per HubSpot account and covers every pipeline, up to 5 steps in a row, unlimited requests and 12 months of history. Every new account gets Pro free for 14 days. See plans and pricing.

FAQ

How do I require approval before a deal moves stage in HubSpot Professional? HubSpot’s own deal approval step needs Sales Hub Enterprise; on Professional you can restrict skipping stages and editing with pipeline rules and build a workflow, or use Deal Approvals & Stage Gate, which adds a real request, approvers and decision record (guide: require approval before a deal moves stage).

Does HubSpot have deal approvals without Enterprise? Not the built-in approval step; see deal approvals without Enterprise for what each plan can do.

Can it stop a deal reaching Closed won without approval? It gates the stage you choose and every later stage except closed lost, but it moves the deal back within a couple of seconds after HubSpot saves the change; it cannot block the change in advance.

How do I set up discount approvals on a deal? Add a discount property, set a condition such as “Discount % above 15” on the policy, and choose the approvers (guide).

How much does it cost? Free plan (one pipeline, one approval step, 20 requests a month); Pro is USD 29 per month per HubSpot account; every new account gets a 14-day Pro trial with no card.

Should I use it if I have Sales Hub Enterprise? No, use HubSpot’s pipeline approvals. See the comparison.

More

• Setup guide: install, permissions, policies, the card, HubSpot pipeline rules, disconnect and uninstall
• Plans and pricing
• Security
• Data processing agreement and sub-processors
• Privacy policy and terms of service
• Support: support@kayabyte.dev

HubSpot is a registered trademark of HubSpot, Inc. Kayabyte is an independent developer and is not affiliated with or endorsed by HubSpot.