# Set default approvers

URL: https://engiprose.com/help/set-up-your-firm/default-approvers
Updated: 2026-09-13
Audience: admin

Choose the people new proposals start with for review, while allowing each proposal to use its own approver list.

Default approvers give new proposals a ready-made review list. An Admin or
Organization Admin chooses the organization default, and an eligible proposal
author can adjust the list for a particular proposal before sending it.

:::checklist title="What you'll do"
- Choose the organization's default approvers
- Confirm or change approvers on a proposal
- Understand what happens when no approver is selected
:::

## Set the organization default

You need an Admin or Organization Admin role to change this setting.

::::steps
:::step
Open **Settings**, then select **Approvers**.
:::
:::step
Use **Add default approver** to select each person who should normally review
new proposals. Viewers cannot be approvers.
:::
:::step
To remove someone, select the remove control beside their name.
:::
:::step
Select **Save Default Approvers**. EngiProse confirms that the defaults were
saved.
:::
::::

:::figure src="/help-figures/set-up-your-firm/default-approvers-2.png" srcDark="/help-figures/set-up-your-firm/default-approvers-2-dark.png" alt="Approvers settings with several default approvers and the control to add another approver" caption="Set the default review list for new proposals" route="/admin/settings/approvers"
:::

You can leave the list empty. At send time, if neither the proposal nor the
organization has approvers configured, EngiProse assigns the active
Organization Admins as the fallback reviewers.

## Check approvers on each proposal

Defaults are a starting point, not a permanent rule for every proposal. Open
the proposal's **Details** step and find **Approvers** under **Authoring &
Approval**. The selected people appear as name chips.

If you are allowed to edit the proposal, use **Add approver** to add someone or
the remove control on a chip to take them off. Changes made during setup save
immediately. When you are revisiting the Details step in its review mode,
select **Edit**, make the changes, then use **Save** or **Cancel** with the
rest of that page.

:::note
Choosing a proposal-specific approver list overrides the organization default
for that proposal. The list stays with the proposal even if the optional Review
setup step is turned off.
:::

## Confirm the review list before sending

The **Send for review** step shows the resolved reviewers as read-only chips.
To change them, follow **Approvers in Step 2 (Details)**. The send screen does
not maintain a second reviewer list.

If the organization-admin fallback is being used, the send screen explains
that no approvers were configured and that Organization Admins will review.
Sending is blocked only if EngiProse cannot resolve any eligible approver.

::::faq title="Common questions"
:::q question="Who can be a default approver?"
An active Admin, Organization Admin, or Member can be selected. A Viewer
cannot be assigned as an approver.
:::
:::q question="Does changing the default replace a proposal's chosen approvers?"
No. A proposal-specific list is its own selection. Review the names in the
proposal's Details step whenever the right reviewers differ from the usual
organization default.
:::
:::q question="What happens if the default list is empty?"
The author can select approvers on the proposal. If no proposal approvers are
selected either, active Organization Admins are used when the proposal is sent
for review.
:::
::::