Product Approval Process

Set approval rules, review vendor submissions, and override rules per vendor

Who this guide is for

Marketplace admins who control how vendors add and edit products.

Before you begin

• Admin access to your Shipturtle dashboard
• At least one vendor added to the marketplace

 

⚡ Quick Summary

Vendors upload a product and Send for approval. Set which fields need approval in Settings → Setup and configuration → Product and meta settings. Review submissions in Products → Approve products, and ask vendors for changes with a remark. Override rules for one vendor in Vendors → Manage vendors → Custom vendor settings.

 

Overview

The standard flow: the vendor uploads a product and sends it for approval, and the merchant reviews it before it goes live. Fields marked Requires approval trigger this flow. All other fields go live without review.

How it works:

1. Merchant sets which fields need approval and which are automatic.
2. Vendor adds or edits a product and selects Send for approval.
3. Merchant reviews it in Approve products: approve, edit, reject, or ask for changes with a remark.
4. If changes are asked, the vendor updates the product and sends it for approval again.
5. Approved product goes live.

1. Review vendor submissions

Path:

1. Products → Approve products → New products
2. Products → Approve products → Edited products

• New products — new listings waiting for approval.
• Edited products — changes to existing listings. The count badge shows how many are waiting.
• Each row shows image, title, vendor, date created, remarks, and status.
• Top right: bulk Approve and Delete, vendor search, and filter.

Products → Approve products: New products tab

2. Act on a submission

Use the icons on each row:

• ✓ — approve now.
• ✎ — open the product, edit it, then approve.
• ✗ — reject.
• Merchant & vendor remarks — leave a note or ask the vendor for changes (see section 4).
• Select several rows → Approve or Delete for bulk action.

Action icons on each row: approve, edit, and reject

3. Edit before approving

1. ✎ on the row opens the full Edit product page.
2. Make changes → Save to approve and publish, or Save as draft to hold.

4. Ask a vendor for changes (remarks)

Use remarks when a submission needs changes before you can approve it:

1. Add a remark in Merchant & vendor remarks describing the change needed.
2. Ask the vendor to make the changes. The vendor gets an email with the requested changes.
3. The vendor updates the product and sends it for approval again.
4. Review it again in Approve products.

5. Set approval rules for all vendors

1. Settings → Setup and configuration → Product and meta settings → Vendor product field permissions
2. Set View, Requires approval, and Mandatory for each field.
3. Optional: tick Auto approve product to skip approval for everything.
4. Save

• Auto approve product — skips the queue for all vendors. Items already pending still need manual review.
• View — vendors can see the field. Merchants always see every field.
• Requires approval — a change to this field sends the whole product for review, even if the vendor edited several fields.
• Mandatory — vendors must fill it in before submitting. Needs View on. A dash (—) means it can't be made mandatory.
• Example: Requires approval on Product price and Media, off for Tags.
• By default, View and Requires approval are on for every field. For the full field list, see Review Product Settings.

Product and meta settings: Vendor product field permissions

6. Override rules for one vendor

1. Vendors → Manage vendors → ✎ next to the vendor → Custom vendor settings → Product settings
2. Tick Override product settings.
3. Set Auto approve product, Delete product, and the View and Requires approval columns for this vendor.
4. Save

Custom vendor settings: Override product settings

7. What vendors see

Vendors add and edit products in the same form (see Add and Update Products in Shipturtle):

• New product: Send for approval submits it to your queue.
• Edit: Update draft and request changes sends edits for approval. Update changes applies at once, only if no changed field requires approval.
• Fields that need approval show an approval icon on the form.
• Vendors can track the status of their submissions.

Checklist

• Field rules set: View, Requires approval, Mandatory
• Auto approve set as intended (on = no queue)
• New products and Edited products tabs checked
• Remarks used when asking vendors for changes
• Vendor overrides added where needed

FAQs & Troubleshooting

• What if no field is marked Requires approval?
  Everything goes live immediately, same as turning on Auto approve.
• Can I require approval for only some fields?
  Yes. Turn it on for key fields such as Product price, Media, and Category, and leave minor ones such as Tags off.
• What if a vendor edits several fields at once?
  If any one of them has Requires approval on, the whole product goes for review and you see all changes together.
• How do I ask a vendor to fix something?
  Add a remark and ask for changes. The vendor gets an email, makes the update, and sends the product for approval again.
• Global vs. per-vendor settings?
  Global settings apply to all vendors. Per-vendor settings replace them for that vendor only, and only when Override product settings is ticked.
• Do Vendor Konnect products follow the same rules?
  Yes. See Vendor Konnect.
• Queue is empty but a vendor says they submitted a product.
  Check Edited products; edits don't appear under New products. Also confirm at least one field has Requires approval on.
• Auto approve is on but products still show in the queue.
  Items submitted before it was turned on still need manual review. A vendor may also have an override with Auto approve off: check Custom vendor settings → Product settings.
• A mandatory field isn't prompting the vendor.
  Turn View on for that field. Vendors can't fill what they can't see.

Need Help?

If you're stuck, contact the Shipturtle support team at team@shipturtle.com or raise a support ticket through the Shipturtle support page.