Why posts may not appear in Awaiting Approval

If a post is not appearing under Awaiting Approval, it usually means the post did not meet one or more conditions required for SocialBu's team approval workflow.

Awaiting Approval is only used for team posts that need review before they are scheduled or published.

How Awaiting Approval works

When approval is enabled for a team, posts created by members without approval permission are sent to Awaiting Approval. A member with approval permission can then approve or reject the post.

• If the post is approved, it continues through the normal scheduling or publishing flow.

• If the post is rejected, it is moved back to drafts with review details so it can be edited and submitted again.

• If the creator already has approval permission, their own post does not need approval.

1. Approval is not enabled for the team

The team must have Require approval before publishing content enabled. If this setting is turned off, team posts can be scheduled or published without going to Awaiting Approval.

What to check: Open the team settings and confirm that approval is enabled for the relevant team.

2. The correct team was not selected

Approval works in the context of a team. If you select accounts from All Accounts instead of selecting the relevant team first, the post may not follow that team's approval workflow.

What to check: In the post composer, select the team first, then choose the accounts connected to that team.

3. The creator has approval permission

If the person creating or scheduling the post has Approve posts permission, SocialBu treats them as allowed to approve content. Their own posts do not need to wait in Awaiting Approval.

Team owners have full permissions, so posts created by the team owner may also skip Awaiting Approval.

What to check: Review the creator's team permissions. To test approvals, create the post from a member who can create posts but does not have approval permission.

4. The post was saved as a draft

Draft posts do not appear in Awaiting Approval. They remain in Drafts until they are submitted for scheduling or publishing through the team workflow.

What to check: Open the Drafts section, edit the post if needed, then submit it again using the correct team and account selection.

5. The post was already approved or rejected

Posts only stay in Awaiting Approval while they are waiting for review. Once a post is approved, it moves forward to scheduling or publishing. If it is rejected, it moves back to Drafts.

What to check: Look in Scheduled Posts, Published Posts, or Drafts depending on what action was taken.

6. The reviewer does not have approval permission

A post may be awaiting approval, but a specific teammate may not see or review it if they do not have the required approval access for that team.

What to check: Ask a team admin to confirm the reviewer has Approve posts permission for the relevant team.

7. The selected account is not part of that team

Team approvals apply to accounts connected to the team. If the selected social account is not added to the team, the post may not be handled as a team approval post.

What to check: Open the team settings and confirm the social account is added to the correct team.

Quick checklist

• Is Require approval before publishing content enabled for the team?

• Was the correct team selected in the composer?

• Is the selected social account added to that team?

• Was the post submitted for scheduling/publishing instead of saved as draft?

• Does the creator lack approval permission?

• Does the reviewer have Approve posts permission?

• Was the post already approved, rejected, scheduled, or moved back to drafts?

FAQs

Why don't I see posts pending my approval even though I created them?

If you have approval permission, your own posts do not need approval and may be scheduled or published directly.

Can a post be manually moved into Awaiting Approval?

No. Posts enter Awaiting Approval automatically based on the selected team, team approval setting, post status, selected account, and creator permissions.

I selected accounts but skipped selecting a team. Why isn't the post awaiting approval?

Approval is tied to team-based posting. Select the relevant team first, then choose the team accounts.

Why did my rejected post disappear from Awaiting Approval?

Rejected posts are moved back to Drafts with review details so they can be corrected and submitted again.

Can the team owner approve posts?

Yes. The team owner has full permissions, including approval permission.

If you still cannot find a post that should be awaiting approval, contact us at support@socialbu.com.