How to Edit an In-Progress Approval Workflow
Last updated: August 14, 2026
Editing an Approval Workflow While It's In Progress
Learn how to add, remove, or swap reviewers, and add new stages or steps to an approval workflow that's already underway.
What Is Editing an In-Progress Workflow?
Approval workflows often don't turn out exactly as planned. A department delegates someone else to handle the review, a new sign-off becomes necessary partway through, or another department reaches out and asks to be added to the flow. Rebuilding the whole workflow from scratch every time something changes isn't practical — especially when parts of it are already complete.
Holly lets you edit a workflow while it's running, without disrupting the stages that have already been approved. You can swap out reviewers, add entirely new stages or steps, and save your changes so the workflow keeps moving forward with the right people in place.
Common Use Cases
A Reviewer Is Unavailable
A reviewer assigned to an upcoming step leaves the agency or is out for an extended period. Instead of pausing the workflow, you can swap them out for a colleague who can pick up the review.
A New Approval Becomes Necessary
Partway through a workflow, you learn that a classification change also needs sign-off from the Town Manager. Rather than starting over, you can add a new Town Manager Approval stage to the existing workflow.
You Need to Correct a Setup Mistake
You realize a step was assigned to the wrong reviewer before that step has started. You can correct it before it holds up the approval process.
How to Edit Reviewers, Stages, and Steps
Navigate to your workflow page and locate the Edit Timeline button on the top right corner of the Workflow section.
Click Edit Timeline. A pop-up window titled Edit Review Workflow opens, showing all stages of the workflow.
Find the stage you want to change. Stages that are already Completed are locked and can't be edited — you can only make changes to stages that are In Progress or Planned.
On an editable step, click the edit icon in the top right corner of that step. This opens the Edit Step dialog.
To swap a reviewer, uncheck the current reviewer and select a new one, then click Save to apply the change to that step.
To add a new stage, click Add Stage at the bottom of the workflow. To add a step within a stage, click Add Step, then name the step, set a due date, and add reviewers.
Once you've made all your changes, click Save Changes in the bottom right corner of the Edit Review Workflow pop-up.
This video also covers these steps: https://supercut.ai/share/holly/dlrsmWm0v5XhOixiJCVUDU
Note: Only the document owner can edit a workflow. Check the document owner indicator in the top right corner of the platform to confirm ownership before making changes.
Understanding What You Can and Can't Edit
Whether a stage or step can be changed depends on where it stands in the workflow:
Stage Status | Can You Edit It? | What To Do Instead |
|---|---|---|
Completed | No | If a completed approval needs to be revisited, start a new stage or workflow with those stakeholders rather than reopening it. |
In Progress | Yes | Swap reviewers, edit steps, or add new steps within the stage. |
Planned | Yes | Fully editable — change reviewers, due dates, or add new steps and stages before it starts. |
If you're not sure why a stage is locked, check its status first. It's a quick way to confirm whether a stage has already been completed.
Working with the Workflow
Adding New Stages
Beyond editing existing steps, you can insert entirely new stages into the timeline — for example, adding a Town Manager Approval stage after the current stages if a new sign-off requirement comes up. New stages are added to the end of the timeline and can include one or more steps, each with its own due date and reviewers.
Notifications
Any reviewer newly added to a step is notified by email once you save your changes. This ensures new reviewers know they have something waiting for their review without you having to reach out separately.
Next Steps
Workflow flexibility means you don't have to restart a process just because something changed midway through. If you run into a stage that seems locked when it shouldn't be, or have feedback on how editing works, reach out to support@hollygov.com.
Related Articles:
Setting Up an Approval Workflow: How to build a new approval workflow from scratch, including stages, steps, and reviewers.
Understanding Approval Workflow Statuses: What Completed, In Progress, and Planned mean, and how they affect what you can do.
Managing Document Owners and Permissions: Who can view, edit, and approve documents in Holly.