Auto-Approve Members
Set criteria once and GroupCRM approves or declines member requests automatically. Anyone who doesn't clearly qualify waits for your review.
Open group settings
- Go to My Groups in the dashboard
- Click Settings next to the group you want to automate
- On the Mode tab, choose Lead saving + auto-approve
- Open the Approval criteria tab
You can prepare criteria while the group is still in Lead saving only mode. Nothing is approved or declined until you switch modes and save.
Approval criteria
Turn on any combination. Everything you turn on must be true for an approval.
| Criterion | What it does |
|---|---|
| Answered all membership questions | No blank answers |
| Included an email address | An email appears in the answers |
| Included a phone number | A phone number appears in the answers |
| Agreed to the group rules | Checked when your group has rules to agree to |
| Has a complete profile | Profile link, photo and Facebook join date are visible |
| Gave specific answers | A chosen answer contains the text you expect |
| Minimum lead score | Lead score of at least this value (0 to 100) |
| Minimum total answer length | Total characters across all answers |
| Facebook account age | At least 30 days up to 2 years |
| Located in | City contains your text |
| Minimum mutual friends, friends in the group, groups in common | Social signals |
If you choose auto-approve but set no criteria, GroupCRM does not approve everyone. Requests are left for your review.
Auto-decline
Three settings decline requests automatically:
- Decline if answers contain blocked keywords: checked first, before any other criteria
- Decline people who were declined before: for repeat applicants to the same group
- Decline people who don't meet the criteria: when off (the default), people who don't qualify stay in Pending Requests for you
Declined members can optionally receive a decline message. See Welcome Messages.
Cross-group rules
Cross-Group Rules are fallback rules shared across groups. They run after each group's own criteria, top to bottom, and the first match approves or declines. Use them for one rule you want everywhere, like declining requests with no email.
Test before you switch on
The Test rules tab runs your current settings, including unsaved changes, against up to 100 recent requests from the group and shows who would be approved, declined, messaged or left for review, with reasons. Nothing is acted on.
Tips
- Start in Lead saving only, then test your criteria on real requests
- Start with one or two criteria (e.g. all questions answered and an email) and adjust
- Keep Decline people who don't meet the criteria off at first, so borderline requests come to you
- Approve/decline actions follow your hourly and daily action limits in Settings → Automation safety
Related
- Settings Reference: every criterion, default and the evaluation order
- Rule Recipes: ready-made setups
- Lead Capture: extract emails from membership answers
- Welcome Messages: send messages on approve/decline