Segel
An approval route that leaves a record behind.
Segel is an approval layer for teams that pass invoices, contracts, and requests through email. Upload one PDF, set the route, and seal the record when the last decision is in.
How a document runs
4 steps
- UploadA PDF, a document type and a site; the file is locked and versioned
- RouteSequential or parallel steps, a named person or a role queue
- ApproveApprove, reject, request changes or reassign with a reason
- SealCertificate, trusted time and a QR to the public recordAutomated
The next document enters here
The approval happened. The proof did not.
An invoice arrives by email. A manager replies, finance replies, and the decision sits somewhere in the thread. When someone asks which version was approved, the trail has to be rebuilt by hand.
A PDF can be renamed, forwarded or edited after it was approved. The email says yes, but it does not say which file, which step, or when. The team can approve quickly and still be unable to show how the decision was reached.
A later reorganisation makes it worse. Roles change, sites are renamed, and a route that lived only in the thread no longer matches the people who used it.
One route, frozen at submission.
Segel keeps the process the team already follows. It adds a record around the PDF and leaves the approval order as it was.
Approval in an email thread
One route per document
The route is set when the PDF is submitted: sequential or parallel, a named person or a role queue.
Which version was approved?
A record tied to the version
The file is locked and versioned at submission. A later role change or site rename does not rewrite it.
Decisions with no reason
Every action recorded
Approve, reject, request changes or reassign. Each decision carries the person, the time and the reason.
A trail rebuilt from the inbox
A sealed record
The final document gets a certificate, a trusted timestamp and a QR that opens the public record.
A claim nobody can check
A record anyone can verify
A digital fingerprint makes an altered file detectable. Scan the QR or upload the file to match it against the record.
The record is the product.
Each screen answers one question: where is the document, who is waiting, and what has been approved.
One PDF, with a version
A PDF, a document type and a site. The file is locked at submission, so the approved version stays the approved version.
A route that freezes
Sequential or parallel steps, assigned to a named person or a role queue. The route is copied when the document is submitted and does not change underneath it.
Decisions with a reason
Approve, reject, request changes or reassign. A rejection or reassignment cannot pass without a reason, and every action is timestamped.
A seal that detects change
Each document gets a digital fingerprint, and each step links to the one before it. Change a row or a character, and the record no longer matches the file.
Verification in public
The certificate carries a QR to a public verification page. Anyone can scan it or upload the file and check it against the sealed record.
A queue that shows the wait
Approvers act from email or phone. Pending items are grouped by person, and reminders replace chasing. The review shows median cycle time and the step that waits longest.
The decision and its proof live together.
A team can approve a document without rebuilding its trail later. The PDF, the route it followed, the decisions made on it, and the time it was sealed stay in one record that anyone can check.
- A pending document shows who is waiting, not who has not replied to the last email.
- The route and the file are frozen at submission, so a later reorganisation cannot rewrite the approval.
- A rejection or a change request keeps its reason, so the next person does not have to ask.
- A sealed document can be handed over with its certificate and checked against its fingerprint.
- The seal is not a claim that forgery is impossible. It makes alteration detectable.
Ownership
Segel, by Horulabs
Segel is our own product, built and run by Horulabs. It is an approval layer for teams that run on PDFs, live at segel.horulabs.com. It is an electronic approval record, not a qualified electronic signature, an ERP, or a document management system.
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