First, it is important to note that Zapproved is just the first of many tools from the company of the same name, whose mission – according to their web site – is “to invent technology that minimizes organizational and social barriers to decision-making.” The operative word for anything Zapproved will release is simple. The inspiration for Zapproved came when founder Monica Enand, a former Intel-er and IBM-er, heard from others about the pain of getting decisions made amongst many far-flung individuals.

Enand decided there was a need for a lightweight tool that anyone could figure out quickly and use immediately. While the tool is targeted at bigger companies with many workers involved in decision-making who have been frustrated with email approval systems or feature-heavy (read: complicated) project management systems that don’t integrate a clear approval system, Zapproved can work really well for distributed Web workers coming together on projects virtually. (There is also the personal use of Zapproved for anything that needs consensus building from getting together for a toddler play date to where to hold the family reunion, but we’re not that kind of site.)

How many of us are still using email for consensus building?

Zapproved’s presentation deck quotes Robert Scoble who said that “the number of emails it takes to get something done equals the number of people emailing squared.” Now isn’t that the truth! Enand talks about the “spaghetti process” of email-enabled decision-making. Zapproved is meant to provide transparency, accountability, and a clear record of all communications surrounding a decision and you can even limit it to simply Approved or Not Approved to cut out all the distracting opionated chatter if you really want to be a dictator.

You can attach files to any Project you set up for approval. As the initiator of the approval process, you do need to sign up for Zapproved so it saves all the data of your projects in a dashboard/message center for you, however, those who respond are not required to sign up – all they have to do is click on a big button to take action. You can now view the status of both the Projects you initiate and the ones others have sent to you for your input in one convenient location.

Zapproved is introducing its fee structure with its official launch. You can still get a free version but the premium version allows you to archive your Projects for longer periods and attach larger files as well as brand your proposals, especially handy when your clients and vendors are involved in the approval process. They do offer discounts for teams that sign up at once as well as nonprofit organizations. Cost is $12/month or $120/year. Group Plans are available for organizations with 20 or more people for $100/month or $1000/year. The official version has added blog-style comment threads, status bars, personal avatars, RSS feeds and contact groups for added functionality.

Enand considers Zapproved to be much more like Evite than more complicated systems i.e. even your mom could use it. But with an eye toward enterprise-level problems and solutions, Zapproved doesn’t want the simplicity of its tools to fool you and don’t let “enterprise-level” turn away all you Web workers drowning in email approval-go-rounds.

And coming soon: Outlook integration in the form of a toolbar, electronic signatures and verifications, and a standalone iPhone app although the new release does allow answers from both the iPhone and Blackberry.

Are you still using email to get approvals from many people at once? If not, what solution are you using and how does it work for you?

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But put it on the iPhone and suddenly the mundane and forgettable act of tracking time is fun and accessible and begging for me to use it. Kudos to any cool Web application who ups their cool – and usability – factor by making it work on my iPhone.

Another useful Web application is Zapproved. Anyone who has gone back and forth and back and forth approving something knows how tedious it can be, even via email. I recently had a client who was looking for a way to facilitate the approval process without the headache. I sent them to Backboard which I reviewed in a previous post. I still think that Backboard is elegant for anything visual that needs to be approved, but when it comes to approving a concept or other type of proposal, Zapproved could do the trick quickly and simply.

If you need approval from multiple people on any of your work, start a proposal, enter the email addresses of the approves (Zapproved will remember those addresses for later use), give your proposal a title, enter the deadline for feedback, and give your proposal or project a name. You can set the proposal’s priority, add a description and even attach files.

Attaching files is the part where I think Backboard still wins, allowing you to upload the graphic or text file needing approval so it is easily viewed rather than downloaded. But Zapproved is about simplicity. Approvers receive an email where they can Approve, Deny or Comment on the proposal. As the person issuing the proposal, you can access all the activity on any outstanding proposal in your Message Center. You can also comment on it, cancel it if someone rejects it or close it out as completed. Zapproved archives your proposals for future reference.

The next app I want to mention is GatherGrid, but first, I have to remind you all that I’m a huge fan of doodle.ch, the super simple way to schedule a meeting or call involving multiple people. It is no frills and really gets the job done.

But in steps GatherGrid, another free app for scheduling. The interface actually brings the date and time grid that doodle displays after everyone has entered their times to the home page so all you have to do is check off the time blocks that work for you, create the event, and invite your participants. They receive an email, click on a link to get to the grid, click the time blocks where they are available, and you have the combined input on a single grid to pick the most suitable date and time.

What are your latest favorite apps or widgets, and how are they helping you with your work?

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Zapproved also lets you attach files to documents, as well as setting due dates, priorities, and project names. Although you need an account to use the service, the others on your team do no. If your team is distributed and you spend an inordinate amount of time chasing down consensus on routine matters, it’s worth a look. Zapproved is free while in beta, though they do say there will be a charge at launch.

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