Overview

A workflow is a predefined sequence of steps necessary to complete a task. Business specific workflows are supported by a set of rules that automate processes and trigger system actions when predetermined events occur. In CRM.COM Workflows are triggered when specific events are executed and can consist of a series of actions including:

• The update of an entry
• The notification of users regarding events 
• Passing information to third-party systems by using webhooks
• Requesting the approval of new or modified entries before further processing is allowed
• Scheduling of activities

You can set up workflows for the following modules

• Accounts 
• Financial Transactions (Credit Note, Invoice, Invoice Cancellation, Payment, Payment Cancellation, Refund, Write Off)
• Wallet
• Wallet Transaction
• Activities
• Lead
• Service Request
• Contact Information
• Reward Offer
• Subscription
• Ad Hoc Discounts

Setting up Workflows 

Workflow rules are used to define workflows and see their execution through. Rules are triggered when an event, such as the update or creation of a new CRM.COM entity, takes place. For example, in a new subscription, conditions defined in the workflow rule such as setting the billing term to 'Prepaid', can be set to trigger the following series of actions:

• Update Information on the subscription that triggered the workflow.
• Set Approvals  requests by specific users before the subscription can be amended (as defined in the approvals' definition).
• Schedule Activity that is necessary to complete the task, such as an appointment for installation.
  
• Send Alerts by email or SMS prompting users to take action (as defined through alert definitions), e.g., an email to installers for an appointment.
• Trigger Webhooks  that pass information to a third-party system (as defined in the webhook definition) such as subscription information to a portal requesting a subscription.
  

While update of information and activity scheduling can be done directly from the workflow, the rest of the actions need additional configuration.

Let's see how you can set up each area before moving to workflows.

Back to top 

Anchor
workflows workflows

Workflow Rules

Workflow rules support business workflows and automate tasks required to complete business processes by triggering conditional system actions. Workflow rules can be set up for various modules.

When setting up a workflow rule you must provide the entity for which the workflow is Applicable for. Select when the Rule evaluation will be triggered (i.e. what action will cause the workflow to start), only one trigger can be selected. 

You can then set Conditions which must be met in order for the workflow to be set off in the respective section. You can select to apply the workflow rule when either all the given conditions are met, or any of the conditions are met.   

And finally you need to define the Actions to be applied on conditions met (i.e. that actions that will be initiated by the workflow). The available options are to:

• Update Information: When you select to update information you can provide both the field to be updated and the value it should take.
• Send Alerts: Select one of the configured alerts for the selected entity.
• Request Approvals: Select one of the configured approvals for the selected entity. 
• Trigger Webhooks: Select one of the configured webhooks for the selected entity.

• Schedule Activities: When scheduling activities you must select the activity type which will be created. If you select multiple activity types it will result in multiple activities being scheduled every time the rule is triggered.

  Note
  Activity assignments must also be configured in Automatic Collaboration Rules (ACR), which will automatically assign an activity to a user or unit as soon as it is created.

  
  

 Back to top

Using Workflows

A workflow is triggered when an event defined in an effective workflow rule, and which meets rule conditions occurs. The result of the workflow depends on the  actions enabled through the definition. When the workflow is completed, depending on the actions carried out, some will require further actions possibly by a user:

• Create Approval Requests: A user must approve, reject or cancel the request for the record to be editable.
• Schedule Activities: The activity's 'Assigned to' user must handle the task.

The following actions will not need user interaction:

• Update information such as the 'Status' on an entry.
• Send Alerts to users about the record being created or modified.
• Trigger a webhook to provide record information to a third-party system.

Using approval requests

An approval request is a mechanism that is used to control the creation and update of entries in the system by requesting authorisation from specific users. One or more approval requests can be created for each entry, according to the configuration of the approval definition. Requests are created in a 'Pending' life cycle state and are subsequently 'Approved', 'Rejected' or 'Cancelled'. 

To see the workflow actions for approval, select 'Approval' from the Type drop-down list and click on Search. To approve or reject a request you must first select to View it. Entities in 'Pending Approval' life cycle state cannot be edited.    

Approving a request

To approve a request, select to View the request, click on the Actions menu and select Approve. Provide a Response and SAVE the request. Approved entities can be edited, the system will inform the user that the entity associated with the request will become editable provided that there are no other 'Pending' approval requests for the same entity.

Rejecting an approval request

Rejected requests enable the editing of the related entity as long as the entry does not have another 'Pending' request.

To reject a request, select to View the request, click on the Actions menu and select Reject. Provide a Response and SAVE the request. Provided there are no other 'Pending' approval requests for the entity, the system will inform the user that the entity associated with the request will become editable.

Back to top

Anchor
webhook webhook

Using webhook requests

Webhooks are used to send information to a third-party system defined in the URL of the webhook. 

To see the generated webhook workflow actions, select 'Webhook' from the Type drop-down list and click on Search.

Resending a Rejected Webhook Request

Rejected webhook requests can be sent again using Resend from the data entry page Actions menu, resulting in a new webhook request. If the new request is successful the original request is deleted. If the new request is also rejected then the original request will be updated with the latest error code and description.  

Anchor
alert alert

Using alerts

Alerts are communications that are triggered by the system. Alerts inform users regarding tasks they have been assigned, or system changes that could potentially affect them. Alerts can be created for activities, leads, service requests, subscriptions and reward offers. Alerts use Alert Tags to dynamically generate information based on entity data communicated through the alert. 

To see the generated alert workflow actions, select 'Alert' from the Type drop-down list and click on Search.

Back to top