Running processes

Who can use this

• Changing the mode: Owner and Admin
• Setting the execution of a step: Owner, Admin and Compliance
• Every member with a built in role: Owner, Admin, Accountant, Sales, Purchase, HR Manager, Employee, Viewer and Compliance (read)

Steps

1. 1. See the mode

   Open the process in the editor. The header shows "Describe", "Track" and "Enforce"; the current mode is highlighted. Point at a mode to read its explanation.

2. 2. Select a step

   Click the step on the diagram. Below the linked data, the panel shows the "Execution" section.

3. 3. Choose the meaning

   Narrow the list with "Area" or keep "All areas", and choose an entry under "Meaning in the app", for example "Approve vendor bill". Each entry belongs to one of the kinds "App event", "Approval", "Task" or "Check", and the text below it says when the step is done.

4. 4. Set up an approval

   For an approval, choose a "Role" or a "Person" under "Approved by" and the "Approval mode": "One person is enough" or "Everyone must approve". Under "From amount" you can enter the amount from which the approval is needed; if the field stays empty, every record needs the approval. The note "Blocked in Enforce mode" says what this approval blocks.

5. 5. Set up a task

   For a task, choose a "Responsible role" or a "Responsible person" under "Responsible", and under "Due after days" how many days after the step is reached the task is due.

6. 6. Save the execution

   Click "Save execution". The execution applies at once. Save a step you have just drawn with "Save" in the header first; until then the panel shows "Save the diagram before you connect this step to the app."

7. 7. Switch the mode

   Click the mode you want. The dialog shows under "What changes" exactly what the switch does: which actions are blocked until whose approval, which steps create tasks for whom, and how many runs are created afterwards for open records. Check the warnings and click "Switch mode".

Fields and options

Describe

Documentation only. No cases are tracked and nothing is blocked. New and imported processes start in this mode.

Track

Every case is followed step by step as a run, and task steps create tasks. Nothing is blocked: an approval step counts as done as soon as the follow up action happens, for example when the purchase order is issued.

Enforce

Like Track. In addition, every approval step blocks the follow up action until the approval is granted. Only active processes can be enforced.

App event

The app does the step itself, for example "Vendor bill recorded", "Invoice sent" or "Payment received". The step is done as soon as that happens. A partial payment or a partial goods receipt only moves the run to this step without completing it.

Approval

A person decides, for example on a bill. The step is done when the approval is granted. In Enforce mode it blocks the follow up action until then.

Task

Manual work without a record of its own, for example checking open items. When a run reaches the step, a task is created for the responsible role or person. The step is done when the task is done.

Check

The app checks a condition, for example whether all bank transactions of the month are reconciled. It checks when the run reaches the step and then daily.

Documented only

The step is not connected to the app. It is described, but skipped in runs.

Orphaned execution settings

Execution settings whose step is no longer in the diagram. Select nothing in the diagram to see them. Remove them with the cross, or bring the step back with "Revisions".

Tips

• Procure to pay: "Bestellung anlegen" (create purchase order) is done as soon as a purchase order is created. "Bestellung freigeben" (approve purchase order) is an approval by the Owner role; in Enforce mode the purchase order can only be issued after the approval. "Wareneingang buchen" (post goods receipt) is done when the ordered goods have been fully received. "Eingangsrechnung prüfen" (check bill) is an approval by the Accountant role and becomes due as soon as the bill is recorded; in Enforce mode the bill can only be posted and paid after the approval, including by SEPA credit transfer. "Rechnung bezahlen" (pay bill) is done when the bill is fully paid or ordered by SEPA credit transfer.
• Order to cash: "Angebot erstellen" (create quote) is done as soon as a quote is created. When the customer accepts the quote, the gateway leads to "Auftrag anlegen" (create order), which is done with the order confirmation; when the customer declines, the run ends at "Angebot abgelehnt" (quote declined). "Ware liefern" (deliver goods) is done when the delivery note is issued, "Rechnung stellen" (invoice) when the invoice is sent and finalised, and "Zahlungseingang abgleichen" (match payment) when the invoice is fully paid. Dunning notices for the invoice appear in the step history of the run.
• Payroll: "Arbeitszeiten und Abwesenheiten erfassen" (record time and absences) creates a task for the HR Manager role, due after 3 days. "Gehälter berechnen" (calculate salaries) is done as soon as the payroll run is calculated. "Lohnabrechnung freigeben" (approve payroll) is an approval by the Owner role; in Enforce mode the payroll run can only be approved and posted after the approval. "Lohn buchen" (post payroll) is done as soon as the payroll run is posted, and "Löhne auszahlen" (pay wages) as soon as the payout is recorded.
• Month end close: the app opens the run itself in the first days of every month for the previous month. "Bankumsätze abstimmen" (reconcile bank) is a check that is done when all bank transactions of the month are reconciled. "Offene Posten prüfen" (check open items) and "Abgrenzungen buchen" (post accruals) create tasks for the Accountant role, due after 5 days. The VAT return step is done as soon as the VAT period of the month is closed. "Monatsabschluss freigeben" (approve month end) is an approval by the Owner role; in Enforce mode the period can only be locked after the approval, and the granted approval locks it.
• Start with Track. Under "Runs" you see where cases get stuck before you block anything with Enforce.

Good to know

• Only Owners and Admins change the mode. Other members who may edit processes set the execution of steps but do not switch the mode.
• Before switching to Enforce, the app checks who can approve. If a role has only one person, the dialog warns that nobody can approve that person's own records in this step (four eyes principle). If nobody can approve at all, you can only switch once you choose another person or role.
• Only one enforcing process may block the same approval. If another process already enforces it, the dialog names the process and the approval under "Conflicts", and you can only switch once the conflict is resolved.
• Each meaning can be assigned to only one step in a process.
• When you switch from Describe to Track or Enforce, the app creates up to 500 runs afterwards for open records.
• Switching back from Enforce to Track removes the blocking immediately. Approvals already started remain and can still be decided.
• The approvals of an enforced process also appear under Approvals as an approval workflow. They belong to the process: changes made there are overwritten as soon as the process is saved. Change the approver and the amount here under "Execution" instead.
• Every mode change and every change of the execution is recorded in the audit log.

Related

• Runs

  See every case running through a process with its current step, age and status, find stalled cases and read the history of a run.

• Processes on records

  Read the "Process" card on bills, purchase orders, invoices, sales orders, payroll runs and fiscal years, and clear a block.

• Approvals inbox

  Approve or reject documents and requests from every area in one place.

• Approval workflows

  Rules for who has to approve which documents, including ready made templates.

• Tasks: views and layouts

  Use My Day, Mine, Team and the other views, and switch between list and board.