Workflow management

objective

The Workflow Management option provides various mechanisms to obtain approvals and alert specific key employees. It allows users to send an email or text message to one or more recipients regarding certain transactions, for example, receiving merchandise over $50,000. Many situations can be configured to suit a client’s needs.

This option is particularly interesting in multidimensional mode: it is possible to export and extract a powerful workflow in order to import it into other companies without having to reconfigure each time.

It is important to properly set up roles as they are required to implement workflows.

 

prerequisites

• Role Management
• Security Management
• Contact Management

 

icons

Workflow Management Icons

Icon Title Used to Workflow Creation Wizard Start the Workflow Creation Wizard, designed to simplify the creation of workflows. Save As Save a copy of the selected workflow under a different name. Documents Open the Document Management. Export Open the workflow exportation’s program. Import Open the workflow importation’s program. Configuration Open the workflow management window. Only icons specific to this window are defined in the table above.

 

Summary

• Exporting a Workflow
• Importing a Workflow
  • Maestro Froma Maestro’s Template
  • From a File
• Adding a Workflow with the Workflow Creation Wizard
• Manually Adding a Workflow

 

steps

maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Workflow > Workflow Management

 

Exporting a Workflow

1. Click the Export button.
2. On the Workflow Export window, the File field shows the complete path of the exported file. Click on the suspension points […] shown at the end of the File field to name the file and select a directory where it will be saved.
3. In the workflow list, select the workflows that should be included in the export file.
4. Click the Export button.
   A message indicating the success of the operation is displayed.

 

Importing a Workflow

From a Maestro’s Template

1. Click the Import button.
2. On the Workflow Import window, the Import from field is defaulted to maestro* templates. Keep this value.
3. Click the Import file button.
4. The list of maestro* templates is displayed in the grid.
5. In the Selected column, check the box corresponding to the maestro* templates that need to be imported.
6. Click the Import button.
7. Close the Workflow Importation window.

If the Process Roles check box is selected, roles linked to the maestro* templates will also be imported and will be available in the Role Management option.

 

From a File

1. Click the Import button.
2. On the Workflow Import window, the Import from field is defaulted to maestro* templates. Click on the drop-down list and select a file.
3. Click on the suspension points […] shown at the end of the File field and browse to the directory where the file is located.
4. Click the Import file button.
5. The list of workflows included in the file to be imported is displayed in the bottom of the window.
   A message indicating the success of the operation is displayed.

 

Adding a Workflow with the Workflow Creation Wizard

1. Click the Workflow Creation Wizard button.
2. On the dialog box, indicate whether the new workflow should be a regular or an alert workflow and click the OK button.

Regular workflow: the role or user in charge must approve (or refuse) a transaction; Alert workflow: the selected role, contact, or user receives an alert about a transaction.

3. Complete the required information:

Field	Description
Identity	Identifies the workflow by a code.
Name	Allows to enter the English name of the workflow. Click French to switch language and enter the French translation.

1. Who is in charge? section:

WARNING! You must choose either a role OR a user in charge OR a contact in charge; it is not possible to create a workflow that mixes all.   Field Description Role in Charge Allows to select the role that will be in charge of approving the transaction targeted by the step. The roles available here are set up in the Role Management option. Warning! A control is in place so that multiple users can share the same role and approve a transaction multiple times (if it requires two different approvals, for example), while preventing the same user from approving the same transaction more than once. Another control is in place when selecting a Role in Charge (in the header of the window or in the Workflow Steps tab > Step Definition section) and when saving a workflow, to verify that the selected type of role is compatible with the workflow transaction type. If the selected role corresponds to a Flexible User of this type: Responsible Source Site: the system will check that the type of transaction to which the workflow is linked is Inventory-Project Transfer or Inventory-Site Transfer; Responsible Destination Site: the system will check that the type of transaction to which the workflow is linked is Inventory-Site Transfer. NOTE: Click on to open the role selection window. User in Charge Allows to select the specific user in charge of approving the transaction targeted by the step. The users available here are set up in the Security Management. NOTE: Click on to open the user selection window. Contact in Charge Allows to select the specific contact that will be responsible for the step, if it’s an alert. The contacts available here are set up in the Contact Management option. NOTES: Click on to open the contact selection window. If the communication mode is not specified, a message will be displayed to the user.

2. Targeted Transaction? section:

Field	Description
Transaction Type	Used to select the transaction type that will trigger the workflow. Available values Catalogue Order Approve catalogue orders that meet the selected conditions. Cost Plus Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for cost plus invoices approbation. Disbursement Allows the creation of workflows for disbursements. Holdback Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for holdback invoices approbation. Individual Disbursement Allows the creation of workflows for individual disbursements. Inventory-Project Transfer Approve inventory-project transfers that meet the selected conditions. Inventory-Site Transfer Approve inventory-site transfers that meet the selected conditions. Lump Sum Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for lump sum invoices approbation. Payment Authorization This process is different from the others because its ultimate step is not to allow the transfer of the transaction, but to allow the payment of the invoice. Pending Transactions Allows the creation of workflows for pending transactions. Progress Billing Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for progress billing invoices approbation. Project Purchase Approve project purchase that meet the selected conditions. Purchase Order Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for purchase order invoices approbation. NOTE: It is important to really understand that the verification is done on the project in the header of the invoice. For an invoice that has many breakdown lines and extras, every detail line needs to be linked to the same project for it to be identified in the header. If there are multiple different projects, the project in the header will display ****. In this case, a workflow with a condition on a project will not apply if that project is identified in one of the detail lines. Receipt of Goods Approve receipts of goods that meet the selected conditions. Regular Purchase Order Approve regular orders that meet the selected conditions. Requisition Allows the creation of workflows for requisitions. Sale Approve sales that meet the selected conditions. Subcontract Management Alllows the creation ofworkflows for subcontracts transactions.
Company ID Mask	If a company mask ID is entered, only the transactions involving the selected company will be taken into account.

3. Condition section:

Though it is recommended to add conditions to workflows, it is possible to create a workflow with no condition (applicable to regular and alert workflows). For alert workflows, alerts are sent as "cumulative". For example, we can have an alert with no condition for project purchases and one for project purchases worth more than $500: if a $650 project purchase is created, two alerts will be sent.   The - and + buttons located at the end of the line are used to delete and add condition lines. Several conditions may be added to trigger a workflow.   Field Description [Field] Selects a field based on the option indicated in the Transaction Type field. NOTE: Choices available here are filtered according to the transaction type. [Operator] Identifies an operator to express the condition: equal not equal contains does not contain is between [Value] Value used to express the condition in reference to the selected field. Required If the box is checked, the condition must be met to trigger the workflow. If the box is not checked, it will be an optional condition.

4. Communication section:

WARNING! The French/English button, located in the upper section of the window, also toggles the fields of the Communication section from one language to another. At the end of the field, an icon can be used to open the Subject Configuration for: [language] Window. This utility program enables users to add fields that will be updated by the corresponding value from the transaction when the message is sent.

 

Field	Description
Subject	Indicates the subject of the email message.
Email Message	Used to enter the body text and to format it.
Text Message	Used to enter the message that will be sent by SMS to the person in charge. NOTE: The text message is only used for Alert type processes.

4. Click the Apply button.

 

Manually Adding a Workflow

1. Click the New button.
2. Complete the required information:

Field	Description
Identity	Identifies the workflow by a code.
Name	Allows to enter the English name of the workflow. Click French to switch language and enter the French translation.
Description	Allows to enter the description of the workflow. NOTE: At the end of the field, an icon can be used to open the Text Message Configuration for: [language] window. This utility program enables users to add fields that will be updated by the corresponding value from the transaction when the message is sent.
Role in Charge	Allows to select the role that will be in charge of approving the transaction targeted by the workflow. The roles available here are set up in the Role Management option. NOTE: Click on the suspension points […] to open the role selection window.
User in Charge	Allows to select the specific user in charge of approving the transaction targeted by the workflow. The users available here are set up in the Security Management. NOTE: Click on the suspension points […] to open the user selection window.
Transaction Type	Used to select the transaction type that will trigger the workflow. Available values Catalogue Order Approve catalogue orders that meet the selected conditions. Cost Plus Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for cost plus invoices approbation. Disbursement Allows the creation of workflows for disbursements. Holdback Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for holdback invoices approbation. Individual Disbursement Allows the creation of workflows for individual disbursements. Inventory-Project Transfer Approve inventory-project transfers that meet the selected conditions. Inventory-Site Transfer Approve inventory-site transfers that meet the selected conditions. Lump Sum Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for lump sum invoices approbation. Payment Authorization This process is different from the others because its ultimate step is not to allow the transfer of the transaction, but to allow the payment of the invoice. Pending Transactions Allows the creation of workflows for pending transactions. Progress Billing Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for progress billing invoices approbation. Project Purchase Approve project purchase that meet the selected conditions. Purchase Order Invoice Allows the creation of workflows for purchase order invoices approbation. NOTE: It is important to really understand that the verification is done on the project in the header of the invoice. For an invoice that has many breakdown lines and extras, every detail line needs to be linked to the same project for it to be identified in the header. If there are multiple different projects, the project in the header will display ****. In this case, a workflow with a condition on a project will not apply if that project is identified in one of the detail lines. Receipt of Goods Approve receipts of goods that meet the selected conditions. Regular Purchase Order Approve regular orders that meet the selected conditions. Requisition Allows the creation of workflows for requisitions. Sale Approve sales that meet the selected conditions. Subcontract Management Alllows the creation ofworkflows for subcontracts transactions.
Status	Indicate the status of the workflow: Active: the workflow is used, as long as the conditions are met; Inactive: the workflow exists, but is not used.
Order	A single transaction can trigger more than one workflow; workflows must then be ordered. For example, a $12.000 catalogue order triggers both workflows “Catalogue Order, more than $5.000” and “Catalogue Order, more than $10.000”. In this case, it is necessary to indicate in which order the workflows apply. Typically, the workflow for the highest amount applies first.
Company ID Mask	If a company mask ID is entered, only the transactions involving the selected company will be taken into account.
Save in Document Management	This option is available for the Catalogue Order, Project Purchase, Sale, Disbursement, Individual Disbursement and Requisition transaction type. If this option is activated, the users will be able to read a PDF of the transaction on maestro*MOBILE.
Documents Category	Allows the selection of a document category originated from the table of the same name. This field is available only if the Save in Document Management option is activated.

1. Complete the information in Conditions tab:

Though it is recommended to add conditions to workflows, it is possible to create a workflow with no condition (applicable to regular and alert workflows). For alert workflows, alerts are sent as "cumulative". For example, we can have an alert with no condition for project purchases and one for project purchases worth more than $500: if a $650 project purchase is created, two alerts will be sent.   The - and + buttons located at the end of the line are used to delete and add condition lines. Several conditions may be added to trigger a workflow.   Field Description [Field] Selects a field based on the option indicated in the Transaction Type field. NOTE: Choices available here are filtered according to the transaction type. [Operator] Identifies an operator to express the condition: equal not equal contains does not contain is between [Value] Value used to express the condition in reference to the selected field. Required If the box is checked, the condition must be met to trigger the workflow. If the box is not checked, it will be an optional condition.

2. Workflow Steps tab: this tab displays every step of the workflow. It consists of a summary of the steps of the selected workflow and two sub-tabs. Icons allow you to add and delete steps.

Alert workflows always have one step. Transaction approval workflows, on the other hand, always have at least two steps: the first and the last (numbered 999). It is possible to add several intermediate steps.

1. Step Definition sub-tab:

Field	Description
Identity	Identifies the step by a code.
Name	Allows to enter the English name of the step. Click French to switch language and enter the French translation.
Description	Allows to enter the description of the step.
Role in Charge	Allows to select the role that will be in charge of approving the transaction targeted by the step. The roles available here are set up in the Role Management option. Warning! A control is in place so that multiple users can share the same role and approve a transaction multiple times (if it requires two different approvals, for example), while preventing the same user from approving the same transaction more than once. NOTES: Click on the suspension points […] to open the role selection window. If a workflow step is assigned to the Modifier role – related to the Flexible User – responsibility for the step will be assigned to the last user who modified the transaction. If the table to which the process is linked does not contain the Modifier, the Author will be used instead.
User in Charge	Allows to select the specific user in charge of approving the transaction targeted by the step. The users available here are set up in the Security Management. NOTE: Click on the suspension points […] to open the user selection window.
Contact in Charge	Allows to select the specific contact that will be responsible for the step, if it’s an alert. The contacts available here are set up in the Contact Management option. NOTES: Click on the suspension points […] to open the contact selection window. If the communication mode is not specified, a message will be displayed to the user.
Alert Only	Used to specify that the step is an alert step. An alert step can be inserted in a more complex workflow.
The approver of this step will be used as the signatory of the cheque	Available only for Disbursement transaction type. This checkbox is available for a maximum of 4 steps in a single workflow. Therefore, there can be up to 4 signatories for a check. For a user to be accepted as a signatory, a signature file must be present in the user's record (via the Security Management option).
Send a message	This section contains the message sending choices for the current step. Select sendings to make, the following choices are available: To the user in charge of this step, who is to approve the transaction To the user in charge of the prev. step, after the trans. is approved (choice not available on the second step of the workflow) To the user who created the trans., after it has been approved at this step (choice not available on the last step of the workflow)
Change the status of the transaction at this step for	If the box is checked, the status of the transaction will be modified after the current step. Choose a status to which the transaction should progress. If the type of transaction selected is Payment Authorization, the status of the invoice shoud be selected in this field instead. NOTE: The statuses available in the drop-down field are configured in the Table of Order Status Codes.

2. Conditions sub-tab:

Field	Description
[Field]	Selects a field based on the option indicated in the Transaction Type field. NOTE: Choices available here are filtered according to the transaction type.
[Operator]	Identifies an operator to express the condition of the step: equal not equal contains does not contain is between
[Value]	Value used to express the condition of the step in reference to the selected field.
Required	If the box is checked, the condition of the step must be met to trigger the workflow. If the box is not checked, it will be an optional condition.

3. Communications tab:

Click on Show values in French in order to switch fields to their French counterparts. The same button will allow you to get back to English values. At the end of the field, an icon can be used to open the Subject Configuration for: [language] Window. This utility program enables users to add fields that will be updated by the corresponding value from the transaction when the message is sent.

 

Field	Description
S ubject	Indicates the subject of the email message. NOTE: Specific information is added in the subject line of the email sent to the users involved in the workflow: For a regular workflow, the following wording is added according to the nature of the approval operation, when the step of the workflow changes: If the workflow goes to the next step (but not to the last step): the subject will start with "TO APPROVE". If the workflow goes to the last step: the subject will start with"APPROVAL COMPLETED". If the workflow goes back to a previous step (to the previous step or to the first step): the subject will start with "REJECTED". For an alert workflow, the subject will start with « INFORMATION », indicating that no action is required.
Email Message	Used to enter the body text and to format it.
Text Message	Used to enter the message that will be sent by SMS to the person in charge. NOTE: The text message is only used for Alert type processes.

3. Click the Save button.

 

see also

• Stock Order from Catalogue
• Project Purchase
• Receipt of Goods
• Subcontract Management
• Disbursement
• Enter a Direct Disbursement
• Requisition
• Inventory to Project Transfer
• Inventory-Site Transfer
• Enter a Sale

 

Last modification: December 20, 2024