Setting up and Running Custom Processes

As well as the System Processes that are shipped with FYI, you can set up Custom Processes specifically for the needs of your practice. Every practice has repetitive processes that can be automated with FYI's custom processes.

For example, you may have clients that you service with regular frequency, such as monthly or quarterly management reporting. You may also have internal processes that repeat with consistency, with respect to HR, IT, administration, and marketing (that is, a new team member onboarding). 

To find custom processes in FYI, go to the Automations dashboard. To add a Custom Process, click the Add Custom Process button. 

Note: Any Custom Processes that are still in Draft will show in the dashboard with a grey background.

Custom Processes can only be set up or edited by an FYI administrator or a user in a User Group with Administer Automation set "On" (refer to Managing User Groups). Custom Process is only available if your FYI subscription level is "Professional".

Video Walkthroughs
For a video walkthrough of Adding a Custom Process, refer to Creating a Custom Process to Email in Bulk (3 min). This covers the steps required to prepare a 'bulk email' automation. The same method can be followed when creating any custom process in your practice. If you prepare a similar process and then want to test it, refer below to Testing a Custom Process.

For a video walkthrough of Running a Custom Process, refer to Running and Testing a Custom Process (3 min). This covers the steps to perform when you want to run a custom process manually.  There are slightly different steps required when you want to run your process for an individual instance/client, compared to running a process for your entire client base, or a sub-section of your client base. This video  excludes Scheduled processes, which run as defined by their schedule.

Adding a Custom Process

Adding a Custom Process is similar to setting up or modifying a System Process for a process with steps but has some different settings. Refer also to Automation Processes.

Name
Enter the name of the process, for example, "Quarterly BAS", "Onboarding New Employee".

Trigger
This controls the way in which a process can be triggered. This can be set as Schedule or Manual.

• Schedule
  The process will run automatically according to the Schedule you set. When the Trigger is set to Schedule, click below this to define the Schedule.
  
  
  The Select Date Range displays where you also set the frequency.
  
  
  Start and End
  Set the Start date and optionally the End date. These dates determine when then process is going to start and end running.
  
  Frequency
  To set the frequency, this is set as either "On the" or "Every". These also work in combination with the Start date.
  
  "On the" sets a specific day. For "Every" you enter the number and select hours, days, weeks, etc. Use the drop-downs to see the combinations that you can select for each.
  
  For example, to set the frequency as every Monday, you would set the Start of the Schedule as a date that is a Monday and schedule it to run every 7 days.
  
  
  To set this as the last Monday in a quarter, you would set the Schedule as follows.
  
  
  To schedule the process to run every 12 hours, set it as follows. For every number of hours, this uses the time that you set up the process as the start of when the process triggers. For every number of days or weeks, you can use the Start date to set the start.
  
  
• Manual
  When set as Manual, the process is run manually as and when required. It is run from the Automation Dashboard by opening the Custom Process and clicking Run.
  
  Manual processes that relate to a specific client can be run from the Clients - Processes tab for the selected client. Refer to Displaying Information for a Client.

Filter
A filter determines what information is monitored or included in the process.
Click the edit icon to display the Filter Items.

Filter Types can be selected as Client, Document or Job.

Filter Type Document or Job allows you to select a Documents list view on which to filter and Job allows you to select a Jobs view. For information on using a Document view as the filter refer to Custom Processes using Views and Summary Notifications. For a Job view this is the same as for a Document view.

Filter Type Client
This shows the standard filters and also all of the Custom Fields that you have set up in Xero Practice Manager.

• Client - You can select a specific client. If a specific client is selected, other filters will not be applied.
• Structure - This uses a setting in Xero Practice Manager to filter a specific client structure such as "Individual", "Company", "Sole Trader", "Trust", etc.
• Partner - this is used to filter clients assigned to a specific Partner within your practice.
• Manager - this is used to filter clients assigned to a specific Manager within your practice.
• Has Email -  when Has Email is ticked, the process includes only those clients with a valid email address.
• Include Archived - archived clients are excluded by the filter by default.
• Custom Fields - A selection of any of the Custom Fields that have been set up in Xero Practice Manager can be used as a filter.
  
  For example, if your practice performs a monthly or a quarterly bookkeeping service for some clients, in a "Service" Custom Field, these clients would have either "Bookkeeping - Monthly" or "Bookkeeping - Quarterly". You can then set up a Custom Process that sends out a monthly or quarterly checklist to relevant clients by setting the relevant Custom Field in the FYI Custom Process.
  
  

Status
The Status can be "Active" or "Draft". A process will only be run if the Status is "Active".

Owner
The Owner is set by default as the user who created the custom process and this can be changed if required. An Owner must be selected for a process. If the Custom process fails, an email will be sent to this user as notification. You can set this as "Me" to set yourself as the owner.

Start From
Start From is only relevant for processes that import documents. This allows you to enter the date from which you want to start retrieving the documents. If you enter a date in the past, this will import documents from that date, This will only import documents that have not already been imported.

Add the Steps to the Custom Process

You add the steps to a Custom Process in the same way that they are set up for a System Process. Refer to Automation Process Steps.

1. Click Add Step.
2. Choose the application for the step.
3. Select the Action and Filing details for each step.
   
   
4. Save the Custom Process by moving out of the screen for example, by clicking Back to redisplay the Process Dashboard. A Process is saved automatically.
   

   Once added, the Custom Process displays in the Automation Dashboard along with the System Processes.

Scheduled Custom Process

The following example shows the steps for a scheduled Custom Process that will send out a checklist to the clients you are doing bookkeeping for to remind these clients what they need to do and to send you for that quarter.

The clients this will be sent to will determined by the Filter for the Custom Process. In the example, this will be all clients who have "Bookkeeping - Quarterly" set in the Custom Field "Service".

Step 1 is set up to create a Spreadsheet using a template "Checklist for Quarterly Bookkeeping" which has already been set up. You also set up the filing details for the spreadsheet, such as the Cabinet.


Step 2 creates the email and sends the checklist spreadsheet from Step 1 via OneDrive. You also set up the filing details for the email, such as the Cabinet.

Running the Custom Process

A Scheduled Custom Process runs automatically according to the schedule that has been set up. In the example above, this is on the last Monday of every quarter from 1 January 2020 so that it is sent out 1 week before the end of the quarter.

Note: If you update the definition or steps in a Custom Process while that process is executing, any changes will not be taken into effect for the executing process. It continues with the settings as when the process started.

Manual Custom Process

The following example is of a manual Custom Process used to onboard a new employee.

This Custom Process will be run manually as and when needed. In the example, it contains the following steps.

1. Create a Task to appoint the coordinator for an induction program for the new team member.
2. Set up the checklist for the coordinator using a template that has been created as an Excel Spreadsheet.
3. Send an email to the IT Manager that there is a new team member who needs to be set up.
4. Create a New Team Member Details form for the new employee using a template that has been created as a Word document.
5. Create a New Team Member Booklet for the new employee using a template that has been created as a Word document.

Running the Manual Custom Process

1. From the Automation - Processes dashboard, edit the Custom Process.
2. Click the Run button.

Note: If you update the definition or steps in a Custom Process while that process is executing, any changes will not be taken into effect for the executing process. It continues with the settings as when the process started.

Testing a Custom Process

You can test a Custom Process to check it will run correctly.

The Test option is the same as Run, except Test allows you to choose a specific client to run the process on (whereas Run would execute the Custom Process for all clients, with the filter applied if relevant in that Custom Process).

1. From the Automation - Processes Dashboard, edit the Custom Process.
2. Click the Test button.
3. The Select Test Client displays.
   Where the Custom Process has a Filter (for example, clients who have "Bookkeeping - Quarterly" set in the Custom Field "Service") the filter is applied to the clients that display.
   You can switch Ignore Process Filter to "Yes" to display all clients.
   
   
4. Search for the client to run the test for and select it.
5. Click Run Test.