Most Automation Processes use a trigger and a filter, and include one or more steps.
- The Trigger controls whether the process runs on a Scheduled time basis or it is Manual and can be run manually, as and when needed.
- The Filter determines what information is or is not included in the process.
- The Steps control the actions done by the process, such as creating an email or Word document and filing it and then creating a task relating to it.
This article contains the following sections:
- Editing an Automation Process
- Process Controls
- Process Steps
- Editing an "Active" Process
- Archiving a Process and Restoring an Archived Process
Editing an Automation Process
- From FYI, click the Automation menu option.
- Go to the Processes tab.
- For the relevant Process, click the cog icon to edit the process.
When you edit a Process:
- The Details tab has the details of the Process and its steps
- The History tab displays the history of every time that Process has run.
- The Activity tab displays audit information about when the Process was created, all changes that were made to that Process and the user who made the changes.
Clicking Back from the open Process re-displays the Automation Dashboard.
Process Controls
When you edit a Process with steps, the Trigger, Filter and other controls for the process display at the top.
- The Sample Processes are shipped with FYI and are set to run with specific settings.
For these, the Trigger and Filter are fixed (for example, to runs when a "New Document" arrives). You will therefore not be able to change the Trigger and Filter. You can however make modifications to the steps in these processes. You can also use them as examples when setting up your own Custom Processes. - Any Custom Processes that have been set up for your practice will have the Trigger and Filter set up as relevant for the process. A Custom Process can also hold a description in the Details field with any description. Refer to Setting up Custom Processes.
The following is example of the Sample Process, Tax Assessments AutoFile that is scheduled to run Daily, with specific filters set.
Note: The Description field is not available in the Sample Processes that are shipped with FYI as they are pre-configured.
Status
The Status can be "Active" or "Draft". A process will only be run if the Status is "Active".
When the Status of the Process is "Draft", a message displays as a reminder that it will not run when you click the Back button or when you leave the page.
Name
The name of the process.
You can change the Name by clicking on it, make the change and click the Tick icon to save the change (or click the X icon to not save the change).
Trigger
This controls the way in which a process can be triggered:
- Scheduled Daily
For an example of a process that is Scheduled Daily, refer to Tax Assessments AutoFile (Agreed & Not Postal/Agreed & Postal) (Australia Only). - Due to an event (for example "New Document").
For an example of a process that runs due to an event, refer to Negative Email Alert. - Manual
The process is run as and when required, for a specific client.
For an example of a process that is run with the Trigger set as Manual, refer to Client Ledger Reports AutoFile (Australia and UK).
For full details of the process Trigger, refer to Setting up Custom Processes.
Filter
A filter determines what information is or is not included in the process.
For example, a process is set up that filters import tax assessments that agree with the original assessment and a different process, with different actions, is set up for tax assessments that vary from the original assessment.
For full details of the process Filter, refer to Setting up Custom Processes.
Other Process Controls
Owner. The Owner is set by default as the user who made the process active and this can be changed if required. If the 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 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.
Last Run shows the date the process was last run. It includes a green tick or a red X icon to indicate if the process ran as a success or with an error. Refer to Automation History.
Inherit Job. When the Filter Type is set as Document View or Tasks View, the Inherit Job option is included in the process. Refer to Custom Processes using Views and Summary Notifications.
Process Steps
For detailed explanations of the steps that make up a process, refer to Automation Process Steps and to the articles in the section Process Step Details.
Editing an "Active" Process
When editing an "Active" Process, making a change to anything other than the Process Name, Owner or Start From date, will automatically set the Status to "Draft". When you click the Back button or when you leave the page, a message displays as a reminder that the Status of the Process is "Draft".
When editing an "Active" Process, and the Status is set to "Active", if relevant for the changes that have been made, when you click the Back button or leave the page, a message displays as a reminder that changes will not be applied if the Process is already in progress. Changes will only take effect on new executions of the Process.
Archiving a Process and Restoring an Archived Process
You can make a Process "Archived" by clicking the Archive button.
You can restore an "Archived" process by clicking the Restore button. This restores the process with the Status set as "Draft".
Resetting a Process
In a Sample Process, clicking Reset will reset the process Steps back to the configuration as initially installed by FYI.
In a Custom Process, clicking Reset clears everything except the Filter.