Process Step Details and Examples

This article gives details and examples of the functions that are available in steps.

• Create Email
• Create Word, Spreadsheet and Presentation
• Filing in Steps
• Workflow in Steps
• Task in Steps
• Comment in Steps
• Including Merge Fields in the Filing Details
• Delay
• Create Job
• Update Client
• Update Job
• Execute Process

Create Email

The following is an example of a Create Email step.

Template - this selects the Email Template that will be used. The template can include merge fields to create the email text

Attachments - you can add an attachment to the email. This must be a document that has been created by a preceding step within that process. Clicking the drop-down for Attachments in the email step displays a list of all the relevant preceding steps that generate a document, that is, any Create Word, Create Spreadsheet, Create Presentation, Create PDF steps.

Attachments as PDFs - set the Attachments as PDFs switch to "On" to send the attachments as PDF files, or "Off" to send in their original file format.

Sender - This can be set to a specific person in your user list. Or it can be set as "Manager" to set the owner as the relative client's manager, or as "Partner" to set the Sender as the relative client or job's partner (as held in Xero Practice Manager).

• For a process that is run for a Client, the Manager or Partner is taken from the Client Details (refer to Client Summary).
• For a process that is run in the context of a Job, the Manager or Partner is taken from the Job Details (refer to Job Summary tab in Job Workspace).

Send attachment(s) - determines how an attachment to the email is sent, by email or sent to the client's OneDrive. When this is set as OneDrive, and Attachments as PDFs is set as "Off" you can select Co-edit with client (refer to Co-editing an External Document).

Save or Send - whether to save as "Draft in FYI", "Draft in Outlook" or Send Immediately".

Create Word, Spreadsheet and Presentation

The steps for Create Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation allow you to select settings for Filing, Workflow, Task and Comment.

You can select a Template that will be applied, and for Word, you can also select a Stationery. The Template and Stationery can include merge fields to create the text.

If you want to include merge fields in the filing details such as the document name, these are added to the Filing section in the step (refer below to Including Merge Fields in Filing Details).

The following is an example of a Create Word step. In the Action section, select the Template to use and, if relevant, the Stationery.

Filing in Steps

The Filing section controls how the document is named and where it is filed.

The follow is an example of creating a Word document.

Name is the name of the document that will be created in FYI.
If a Template has been selected, this can be set as "Default from template" to use the name of the template for the document that is created, or this can be changed to any text as required.

Autofile can be "Disabled" or "Enabled".

• When AutoFile is "Disabled", the document will be filed using the settings for Cabinet and Category in the process step.
• When AutoFile is "Enabled", the Filing Defaults for the client are used, if available.
  These settings are taken from the specific client the step is processed for. Where the client is part of a Client Group, the process ignores whether there is a client for the group set as the Primary client for Autofile with the Include in Autofile setting (refer to Setting Filing Defaults for a Client).

Cabinet and Categories in the process step are only available if Autofile is "Disabled" and can be set as relevant for the type of document being created by the step.

Filing defaults to "Filed". If this is set as "Unfiled" it will appear in the owner's In Tray ready for filing. If the Owner is set in the Workflow section this is used (refer below to Workflow in Steps), otherwise it is set as the Owner of the Process.

Workflow in Steps

You can use the Workflow section in the step  for information purposes, to set the approval of an email or document, or to set it as read-only. This is the same as the Workflow section when creating emails and documents. Refer to the section Workflows.

Owner can be used to select the owner of the document/email.

This can be set to a specific person in your user list. Or it can be set as "Manager" to set the owner as the relative client or job's manager, or as "Partner" to set the owner as the relative client or job's partner (as held in Xero Practice Manager).

• For a process that is run for a Client, the Manager or Partner is taken from the Client Details.
• For a process that is run in the context of a Job, the Manager or Partner is taken from the Job Details.

If there is no Partner/Manager assigned to the client and the process is creating an email, it will add the Process Owner as the Owner of the email created in the step. When a Word document or Meeting is created by the process step, it adds the user running the process as Owner of the document created.

Approver can be used to set the Approver of the document/email. This can be set to a specific person or it can be set as "Manager" to set the owner as the relative client or job's manager, or as "Partner" to set the owner as the relative client or job's partner.

• For a process that is run for a Client, the Manager or Partner is taken from the Client Details.
• For a process that is run in the context of a Job, the Manager or Partner is taken from the Job Details.

Workflow Status can be set for information purposes, to set the approval of an email or document, or to set it as read-only.

Task in Steps

Task is used to create a task for the document/email when the process runs. In the following example, the task is created for an email.

Create a Task - click to set this as "Yes" to create a task.

Subject - enter a brief subject for the task. This displays in the lists in FYI.

Assignee - can be set as a specific person in your user list. Or this can be set as "Manager" to assign the task to the relative client or job's manager, or as "Partner" to assign it to the relative client' or job's partner (as held in Xero Practice Manager).

• For a process that is run for a Client, the Manager or Partner is taken from the Client Details.
• For a process that is run in the context of a Job, the Manager or Partner is taken from the Job Details.
• If there is no Partner/Manager assigned to the client/job, the Assignee is set as "Unassigned".

Due Date - select when the task needs to be completed as the number of days. You can also set this as 0 (zero) days to make the task immediate.

Status - this defaults to "Not started". The Status can be changed to "In Progress", so when the task is created, nothing needs to be actioned on it.

Cabinet - if Task Security is set in your Practice Settings, a Cabinet can be selected to add the Cabinet security to the task. This ensures that only users with access to that Cabinet can see the task, for example, for sensitive areas such as HR or performance management. When creating a task, you can select the cabinet. Where a task is automatically created as linked to a document, the task cabinet is inherited from the document created and displays in the task details. Refer to Managing Practice Settings.

Blocking - when creating a task, you can set Blocking as "On" so that the process stops until a Task created in the automation process is set as "Completed". This could be used, for example, for a Task created in the process to ensure that an email, word or any other document created in the previous step(s) has been checked before any other actions in the process are done. When the Task is set as "Completed", the process could then be set up to continue and send the checked email or send an email with a checked document attached.

Note: If the process only holds one step, ensure you do not set a task that is created with Blocking as "On" as the process will show as outstanding until the status of the task is set as "Complete".

Details - type the brief details of the task. The assignee can easily display the email to see what the task relates to.

Comment in Steps

Automatic notifications can be defined and triggered as part of process automations using Comments. This ensures that you are aware of documents that have been imported, filed or changed automatically in FYI. Refer to Automation Notifications.

Including Merge Fields in the Filing Details

Certain fields in the Filing section in Process Steps, such as Name and Year, can use relative Merge Fields.

The example below is for the Tax Assessment. In the example below, the from and to tax periods are included in the document Name as NOA Agree {{ TaxPeriodFrom }} - {{ TaxPeriodTo }}.

To include the Client Name this would be added to the document name in the Filing section for example, as NOA {{ ClientName }}.

Including Merge fields in the Name

1. Click the ellipsis (…) next to the Name
   
   to display the pop-up with the relevant merge fields that can be used. Click the down arrow next to a category to expand it and display the merge fields in that group.
   
   
2. Position the cursor in the Name where you want to include the merge code.
3. Click one of the merge fields that is listed on the right-hand side (for example, you could add NOA Amount, or from the FYI group, Client Name)
4. The correct code for the merge field is added for you in the Name.

Merge Fields for Year
Year, this can include merge fields by selecting "Merge Field" from the drop down which then displays the  merge field pop-up selections in the same way as for the Name. If this is set, for example, with "TaxYear" as the merge field, the document will be automatically filed in the relevant tax year as the Year category.

 

Delay

A Delay step can added to an Automation Process to set a delay in the process. This delays the next step in the process from running until that delay is over. The Delay can be set to a number of hours, days or weeks. For example, this could be used so that on completion of a Task that is created in the process, there is then a delay of the selected hours, days or weeks and then an email is sent.

The Process History displays the date and time that each step completed.  Refer to Automation Process History.

Create Job

When using a process with a Client View, the Create Job step can be used to create a Job. Refer to Custom Processes using Views and Summary Notifications. The Job is synced immediately to Xero Practice Manager where the job number will be applied.

Currently, this does not set the Manager or Partner for the Job. These can be updated when the job has been created using Bulk Update (refer to Jobs Bulk Update).

As Job Templates are not currently available in FYI, if any other changes are needed to the Job, you can update it in Xero Practice Manager. When it is next synced with FYI, the Job details are updated in FYI.

Update Client

The Update Client step can be used to update Client Custom Fields. This is currently available for Custom Fields that are dates. When the update is made by the automation process to the Client in FYI, the change is synced to Xero Practice Manager.

An example of this would be updating the Engagement Date on the client record as a result of a client signing an engagement letter. An automation can be set up using a view that detects that the engagement letter has been signed by the client and to update a Custom Field such as "Last valid engagement date" in the client record with the current date stamp.

Another example when this could be used is to record the last date that a partner made contact with a client. This can be triggered when a Phone Call or Meeting interaction was created in FYI.

This process step is used to update the record with the current date so this would not be used for a Custom Field date such as a date of birth.

Update Job

In the Action for Update Job, you select the Job State, Manager or Partner to be set by the process.

The Manager or Partner can be set to a specific person in your user list. Any of these can be set as "‘Unchanged’ if the State, Manager or Partner are not going to be changed by the process.

The Update Job step can also be used to update Job Custom Fields. This is currently available for Custom Fields that are dates in the same way as Update Client above. This process step is used to update the record with the current date.

Execute Process

Execute Process sets one process to execute one or more other active processes. You can only use this to execute a "Manual" process .

An example of using Execute Process is for a ‘New Employee onboarding’ process which includes separate business divisions who need to complete their ‘checklist’ of onboarding tasks. For example, there could be the following four processes that each division can run separately, and also have a top level process that runs all four of these when needed.

• Execute process: IT new employee onboarding
• Execute process: HR new employee onboarding
• Execute process: Finance new employee onboarding
• Execute process: Operations new employee onboarding