This article gives details and examples of the other steps that are available in steps to perform other functions in Automation Processes.
Summary Notification
When a Custom Process is filtered on a Documents, Jobs or Tasks view you can add a Summary Notification step so that the notifications are sent out automatically as a summary instead of as individual notifications. Refer to Custom Processes using Views and Summary Notifications.
Delay
A Delay step can be 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 Automation - History displays the date and time that each step was completed. Refer to Automation History.
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 that 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
From the Execute Process Step, select the Process you want to Execute. It is added to the Process in the sequence in which it should be executed.
Note: Automations marked as Inactive or Draft will not be executed by this process, and an error will be displayed in the History tab.
If the Process selected for the Execute Process step uses a Job view as the Filter, that Process must have parameters set so that Job(s) are selected.
Apply Additional Process Filter in Execute Process
The Apply Additional Process Filter option can be used as a way to split a Process. It can avoid duplications in Processes and is used to set up 'master' Processes and then have 'secondary' Processes that run on certain conditions.
- When Apply Additional Process Filter is set to "No", the filter from the initiating Process is used as the filter for the Execute Process.
- When Apply Additional Process Filter is set to "Yes", the filter from the Execute Process itself is used (in addition to that from the initiating Process).
After running any steps for Clients, Documents, Tasks or Jobs that meet the criteria using the filter from the initiating Process, additional Processes can be executed using the filters in the Process selected for the Execute Process step and setting Apply Additional Process Filter.
For example, a Process is run for all clients to receive an email reminding them of their lodgement due date. This is set up to use a Custom Field for the due date held for each Client. The Execute Process step then uses a view that segments "Gold star clients" and that automation Process additionally creates a Task for the relative manager to call the client to remind them.
Note: The Process selected in the Execute Process will only run where the criteria in the Filter from the initiating Process still apply to the Clients, Documents, Tasks or Jobs. The Process selected in the Execute Process must apply the same criteria but can have additional parameters. For example, if the filter for the initiating process retrieves Clients for a specific Custom Field, this must also apply to the Process run with the Execute Process step.
To run a Process with a completely different Filter, this must be run as a separate Process, not with the Execute Process step.
Block Initiating Process
When Block Initiating Process is enabled, this blocks the initiating automation Process from completing until the Process in the Execute Process step has been completed. For example,
- If the Execute Process contains a blocking or an autocomplete Task, the initiating Process does not get processed until the Task is complete.
- If the Execute Process contains a Delay step, the initiating Process does not get processed until the Execute Process has been completed.
- If the Execute Process fails, the initiating Process will not continue and remains "In Progress".
Stop
The Stop step can be used to stop a process that is running using a filter or a view, and where the underlying selector has changed so that the trigger is no longer applicable. This could be where a change has been made manually, or by another automation process.
For example, if a process has been set up to select documents, clients, jobs or tasks using a specific Status and the Status is changed manually while the process is running, that document, client, job or task would then not be included in the view. Any remaining steps in the process are then stopped for the specific document, client, job or task. The Process will continue to run for any other documents, clients, jobs or tasks that are still included in the view as the Process selection is still applicable.
As an example, if a process is set up to send a reminder email for any jobs with a specific Status. The process is also set up with a Delay step for 1 week, with a Stop step and then another Create Email step to send a second reminder email. The second email is only sent 1 week later if the Status for any of the jobs is still the same. The process is stopped for any jobs that have had the Status updated and the process will only send the second reminder for those jobs that still have the same Status set.
myprosperity Share Document
For practices that have the integration with myprosperity, when a Custom Process is filtered on a Document View, the Share Document step can be added from the myprosperity Application.
Note: The client will need to have been created in myprosperity before the document can be sent. For details on how to create a client, refer to Integration with myprosperity.
The process takes the document(s) triggered from the Document view selected in the Filter and shares them directly with myprosperity. Ensure that the Filter is set with Run Only Once Per Document check-marked so that the document is only shared once.
This would commonly be used to share Client Signed documents with myprosperity using a Documents view with a filter applied to the Workflow column of "Client Signed".
This function is the same as using the Share function for a selected document and selecting Send via as "myprosperity" (refer to Sharing Documents via myprosperity) but no email is sent when the document is shared via the Custom Process.
