/settings/erp/organization/workflows
📷 Screenshots to be added. For now the on-screen buttons and labels are named verbatim.
1. The catalog — pick a document type
When you open Workflows & Approvals you land on Workflow Definitions: a searchable grid of cards, one per document type (Expense, Invoice, Leave Request, Advance, Purchase Requisition, and so on).- Search with the box at the top (“Search document types…”) — it matches the document’s name or its internal type.
- A card shows a small “Customized” badge if you’ve already changed that document type’s path from the factory default. No badge means it’s still on defaults.
- Click a card to open its editor.
The full list of document types, and what each one’s path looks like out of the box, is in the Document Types Reference.
2. The editor header
Once you pick a document type you’re in its editor. Along the top:- Back (arrow) — returns to the catalog.
- Editing with a “Customized” badge if it’s been changed.
- A Visual ⇄ Form toggle (see below) — two ways to look at the same definition. Switching views never changes anything.
- Add State — add a new named state to the path.
- Add Transition — add a new arrow between two states.
- More actions (⋯) → Reset to default — throw away your customisations and return this document type to its shipped path.
There is no separate Save button. Adding a state or transition saves immediately when you confirm the dialog, and dragging nodes around the canvas auto-saves the layout. You’ll get a toast confirming each change.
3. Visual view (the canvas)
The Visual view draws the workflow as a diagram you can read at a glance and drag to tidy up.- State nodes are rounded pills. A small coloured dot shows the state’s category: blue = open, green = approved, red = rejected, grey = terminal (end-of-life). Terminal states get a double outline. The starting state carries a “Start” badge.
- Action nodes are the small chips on each arrow, labelled with the action
(Submit, Approve, Reject…). They come in three looks:
- Approval gate — tinted with a shield icon and clickable. This is where an approval policy attaches. It shows a count badge — “N rule(s)” if approvers are configured, or “set up” if none are yet. Click it to open the Approval Policy panel.
- System — a dashed, muted chip with a lock icon. These are driven by the system (e.g. the automatic Approve that fires when the last approver signs off) and cannot be edited or deleted.
- Normal — a solid chip for an ordinary role-gated action.
- Edges (arrows) carry a role pill (with a people icon) naming who is allowed to pull that arrow — e.g. Requester, Finance — with a “+N” if several roles qualify.
- A legend (top-left) reminds you of the colour meanings.
- A hint (top-right): “Drag states to rearrange · layout auto-saved” — move nodes to lay the diagram out how you like; the arrangement is saved for you.
- Zoom in / Zoom out / Fit controls (bottom-left).
If a layout save ever fails you’ll see “Could not save layout — your changes may be lost on refresh”; just drag again once connectivity is back.
4. Form view
Prefer a list to a diagram? The Form view shows the same definition as two plain lists — handy for fast edits and for reading on a small screen.- States — each row shows the category dot, the state name and its category, with a “Start” badge on the initial state and a “Terminal” badge on end states.
- Transitions — each row reads from → action → to. Rows tagged “system” are the locked, system-driven ones. An approval-gate row shows a “Set up approvers” / “N rule(s)” button that opens the same Approval Policy panel. Ordinary rows list the roles allowed to act.
5. Adding a state
Add State opens a small dialog:
Confirm with Add State; you’ll see
State "…" added.
6. Adding a transition
Add Transition opens a dialog:
Add Transition is enabled once you’ve named the action, chosen both states and
picked at least one role. You’ll see
Transition "…" added.
Why can’t I edit or delete a state/transition inline? The visual and form views are read-only over the saved definition — you build the path by adding states and transitions, and if you want to start over you use Reset to default. The system-driven (locked) transitions are never removed by an edit, so you can’t accidentally break a document type’s core sign-off contract.
7. Reset to default
More actions (⋯) → Reset to default discards every customisation for this document type and restores its shipped path (and re-seeds its default approval chain). You’ll see “Reset to defaults”. Use it whenever a custom path has drifted somewhere you don’t want.Reset applies immediately. There’s no separate confirm dialog, so be deliberate — but remember the shipped defaults are always exactly one reset away, so nothing here is ever permanent.
What you can’t do here (by design)
- Edit or delete a locked (system) transition — these carry backend contracts.
- Write conditional logic or automatic field changes — advanced “only when…” rules and automatic field updates are managed in code, not exposed in the builder, so a mistyped rule can never corrupt a document on transition.