Workflow Assignments

VIDEO | Project Workflow Page

Each contract is unique and may require various levels of approval. The Workflow Assignments tab allows you to set up the proper approval steps. The approvals are broken down into different parts of the contract management process (contract, change order, and payment form) to allow for maximum flexibility in the approval workflow.

When the Projects must select specific users... check box in the organization workflow approval setup (organization Settings > Contract > Workflow assignments > [Bid package or Contract type] > Add approval dialog box) is selected, you must assign specific users to each role in each step. When the check box is not selected, and there are multiple roles assigned in a single step, you can assign one user to any role in each step before workflow can begin.

If a role in a workflow assignment has no users assigned to it, the workflow cannot be started. A warning indicating that there is no applicable user for the step is shown.

Workflow Assignment

  1. From the Workflow Assignments tab of a contract, select the type of approval setup.

  2. On the approval set up page, click the Add approval icon. The Add approval slide-out panel opens.

  3. Enter the step title and then assign users, groups, or roles as approvers, and then click Add.
  4. Click Save on the approval setup page.

Start the approval workflow

Start the approval process when the contract or vendor change order is complete and ready for final approval.

Approval steps must be configured at the organization, project, or contract level. If you want to make changes to the approval steps, you must go to the Workflow Assignments tab to make your changes. If your organization has chosen to not allow workflow when the contract is over budget, an error message shows when you start the approval. See Organization settings for more information about allowing a contract type to go to approval when over budget.

  1. Go to the Header tab for a contract or the Details page for a vendor change order, and then click Save and start approval. The Start approval dialog box opens to the approval steps page.

  2. Review the change approval steps as necessary, and then click Next.

  3. Review the contract budget. Contract converts the workflow values from the project currency to the contract currency to see if you have exceeded budget. If there is no conversion rate listed in the project details, the conversion rate is assumed to be 1:1. When the contract is over budget, a yellow warning banner shows at the top of the Budget check tab, and the loss is shown in red in the Gain/Loss column.

    If information required for the workflow is missing, the applicable section header in the contract Additional details section on the Contract Details page shows a red warning icon.

  4. Choose one of the following:

    • If you do not want to add a message and attach supporting documents, click Start. The approval process starts.

    • If you want to add a message or attach supporting documents, click Next. The Add messages page opens.

  5. Choose one of the following:

    • If you want to add a message to be included in the workflow email, type and format it, and then click Next. The Attach supporting documents page opens.

    • If you do not want to add a message, click Next. The Attach supporting documents page opens.

  6. Choose one of the following:

    • If you want to attach supporting documents, click Next. The Attach supporting documents page opens.

    • If you do not want to attach supporting documents, click Start. The approval process starts.

  7. Select one or more supporting documents from the list of documents.

  8. Click Start. The approval process starts.

The approvers receive a notification of the approval item. When you start the approval process and you are the first approver in the approval workflow, the first step of the workflow is automatically approved, and continues with the next step, if applicable. If you are the only step in the approval, the item is set to Approved.

Users who are added to roles associated with an active workflow can approve or reject workflows items. They do not get a workflow notification, but the workflow item is shown in the Action items tab. Worklfows that are not completed within 90 days are terminated and automatically removed from the Action items tab.

You can view document approval workflow progress and history on the project Workflows > Workflow details page. If the workflow has been recalled, the name of the person who recalled the workflow is shown in the workflow heading.

When the workflow is complete, Contract sends a completion email to you as the initiator, people who created the item, and the person who completed the last step.