Scheduled Workflow Overview

Scheduled workflows allow you to create queries that run at regular intervals via the process server. If an event occurs that meets the conditions you specify, Vision performs an action such as sending an email alert, changing the value of a column, or initiating an activity.

You set up scheduled workflows in Configuration > Workflow > Scheduled Workflows.

Scheduled workflows are added as jobs to the process server and run according to the schedule that you set. Schedules can be set to run on a specific date and time or at regular intervals.

The event must have at least one condition defined. If the conditions of the event are not met, none of the actions for the event take place. If the conditions of the event are met, Vision evaluates the conditions of each action to determine whether or not that action should take place.

An event can have multiple actions associated with it. For example, you can create a workflow that states that if profit percent for the current period for any organization is below 10%, then send an email to the supervisor and set up a meeting.

Scheduled workflows, unlike user initiated workflows, allow you to build SQL expressions for events and actions, and can include calculations. You can use expressions to create events and actions when the basic Conditions fields are not enough. In addition, more elaborate date operators are available for scheduled workflows.

You can create workflows for both standard and user-defined fields and grids.

If your firm uses Vision Multicompany, additional column options and operators are available when you create the workflow. These options and operators may provide access to all companies or to the home company. See the Employees and Multicompany online help topics for more information.

In Workflows the word column is synonymous with field.

Project Summary Report Fields

If you use fields from the Project Summary report in the SQL expression, you must also take one of the following actions to prevent unexpected results:

• Refresh the Project Summary tables just before the scheduled workflow is to run.

• Include in the SQL expression a case statement that accounts for projects added since the Project Summary tables were last refreshed. The case statement must specify that if a row is not in the Project Summary table for a project (because the table has not been refreshed since that project was added to the Vision database), then use a value that you specify, such as zero.