Workflow Examples

This page walks through real-world scenarios showing how Invent Workflows handles common business processes from start to finish.

Example 1: Client Onboarding

A financial advisory firm uses a workflow to onboard new clients.

Template Structure

Milestones:

1. Application — collect client information
2. Review — compliance team reviews the application
3. Account Setup — set up accounts and send welcome materials

How It Works

Step 1: Launch the workflow

A relationship manager clicks Submit Request on the Dashboard, selects the "Client Onboarding" template, and fills in:

• Client name
• Client email
• Account type (Individual, Joint, Trust)
• Investment amount

Step 2: Document collection

The workflow creates a Document Upload task assigned to the client's contact, requesting:

• Government-issued ID
• Proof of address
• Signed account agreement

Step 3: Compliance review

Once documents are uploaded, an Approval task is created for the compliance team. The reviewer:

• Reviews the submitted documents and client information
• Approves or rejects the application
• Adds comments if additional information is needed

Step 4: Conditional branching

If approved → the workflow proceeds to account setup (HTTP actions to create accounts via API, followed by a welcome email).

If rejected → the workflow creates a follow-up task for the relationship manager with the rejection reason.

Step 5: Completion

The workflow completes with output data including the new account number and onboarding date. Everyone involved can track the progress on the Dashboard throughout.

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Example 2: Expense Approval

A company uses a workflow to process expense reports.

Template Structure

Milestones:

1. Submission — employee submits expense details
2. Approval — manager reviews and approves
3. Processing — finance team processes payment

How It Works

1. Employee launches the "Expense Report" workflow and fills in:

   • Expense category
   • Amount
   • Description
   • Receipts (document upload)

2. An Approval task is created for their manager:

   • If the amount is under $500, one approval is needed
   • If over $500, a parallel block creates approvals for both the manager and finance director

3. On approval, an HTTP action calls the payment system API to initiate reimbursement

4. A Send Email action notifies the employee that their expense has been approved and payment is being processed

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Example 3: Document Review Cycle

A legal team uses a workflow to review and approve contracts.

Template Structure

Milestones:

1. Draft Review — initial review of the contract
2. Revisions — collect feedback and revisions
3. Final Approval — sign-off from stakeholders

Key Patterns Used

• Loop action — the revision step loops until all reviewers are satisfied (uses a "Revisions Complete" flag)
• Parallel actions — multiple reviewers get their approval tasks simultaneously
• Conditional logic — different review paths based on contract value
• Set Variable — tracks revision count and reviewer comments across iterations

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Common Patterns

Pattern: Sequential Approvals

When approvals must happen in order (first manager, then director):

1. Add an Approval action for the manager
2. Add a second Approval action for the director (it won't start until the first completes)
3. Add a Conditional action to check if either approval was rejected

Pattern: Parallel Document Collection

When you need documents from multiple people simultaneously:

1. Add a Parallel container
2. Inside, add Document Upload actions assigned to different people
3. The workflow waits until all uploads are complete before proceeding

Pattern: Automated Notification with Manual Fallback

When you want to send an automated email but have a manual task as backup:

1. Add an HTTP Request action to call the notification service
2. Configure error handling to Continue on failure
3. Add a Conditional checking if the HTTP action succeeded
4. In the else branch, add a User Form task asking someone to send the notification manually

Pattern: Data Enrichment

When you need to pull in data from external systems:

1. Add an HTTP Request action to call the external API
2. Map the response data to workflow variables using output mapping
3. Use those variables in subsequent task descriptions and form pre-fills

See Also

• Best Practices — tips for users, designers, and administrators