Creating Processes

Overview

Your Practifi instance contains preloaded processes that can be used as-is or modified to suit your firm’s workflows. For information about using the pre-built processes available in your organization, please consult our Using Processes article.

This article will guide you through creating a process from scratch in your Practifi instance. Processes automate repeatable workflows across your firm, enabling your team to deliver consistent client experiences while reducing manual effort. For more information about the settings available within processes, please consult our Understanding Processes article. If you have any questions about establishing a process to achieve a specific workflow, please contact your CSM.

Please note: If you prefer to accelerate process creation with AI-powered assistance, Smart Process Builder can generate process structures from natural-language descriptions. This tool is available as part of our Practifi Intelligence add-on. For more information, see our article Understanding and Using Smart Process Builder.

• Creating a New Process Shell
  • Build a Process Type
  • New Process Type Summary
  • Process Settings
  • Time-Based Commencement Settings
  • Portal Settings
  • System Information
• Creating Process Stages
  • Establishing the Initial Process Stage
• Creating Process Tasks
  • Process Task Creation
• Using Process Task Settings
  • Predecessors
  • Task Outcomes
  • Actions
  • Preset Checklist Items
• Using Rule-Based Actions
  • Creating Time-Based Execution Criteria
  • Adding Actions
• Using the Available To Setting

Creating a New Process Shell

This section provides a comprehensive guide to crafting a new process shell within the Settings app. By configuring parameters such as process name, related objects, visibility, order, and group, you’ll establish the foundation for workflows that drive efficiency across your firm. Key settings include task due date basis, assignment type, and time-based commencement, which enable precise automation tailored to your business needs.

Build a Process Type

A Process Type is a predefined template outlining structured steps and actions to achieve a specific business objective. It acts as a framework for organizing and automating tasks in Practifi, helping your team maintain consistency and quality in client delivery.

This section covers the manual approach to building a Process Type. If you’re working with complex, multi-step workflows and would like to explore an AI-assisted alternative, Smart Process Builder can generate process structures from natural language prompts, available as part of our Practifi Intelligence add-on. For more information, see our article Understanding and Using Smart Process Builder.

To begin building a Process Type manually:

1. Click the App Launcher in the upper left-hand corner of the Practifi screen and search for and select Settings.            
   
   
   
    
2. Click the caret button next to the Navigation menu and select Process Types.
   
   
    
3. On the Process Types page, click the New button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. This will open a New Process Type subtab with Summary, Process Settings and System Information sections.
    
   

New Process Type Summary

The Summary section of a Process Type record contains settings that govern a process’s basic properties. These settings determine where and how your process appears to users throughout your Practifi instance. Fill out the following information:

1. In the Process Name field, enter the name of the process. The Process Name will be what users see when kicking off a process from the Start a Process action.
2. Within the Related To list, select the objects and areas where you would like this process to be available within Practifi. The items will be highlighted in blue when selected.
3. Click the right arrow button to move the item from the Available box to the Chosen box. The item will move to the Chosen list when properly added.
4. Check the Visible checkbox if you want the process to be active and immediately available to be launched within the objects and areas set in the previous step.
5. In the Order field, enter a number. This defines the position where the process appears to end users in the list of available processes.
6. Optionally, enter a name in the Process Group field to group this process type with other like processes. The Process Group field can be included in reports for better organization and analysis.
7. In the Description field, enter a short description of the process. This text will be displayed to users on the Process record after it is launched, providing helpful context about the workflow’s purpose.

 

Process Settings

Process settings in Practifi play a pivotal role in tailoring and optimizing workflow management within the platform. These settings allow you to automate task ownership assignments, control form display behavior, and establish time-based triggers that ensure work begins at the right moment. The Process Settings section contains the following fields:

Stage - This field will be revisited and set later in the process, as outlined in the Creating Process Stages section below. For initial creation, leave the Stage field blank.

Task Due Date Basis - The Task Due Date Basis field is set to Trigger Date by default. You can change this to Process Due Date to align all task deadlines with the overall process timeline.

Include Active Form in launch action? - This field is set to Yes by default. Change this to No if you do not want the Active Form for the first task in the process to be displayed in the Start a Process workflow.

Please note: An Active Form will not appear in the Start a Process workflow if the process has more than one initial task that includes forms. Additionally, an Active Form will not be displayed in the Start a Process workflow if a user creates more than one instance of a process.

Assignment Type - Specifies which team member will be assigned as the process owner upon creation. This automation standardizes the assignment of the overall process and ensures accountability from the start. The available options are:

• None – Auto-assigns the process to the team member starting the process.
• Specify Now – Allows a specific team member or queue to be assigned the process upon process creation. Teams attempting to assign ownership via Specify Now must make the assignment choice and select the Save button before they can change the Owner field.

Please note: Once the team selects the Save button, they can change the owner by clicking on the gray person icon next to the current Owner name. A new menu will open, allowing selection of a specific user or queue assignment.

• Assign to Service/Client Owner – Assigns the process to the related service or entity owner, maintaining ownership alignment with existing relationships.
• Specify by Servicing Team Role – Allows the selection of specific servicing team roles assigned at the entity or team member level, supporting sophisticated delegation models.

Enable Time-Based Commencement - Check this box if you want to begin the process based on various Date fields across the Entity, Contact, Service, and Deal objects. This capability enables proactive workflows that trigger automatically based on important dates.

Time-Based Commencement Settings

1. Practifi's Time-Based Commencement settings enable users to automate processes based on specific Date fields across objects like Entity, Contact, Service, and Deal. This feature is valuable for automating time-sensitive workflows such as annual reviews, quarterly check-ins, or milestone-based deliverables, helping your firm deliver timely service while reducing manual calendar monitoring.

   Please note: This section is displayed only if the Enable Time-Based Commencement? box has been checked. The following steps can be skipped if you are not using time-based commencement settings. Use the steps below to establish time-based commencement settings:

2. Target Object - Select the pencil icon in the Target Object field to enter edit mode. Once in edit mode, select the desired object from the drop-down menu. This is the object whose Date field you will use to determine when to kick off the process.

   

3. Target Field - Enter the API Name of the Date field you would like the timing to be based on. The API Name can be found in the Object Manager in Salesforce Setup. To find the API Name, do the following:
   1.  Select the gear icon in the screen’s upper right-hand corner and select Setup from the drop-down menu. A new tab opens.
   2. Select the Object Manager tab and use the Quick Find field to search for the object. Next, click the object’s name in the Label field to open the Object record.
   3. On the Object record, select the Fields & Relationships heading on the left-hand side of the screen to open a list of fields on the object.
   4. Locate the Date field you would like the time-based settings to be based upon and copy the name displayed in the Field Name column. This is the API Name of the field.
   5. Paste the API Name from Object Manager into the Target Field on the Process Type screen.
4. Commencement Timing - Select Before or After to determine whether the process will begin before or after the date in the Target Field.
5. Number of days - Enter the number of days that the process should begin before or after the date specified in the Target Field.

6. Please note: The numbers for this field begin at one and count calendar days, not business days. This means if you enter a seven, the process will begin a week before or after the date in the Target Field.

   

7. Once Time-Based Commencement Settings have been entered, click Save to finalize this change.
    

Portal Settings

Portal settings dictate the availability and functionality of a process type within client-facing portals, specifically for organizations with the Practifi Portals add-on service. This enables your clients to initiate and participate in firm processes directly, creating a more collaborative and transparent service experience.

Check the Enable for Portal Users box to make this process type available in a client-facing portal.

Please note: To learn more about the Practifi Portals add-on service, please contact your CSM.

System Information

In this section, you can select the Locked checkbox to prevent other users at your firm from changing the Process Type. We recommend enabling this checkbox only after fully creating and testing your process type, to ensure it functions as intended before protecting it from modification.

Please note: If a locked process needs to be unlocked for changes, only the original creator can do so. Once unlocked, the Process Type record can be modified by all System Administrator users in your organization. The Created By and Last Modified By fields are auto-generated by the system and cannot be modified.

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Creating Process Stages

Each process has open configuration options for custom stages for each transitional state, meaning you can create as few or as many as needed. Process stages represent distinct phases or steps within a defined workflow, providing visibility into the status of work at any given moment. These stages structure the progression of a process and provide a systematic framework for completing tasks and achieving specific objectives. Each stage typically represents a significant milestone or set of related activities in the overall process. Use the following steps to create the process stages:

1. In the Process Settings section, click the pencil icon to the right of the Stage field.

   

2. Click on the Stage field and select the New Process Stage option to create a process stage.
3. In the Process Stage Name field, enter a name for the stage.
4. Click the Group picklist and select the option that makes the most sense based on the information input into the Process Stage Name field to group the stage with other stages. The group definitions are as follows:
   • Not Started - The process has not begun and is not being worked on by any team members within the firm.
   • In Progress - Team members at your firm are actively working through the process tasks.
   • Completed - All process tasks have been completed, and the overall process is now closed.
   • Canceled - The process has begun but is closed before all process tasks have been completed.
5. In the Process Type field, search for and select the name of the Process Type.

6. In the Order field, enter a whole number. This defines the position where the process stage appears in the list of available process stages.

   

7. Click Save to finalize the process stage creation.

Establishing the Initial Process Stage

Setting the initial process stage in Practifi is a foundational step that contributes to clarity, organization, and efficiency across the entire workflow, ensuring a smooth, well-defined progression through subsequent stages. To establish the initial process stage, do the following:

1. On the Process Type record, navigate back to the Process Settings section.
2. Select the pencil icon next to the Stage field to enter edit mode.

3. Within the Stage field, search for and select the stage that you would like the process to enter when it has been initiated.

   

4. Click Save to finalize this change.

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Creating Process Tasks

Process Tasks are the main components of a process that help build each step and set various outcomes that move the process forward through actions. These tasks represent the actual work your team performs and form the building blocks of your automated workflows.

Process Task Creation

In Practifi, a Process Task is a unit of work or action within a defined process. It represents a specific step or activity that needs to be completed to advance the overall process. Use the following steps to create a Process Task:

1. At the top of the Process Type record, click on the Process Tasks tab. This opens the Process Tasks list view for this process.

2. Click the New button on the right-hand side of the screen to create the new Process Task.

   

3. In the Subject field, enter a name for the task.
4. From the Priority picklist, select a priority to indicate the importance of the task.

5. Select the most suitable starting status for the process task from the Status picklist.

   Please note: If you select Completed as the default status for the process task, you will see an alert when running a validation check on the task.

6. Enter a short description of the task in the Description field.
7. In the Order field, enter a whole number. This defines the position of the task within the overall process.
8. Optionally, select a type from the Task Type picklist.

9. Enter any internal information about the task into the Details field. This information appears on the Task record in the Settings app.

   Please note: This field can only be viewed by users who have access to Process Types in the Settings app.

10. Specify how the task assignee is determined with the Assignment Type field. The assignment types follow the same definitions as the assignment type for the overall process. For further explanation behind these options, please consult our Understanding Processes article.
11. If desired, create a Task Group for the task. For further information on task groups, please consult our Using Tasks article.
12. In the Due Date Interval field, enter the number of days between when this task was created and when it should be due.
13. The Suppress At Launch checkbox sets whether this process task should be kicked off immediately upon process creation or wait for an action to trigger the task later. If this checkbox is checked, the task will not be triggered when the initial process is created. Typically, when creating a process, the first process task will not have this box checked.

14. Check the Enable Advanced Execution Management box if you want to give users other than the task’s owner the ability to complete the task. Click to highlight the role(s) you want to add, then click the right arrow to add to the Chosen box.

    Please note: If you choose Client Service, users must be part of an Entity’s Servicing Team to edit tasks related to them.

15. Click Save to finalize the creation of the process task.

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Using Process Task Settings

This section covers key features of Process Task Settings, including linking tasks through predecessors, defining outcomes for decision-tree logic, specifying actions triggered by task completion, and creating preset checklist items for task tracking. These capabilities enable you to build sophisticated workflows that adapt to different scenarios and maintain quality standards.

Predecessors

Most of the information in the Predecessors section is system-generated and does not need to be edited. However, this section is where Process Tasks can be linked together in spaces where a group of tasks runs concurrently and must all be completed before initiating the next task. This prevents bottlenecks and ensures all preparatory work is finished before moving forward. To group tasks, do the following:

1. On the Process Task record, click the caret in the Predecessors area and select Edit.

   

2. In the Dependency Group field, enter a name.

   

3. Click Save to finalize this change.
4. Repeat the above steps for each task you would like grouped, entering the same value into the Group field.

Task Outcomes

Outcomes serve as answers to each Process Task and can be used to create decision-tree logic within a process that branches into the various scenarios that may exist. This branching capability allows your firm to handle different situations within a single process framework, reducing the need for multiple similar processes. Outcomes determine the path that the overall process will take and determine which task should follow next. To create a task outcome, execute the following steps:

1. On the Process Task record page, click the caret in the Task Outcomes section and select New.

   

2. In the Name field, enter a name for the outcome.

   

3. Click Save to finalize the creation of the task outcome or click the Save & New button to save and create another task outcome. It is best practice to create all task outcomes before creating task actions.

Actions

Actions are the next steps that can result from any movement on a process task once a process step reaches a completed status. These can range from a simple stage change in the overall process to creating a new service and starting an additional process. Actions are where automation truly comes to life, enabling your processes to trigger subsequent work without manual intervention. To formulate Actions, complete the following steps:

1. On the Process Task record page, click the caret in the Actions section and select New.

   

2. In the Action Name field, enter a name for the action.

   

3. Click on the From Outcome picklist and search for and select the outcome that should trigger this action when it is selected upon task completion.
4. From the Action Type picklist, select the action that should occur when the task is completed with the specified outcome. To learn more, see Understanding Action Types.
5. Once the action has been specified, complete the fields that populate based on the Action you chose in the previous step.

6. If you want to create a grouped action, you can optionally enter a group name in the Dependency Group field. When an action is grouped, all tasks with the same value in their associated actions’ Dependency Group field must be completed before the action is executed.

   Please note: When an end user completes a task with a grouped action but has not completed all necessary predecessor tasks, a message will inform them that the action has not been completed and list the outstanding tasks.

7. Click Save to finalize the creation of the action.
8. After saving the action, you can optionally click the Execution Rules tab. Here you will find a Rule Builder component that lets you specify criteria for the action to fire when a task completes, adding an additional layer of conditional logic to your workflows.

Preset Checklist Items

Checklists help end users track the jobs to be done for a given task, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. There are two types of items you can add to a Task record:

• A manual item is considered complete when the task owner checks its box.
• An automatic item is considered complete when its criteria have been fulfilled. Criteria logic is handled by a checkbox field elsewhere, which is automatically checked via formula logic or other automation. The automatic checklist item simply reflects the status of that field.

When process tasks are completed, you can report on checklist items using the Completed By and Completed On fields with the following report types:

• Checklist Items
• Checklist Items with Process Task
• Checklist Item History

To add a Checklist item to a task, do the following:

1. On the Process Task record page, click the caret in the Preset Checklist Items area and select New.
2. In the Label field, enter a description of the checklist item.
3. In the Order field, enter a whole number. This dictates the order in which the item appears in the Checklist side panel on the Task record.
4. In the Help Text field, you can enter short instructional text for the item. This text will appear within a tooltip at the end of the checklist item’s label.
5. From the Action Type drop-down menu, select Manual or Automatic. Manual is selected by default.
6. If you selected Automatic, enter the path for a checkbox field in the Criteria Location field using Salesforce syntax.
7. For automatic items, click the If Criteria Location Isn’t Accessible drop-down and select Display this item or Display this item as incomplete.

8. If you want the item to be fulfilled before the task can be marked as complete, check the Required box.

   

9. Click Save to finalize the creation of the Checklist item or Save & New to add another item.

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Using Rule-Based Actions

In the Rule-Based Actions area of the Process Type record, you can create rules with criteria that trigger actions at the process level. This enables process-wide automation that responds to changing conditions or important milestones. Use the steps below to activate Rule-Based Actions:

1. On the Process Task record, click the caret in the Rule-Based Actions section and select New.
2. In the Name field, enter a name for the new rule criteria.
3. The Status field is set to Inactive by default. Set this field to Active to have the Rule-Based Action applied immediately upon saving. Leaving the field as Inactive will prevent the action from occurring until it is set to Active.

4. In the Description field, enter a short description of the rule.

   

5. Move to the Criteria Settings section.

Creating Time-Based Execution Criteria

Time-based rules are triggered a certain number of days before or after a given date. The field referenced should have a field type of Date. This functionality supports proactive engagement with clients around important dates and deadlines. To set time-based execution for a rule:

1. Check the Use time-based execution checkbox to show the relevant settings.

   

2. In the Execute based on field, select Days before the target field date or Days after the target field date.
3. In the Number of Days field, enter a whole number to set the number of days before or after the Target Field date that you want the rule to be run.

4. In the Target Field, enter the API Name of the Date field you would like the timing to be based on. The API Name can be found in the Object Manager in Salesforce Setup.

   Please note: If you want to reference a Date field on a related record, you should use Salesforce syntax.

5. Once Time-Based Execution Settings have been entered, click Save to finalize this change.

Adding Actions

This is where you specify what happens when the rule criteria are met. To add a rule action:

1. Select the caret to the right of the Rule Actions list on the right-hand side of the Rule Criteria page to add actions to your rule, as well as any required settings. If an email or notification action, the settings for controlling recipients will appear once the Rule Action record has been saved.

   

2. On the New Rule Action screen, click the Type drop-down menu and select from the following action types:
   • Create a Task
   • Post to Noticeboard
   • Send a Notification
   • Send an Email

   • Start a Process

     

3. Complete the remaining fields that populate based on the selected action.
4. Click Save.

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Using the Available To Setting

In the Available To area of the Process Task record, click the New button to specify the Team Members, Divisions, and Financial Products where you want the process to be available. This granular control ensures processes appear only to relevant users, reducing clutter and improving user experience.

Each of these relationships has a different impact on workflow availability:

• If a process type is related to a Team Member, that user will see the item appear in the Start a Process action wherever it’s been exposed, as per the item’s Related To options.
• If a process type is related to a Division, any user who’s a member of that Division will see that item appear in the Start a Process action wherever it’s been exposed, as per the item’s Related To options.
• If a process type is related to a Financial Product, any user will see that item appear in the Start a Process action for an Entity that has one or more related Asset/Liability records, which are themselves related to that Financial Product via either the Financial Product or Parent Financial Product lookup fields.