With the eConnect workflow engine you automate the approval process for incoming invoices, expense claims and other documents. You configure rules that determine which checks are performed automatically and who needs to approve documents. The workflow functionality is available as an add-on with an SLA subscription.

A workflow consists of a series of steps that a document goes through as soon as it arrives. Each step can be an automatic validation (the system checks a condition) or a manual action (an employee must review the document).

The workflow engine can automatically check any field in the e-invoice (UBL). Examples:

• Is an order number present?
• Does the order number start with a specific prefix?
• Does the amount match a configured maximum?
• Does the invoice contain a cost centre?

Based on the outcome, the document can be automatically forwarded to the right employee or department.

When a document cannot be approved automatically, a task is created and assigned to a user, group or role. The assignment can be based on the validation result, for example: invoices above EUR 5,000 go to the financial director, invoices below EUR 5,000 go to the bookkeeper.

The employee who receives a task can:

• Approve: the document proceeds to the next step or receives the status "Approved for payment"
• Reject: the document receives the status "Rejected" and the workflow stops
• Delegate: the document is forwarded to a colleague (also in a partner environment)

For tasks assigned to multiple people, you can configure whether all people must act or whether it is sufficient if one person approves.

The workflow is available for:

• Purchase invoices
• Draft sales invoices
• Expense claims
• Conversion tasks
• Trusted senders (Email Receivers)

A workflow can start automatically when a document arrives, or be started manually from the Inbox.

The workflow automatically sends email notifications at each step:

• To the employee who receives a task
• To the supplier or internal contact person on approval or rejection
• To the administrator on escalations or exceptions

Every step in the workflow is recorded in a complete audit log. You can always look back to see who approved what, when, and which validations were performed. This is essential for compliance and internal control.

For managing workflows a special administrative role is available. A user with this role can restart tasks, reassign them and override steps, without breaking the regular workflow.

The Workflow Engine provides insight via the Timeline per document and the admin overview:

• Step history per document: open an invoice and view the Timeline to see which workflow steps have been completed. As Workflow Admin you can also view all executed steps via the "All executed steps" tab.
• Rejected documents: as Workflow Admin you can filter on completed documents with status "Rejected" via "All instances". Prerequisite: give your steps clear descriptions so it is recognisable in the overview which step rejected the invoice.
• Granularity: if a step checks multiple criteria simultaneously, it is not visible which specific criterion caused the rejection. Split validation steps into one criterion per step for maximum insight.

Important: the export function within the Workflow is currently not working. Validation reasons and workflow steps cannot be exported as CSV and cannot be added as a column to the Tasks view. Use the Timeline per document as an alternative.

"The Workflow instance is already executing"

This error message appears when a workflow action is triggered twice, for example by double-clicking the approve button.

Solution as Workflow Admin:

1. Find the relevant instance via "All instances"
2. Resubmit the workflow
3. Move the document to the next step (for example the download step)

For error messages in outgoing workflows, as admin you can resume the task via the resume option after correction. A cancelled task remains at the same status.

Want to know how tasks work in practice? Read Tasks on the platform.

• Tasks on the platform, assign and handle
• Invoice statuses explained
• Subscriptions on the eConnect platform