Automation Processes

The Processes tab on the Automation dashboard is where an FYI Admin, or a user in a User Group that has Permissions enabled for Automations, can manage and run the Automation processes for your practice.

Sample Processes

FYI is shipped with Sample Processes, which can be modified to reflect the requirements of your practice. The sample processes available will depend on the FYI plan your practice has subscribed to. Refer to Subscribing to an FYI Plan.

The sample processes use a trigger and a filter to control what is processed. These processes include one or more steps to control the action performed by the process.

Note: Some sample processes are set to run with specific settings, for example, to run when a New Document arrives. You will not be able to change when they trigger or change the filter. You can however make modifications to the steps in these processes, and also use these as examples when setting up your own Custom Processes.

Refer to Setting up Automation Processes.

Custom Processes

Practices on the FYI Pro and Elite plans can set up Custom Processes as required. Custom Processes use a trigger and a filter, and the actions performed by the process can be customised to suit your requirements. Refer to Setting up Custom Processes.

Displaying the Automation Dashboard

To display the Automation Dashboard:

In FYI, click the Automation menu option.
Display the Processes tab.

If you are an FYI Admin, or a user in a User Group that has Permissions enabled for Automations, you will be able to add, change and archive Processes and Apps and you will see the Process History tab. Refer to Managing User Groups.
If the User Group you belong to does not have Permissions enabled for Automations, you will only see the Processes and Apps tabs. The Edit tool displays as unavailable.
Archived processes are hidden by default. To show these, click the Archived button on the Automation dashboard.

Grid View

Trigger Icons

Custom Processes display with an icon in the Processes Grid View and the List View to indicate if the Trigger for the process is "Scheduled" or "Manual". The Person icon is for when it is a Manual Trigger, and the Clock icon is for Schedule. Refer to Setting up Custom Processes.

Sample Processes display without any Trigger icons.

Draft Processes

Any Sample or Custom Processes that have a Status of "Draft" show in the Automation Dashboard with a grey background. A Draft process that has the Trigger set as "Scheduled" will not run automatically. A Draft process that has a Trigger set as "Manual" is not available to users to run.

Note: If an Active Process is already running, setting its Status to "Draft" does not automatically Stop the Process. You will need to Stop the Process. Refer to Stopping a Process that is in Progress.

Filters

You can use the filters on the Processes tab to select which processes are shown in the tab.

Filter by Plan can be used to display which processes are available for each subscription plan to FYI ("Starter", "Intermediate" or "Pro").
Filter by App to display the processes that have been set up for a specific App, for example, FYI, Outlook. Xero Ledger, Xero Tax.

Open in a new tab

Right-click on an automation process card to display the Open in new tab option. When clicked, the process will open in a new browser tab. The Automation Process grid view will remain open in the original tab.

List View

To display your automation processes as a list, click the List View button. By default, this displays the processes in alphabetic order.

You can use List View to search for processes or filter by App. You can also select one or more processes to export, copy or archive. For Custom Processes, the Trigger column displays to indicate if the Trigger for the process is "Scheduled", "Manual" (and can be run when required) or "New Document".

The Processes List View displays as follows.

This displays the All view by default which displays "Active" and "Draft" processes. To display "Archived" processes, update the Status filter.

An FYI Admin, or a user in a User Group that has Permissions enabled for Views, can save and modify views in the List View. Refer to Saving Changes to the View Layout, Modifying and Deleting Views.

An FYI Admin, or a user in a User Group that has Permissions enabled for Automations can add or import a Custom Process from the Processes List View.

On the List View, the Add Custom Process and Import functions are accessed from the View Tools (on the Grid View the buttons can be found in the top right-hand corner of the Dashboard).

Right-click on a process to display the pop-up toolbar.

Click the Grid View button to re-display the process as icons in the grid layout.

Opening and Editing a Process

For the relevant process, click the cog icon to edit it.

Note: If you update the definition or steps in a Custom Process while that process is executing, any changes will not be taken into effect for the executing process. It continues with the settings as when the process started.

Copying a Process on the List View

From the List View, you can use the Copy function to duplicate a Process.

Click the List button to display the processes as a list.
Click the Select button and checkmark the process you want to copy. A toolbar will be displayed at the top of the List. Alternatively, right-click on the Process to display the toolbar as a pop-up.
Click Copy and confirm the action.

An exact copy of the process is created with "- Copy" appended to the name. You can then edit this copy and make any changes as required.

Note: If you copy a Sample Process, this will duplicate it exactly and no changes can be made to the Trigger or Filter in the copy.

Archiving Processes

Processes can be archived in bulk from the List view, or individually from within the Process itself.

To archive processes from the List view:

Click the List button to display the processes as a list.
Click the Select button and checkmark the process you want to copy. A toolbar will be displayed at the top of the List.
Note: The Archive button will not be displayed if one of the selected processes is already archived.
Click Archive.
Click Yes to proceed, or No to cancel.

To display "Archived" processes in the List view, update the Status column filter and tick the Archived option.

To archive an individual process:

Click on the Process name to open the process for editing.
Click the Archive button.
The process will be archived.

Restoring Processes

Processes can be restored in bulk from the List view, or individually from within the Process itself.

To restore processes from the List view:

Click the List button to display the processes as a list.
Click the Select button and checkmark the process you want to copy. A toolbar will be displayed at the top of the List.
Note: The Restore button will not be displayed if one of the selected processes is not archived.
Click Restore.
Click Yes to proceed, or No to cancel.