Process Step Details - Creating and Updating Jobs

This article gives details and examples of the functions that are available in steps used to create and update Jobs.

Create Job

Client Views can be used with a custom automation process to create a Job. Refer to Custom Processes using Views and Summary Notifications.

The Create Job process is the same as creating a job using the + button (refer to Create Job in FYI), except that instead of manually selecting a client, the job is created for the clients from the Client View Filter selected in the Automation Process.

The fields displayed in the Create Job step will depend on whether the practice is on the FYI Pro or Elite plan.

For practices integrated with Xero Practice Manager, the Job is synced to Xero Practice Manager where the job number will be applied.

Notes:

• If you select a Template with a Description in the Create Job, the Description from the Template will not be added to the Job that is created. If relevant, you can add the Description directly in the Create Job step.
  
  
• When a Client View is selected in a Process, users cannot use the {{ TriggerJobName }} merge field in the Create Job step. If creating the job from a Job View, Merge Fields can be used to trigger the jobs name as this value. To add the Job Name as a merge field, refer to Including Merge Fields in Automations.
  
• Merge Fields can be used on some filters to insert job or client information. For example, where a Job View is selected as the Process filter, Merge Fields can be used to trigger the Job State of the current job in the view. Click the Merge Fields icon and select from the available merge fields. Refer to Including Merge Fields in Automations.
  
  
  
• The Due Date must be dated after the Start Date. If a Merge Field is used to calculate the Due Date in an Automation Process, when the process runs the Job Due Date will be updated automatically to match the start date, to ensure the process can continue. A warning in the Process History will be displayed to confirm the Due Date was changed.

The following is an example of the Create Job step for practices on the Pro plan.

The following is an example of the Create Job step for practices on the Elite plan.

Selecting the Client

You can create the Job for the "Current Client" (the Client that triggered the Process) or you can select a specific Client by searching in the Client field.

Job Type 

Used to create the job using a particular Job Type, either Standard, Billing or Workflow. If Workflow is selected, an additional Billing Job field will be displayed. For more information refer to Job Type Overview.

Job State 

For practices on the FYI Elite Plan where FYI has been selected as the Practice Management source, a default Job State can be selected for each Job Template.

The Job State will be updated automatically on the Create Job step when a Job Template is selected. If creating a Workflow Job and there is no default State specified, the Billing Job State will be used.

Refer to Managing Job Templates.

Job Cabinet

If your practice has Job Cabinet Security enabled in your Practice Settings you can select a Cabinet to assign to the Job. As well as giving additional information about Jobs, this allows Cabinet Security to be set on any relevant Jobs.

Users only have access to those Jobs for the Cabinets to which they have been given access via their User Group. Refer to Managing Practice Settings for Documents and Managing User Groups.

If Job Cabinet Security is not enabled in your Practice Settings, the Cabinet field is not displayed in the Create Job Step.

Setting the Start Date or Due Date

When creating a Job with a Process Step, you can set the Start Date or Due Date as the "Current Date" or a specific date. Click the Merge Fields icon to insert a date based on another field.

Choosing "Select a Date" displays a pop-up calendar.

The Due Date must be dated after the Start Date. If a Merge Field is used to calculate the Due Date in an Automation Process, and the date is before the Start Date, when the process runs the Due Date will be updated automatically to match the start date. This will ensure the process can continue. A warning in the Process History will be displayed to confirm the Due Date was changed.

Assigned User

Jobs can be assigned to users, to allow practices to efficiently manage workflow. Automation steps can be processed by selecting the assigned user, for example, automatically create tasks etc.

Using a Merge Field or drop-down select the user.

If the Create Job step was triggered by another job, you can select the same user from the Job that triggered the automation. Refer to Setting up the Create Job Step with Values from the Trigger Job(s) below.

Note: For practices on the Elite plan where FYI is selected as the PM source, the Assigned User field will not be displayed. Users are assigned via Custom User Roles. Use Set Custom Field to select the role, and assign the user accordingly. Refer to Assigning Users to Jobs.

Setting the Budget Values 

The Budget fields displayed will depend on whether the practice is on the Pro or Elite plan.

• Budget
• Budget Amount and Budget Hours 

Enter the budget for the Job as a monetary amount in a currency format, for example, 1,200.00 or 200.00 or use a Merge Field to trigger the amount.

The Budget Hours are the estimated number of hours required for the Job. When Time is added, the Actual Hours are automatically updated on the job.

Adding Client Name as a Merge Field to the Job Name

When creating a Job with a Process Step, you can use the Merge Field for {{ TriggerClientName }} to add the relative Client Name to the Job Name.

To add the Client Name Merge Field to the Name field click the Merge Fields Icon and select Name from the Trigger Client filter. Refer to Including Merge Fields in Automations.

Setting Job Custom Fields

When a Job Custom Field has been selected in the step, this shows as the field name and you are prompted to enter the value to set it to. The value can be set either by clicking the Merge Field icon, to trigger the value or by using the drop-down.

Setting a Job Custom Field that is a Date

When updating a Job Custom Field that is a Date, this is set as the "Current Date" by default. Merge Fields can be used to select dates. For example, selecting the Merge Field to set the Lodgement Date triggered from the client. Refer to Including Merge Fields in Automations.

Create Jobs using Values from the Trigger Job Merge Field Section

When creating a new job, you can automatically select the same values as the job that triggered the automation process to run, for example, the Cabinet. This is particularly useful when you create the same job each year, for example, End of Financial Year Job Rollover.

This function is only available if the Process Filter Type has been set to a Job View.

For example:

1. Create a View in the Jobs list of the Jobs for the current year. These are the jobs that will be recreated.
   
   
2. Select the Trigger Job option from the Merge Fields section to copy the values from the current Job View to the new Jobs. Refer to Including Merge Fields in Automations.
   
   For example, selecting Budget will trigger the Job Budget from the current Job. 
   
   
3. Update any Job Fields that are different for the new job. For example, the Job State would likely be set to "Planned" as the new job has not yet commenced.
   Note: If you include the year in the name of your Jobs, you would also need to enter the required Name for all the new Jobs instead of using the value from the trigger Jobs.

You can also use this feature to add a final Create Job step at the end of your Automation Process for Compliance. When the current Job goes to a "Completed" State, the next step can be set up to create a new job for the next financial year.

The Due Date must be dated after the Start Date. If a Merge Field is used to set the Due Date based on a Trigger field, and the date is before the Start Date, when the process runs the Due Date will be updated automatically to match the start date. This will ensure the process can continue. A warning in the Process History will be displayed to confirm the Due Date was changed.

Update Job

When a Custom Process is filtered on a Jobs view, or on a Documents view and a Job is assigned to the relevant document(s) in the view, you can use Update Job in an Automation Process.

The Action for Update Job can be used to update Job information such as Job State, Manager or Partner . The Manager or Partner can be set to a specific person in your user list. Any of these values can be set as "‘Unchanged’ if the value is not going to be changed by the process.

The Update Job step can also be used to update one or more Job Custom Fields.

Practices on the Elite plan can also use the Update Job step to convert Standard Jobs to Workflow Jobs.

Updating the Current Job or a Specific Job

The Update Job step can be set to update the Current Job (the Job that triggered the automation or a Job created from another step). You can alternatively select a specific Job to update by searching in the Job field.

Job Cabinet

If your practice has Job Cabinet Security enabled in your Practice Settings, you can select a Cabinet to update for any relevant Jobs. As well as giving additional information about Jobs, this allows Cabinet Security to be set on any relevant Jobs.

Users only have access to those Jobs for the Cabinets to which they have been given access via their User Group. Refer to Managing Practice Settings for Documents and Managing User Groups.

If Job Cabinet Security is not enabled in your Practice Settings, the Cabinet field is not displayed in the Update Job Step.

Updating Name, Budget, Start Date and Due Date

For practices on the Elite plan or integrated with Xero Practice Manager only, the Update Job Step can also be used to update the Name, Budget, Start Date and Due Date.

Note: If your practice has enabled the XPM Workflow Jobs setting, the Name cannot be updated for XPM Workflow Jobs, only for Billing Jobs (refer to the section Workflow Jobs).

Updating the Job State

The Update Job Step can be used to update the Job State, for example, to mark jobs as completed. 

For practices on the Elite plan, when a Billing Job is marked as Completed, Archived, or Cancelled, the associated Workflow Jobs will also be updated to a matching status. For example, if a Billing Job is marked as completed, all Workflow Jobs will also be completed. 

Workflow Jobs can be manually updated to a different status if required.

To view a list of Job States with a Type of Completed, Cancelled, or Archived, refer to Managing Job States.

When a Job is automatically completed, an entry will be made on the Job - Activity tab. Refer to Job Activity.

Updating the Start Date or Due Date

When updating a Job with a Process Step, you can set the Start Date or Due Date as the "Current Date", "Month End" or as a specific date using Merge Fields. Selecting "Select a Date" displays a pop-up calendar.

The Due Date must be dated after the Start Date. If a Merge Field is used to calculate the Due Date in an Automation Process, and the date is before the Start Date, when the process runs the Due Date will be updated automatically to match the start date. This will ensure the process can continue. A warning in the Process History will be displayed to confirm the Due Date was changed.

Adding Client Name as a Merge Field to the Job Name

When updating a Job with a Process Step, you can use the Merge Field for {{ TriggerClientName }} to add the relative Client Name to the updated Job Name.

To add the Client Name Merge Field to the Name field click the Merge Fields Icon and select Name from the Trigger Client section. Refer to Including Merge Fields in Automations.

Updating Job Custom Fields

When a Job Custom Field has been selected in the step, this shows as the field name and you are prompted to enter the value to set it to. The value can be set either by clicking the Merge Field icon, to trigger the value or by using the drop-down.

Once a Custom Field has been selected, it will be removed from the drop-down list as it is already part of the Step. You can add additional Custom Fields to be updated by the step. Select the additional Custom Field(s) and add the value to set for each.

Setting a Job Custom Field that is a Date

When updating a Job Custom Field that is a Date, this is set as the "Current Date". An example of this would be updating the Work Commenced Date on the Job record as a result of a status being set.

For practices integrated with GreatSoft, the Start Date and Due Date do not display. Budget currently displays but will be hidden in the near future.

Update Type

For Practices on the Elite plan, the Update Job Step can also be used to convert Standard Jobs to Workflow Jobs in bulk.

To update the Job Type to Workflow, select "Workflow" from the Type dropdown. Once selected, a Workflow Job Template and associated Billing Job must be selected.

When selecting a Billing Job, Merge Fields can be used to select the Billing Job. Consider the Billing Job in your selection to avoid Workflow Jobs allocating to the incorrect Billing Job.

Note: Billing Jobs cannot be converted to Workflow Jobs. If a Billing Job or Workflow Job are selected in the Process View Filter, an error message will display in the Process History tab. Refer to Process History and Activity.