Create a Simple Approval Workflow in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
Posted on: October 31, 2016 | By: Jarrod Kraemer | Microsoft Dynamics AX/365
Authored by: Chris Rusing
Workflows are a commonly sought after functionality in any new ERP system, but some users may feel that they do not have enough knowledge to try their hand at creating their own workflows. In this blog post, we will demonstrate how to create a simple journal approval workflow in AX. These steps should provide you with the building blocks on how to create your own workflows in the future.
Note: This blog will continue with the assumptions that your system has been properly configured to create and run workflows. Please click here for information regarding that setup.
Since we will be creating a workflow to approve a general journal, you must first go to the address Legal entity> General ledger> Setup> General ledger workflows
Click the New button in the top left corner of the form prompting the Create workflow form to open. Select ‘Ledger daily journal workflow’ and click Create workflow. These four types of workflow are available out-of-the-box.
This will open the form in which you will create the workflow. Notice on the left the Workflow elements column. These items need to be dragged and dropped into the workflow space to give the workflow functionality.
Since we are creating an approval workflow, let’s drag and drop the ‘Approve daily journal’ item into the workspace. Also be sure to connect the Start and End items to the Approval item.
First things first, click the Basic settings button at the top of the page and fill in the submission instructions. The end user will see this at the top of their journal as an alert that it needs to be submitted to a workflow. Close out of that form when complete.
Next, double click the ‘Approval daily journal’ item and then select Step 1 as shown below. Once selected, click the Basic Settings button at the top of the form.
In the basic settings tab, fill in the work item subject and also the work item instructions box. Please feel free to use the Insert placeholder functionality to give the end user greater visibility as to what they are approving (these phrases are designated by the % symbol at the beginning and end of the text).
Next is the Assignment form. Choose User so that a specific user(s) in the system must approve the journal.
In the User tab, select the user that will approve the journal. Once selected, click the arrow to move him or her over to the selected users column.
Next, click on the Time limit tab so determine how long the approver has to approve the journal.
In the Completion policy tab, select the number of approvers required in order for the journal to be approved. In our example, we only have one approver so we will just go with the ‘All approvers’ option.
Click Condition on the left hand pane to set any conditions this journal may need to meet in order for the workflow to be used. In the example below, we set up a condition in which the workflow is only used if the total credit amount in the journal is greater than $9,999.99. There are almost a countless number of conditions you can create for your workflow. This tool can be especially helpful in determining which transactions in your system should be delegated to workflow.
The Escalation form will allow you to select a user to escalate the workflow to if deemed necessary. In the example below, I chose myself as the user to be escalated to and gave a 2 hour time limit to make a decision on the journal. If no action is taken, then the journal will be automatically rejected (as shown by the action icon). Once you are complete with this section, click Close in the bottom right hand form.
The workflow has been completed! Click Save and close in the bottom right hand corner of the form, enter notes for the version you created and then choose to activate the new version so that it can be used immediately.
The final step is to attach the workflow to a specific journal. Go to the address below and select Journal names.
Select the journal and then select the workflow to attach it. Be sure to check the Approval check box as well as this an approval based workflow.
Congratulations, you have now created a workflow! Be sure to test this out in your QA environment to iron out any kinks prior to moving to production. For additional information please feel free to reach out to us at info@loganconsulting.com or (312) 345-8817.
All the best!
Logan Consulting
www.loganconsulting.com