Workflow States

Workflow states help you track the progress of portals through your business process. Each portal can be assigned a state that reflects its current stage.

Default Workflow States

All organizations start with standard workflow states:

State	Purpose
New	Just created, not yet started
In Progress	Active work underway
Review	Awaiting client review or feedback
Complete	Work finished
Archived	No longer active

Custom Workflow States

Large Firm & Enterprise

Custom workflow states are available on Large Firm and Enterprise plans.

Create custom states to match your specific workflow:

Creating Custom States

1. Go to Settings
2. Click the Preferences tab
3. Find Workflow States section
4. Click Add State
5. Enter state details:
   • State name
   • Color (for visual identification)
   • Description (optional)
6. Click Save

Example Custom Workflows

Tax Preparation

State	Color	Description
Documents Requested	Yellow	Waiting for client docs
Documents Received	Blue	Have docs, not started
In Preparation	Orange	Actively preparing
Ready for Review	Purple	Client review needed
E-File Pending	Teal	Ready to file
Filed	Green	Complete

Legal Matter

State	Color	Description
Intake	Blue	New matter, gathering info
Active	Orange	Ongoing work
Awaiting Response	Yellow	Waiting on external party
Settlement	Purple	Negotiating
Closed	Green	Matter concluded

Real Estate Transaction

State	Color	Description
Listing	Blue	Property listed
Under Contract	Orange	Contract signed
Due Diligence	Yellow	Inspections, etc.
Closing	Purple	Final steps
Sold	Green	Transaction complete

Managing Workflow States

Editing States

1. Go to Settings → Preferences
2. Find the workflow state to edit
3. Click the edit icon
4. Modify name, color, or description
5. Save changes

Changes apply to all portals using that state.

Reordering States

Drag and drop states to change their order:

1. Hover over the drag handle
2. Drag to the desired position
3. Release to save

Order affects how states appear in dropdowns.

Deleting States

1. Find the state to delete
2. Click the delete icon
3. Choose what to do with portals in that state:
   • Move to another state
   • Leave unassigned

caution

Deleted states cannot be recovered. Consider archiving or renaming instead.

Assigning States to Portals

When Creating a Portal

1. In the new portal dialog, select a workflow state
2. Or leave blank to assign later

Updating Portal State

1. Open the portal
2. Find the workflow state indicator (usually in header)
3. Click to open state dropdown
4. Select the new state
5. State updates immediately

Bulk State Changes

1. On the portals list, select multiple portals
2. Click Change State in bulk actions
3. Select the new state
4. Apply to all selected

Workflow State in Views

Portal Cards

Portal cards display:

• Current state name
• State color indicator
• State icon (if configured)

Filtering by State

On the portals list:

1. Click Filters
2. Find Workflow State
3. Select one or more states
4. View filtered results

Sorting by State

Sort portals by their current state to group similar work.

Workflow Timeline

Within a portal, view the workflow history:

1. Open the portal
2. Find the Activity or Timeline section
3. See state changes with:
   • Who changed the state
   • When it changed
   • Previous and new state

Portal Sidebar Workflow Display

The current workflow state is also displayed in the portal sidebar:

Best Practices

State Design

• Keep states clear and distinct
• Use consistent naming conventions
• Limit to 5-8 states per workflow
• Order from start to finish

Color Coding

• Use colors meaningfully
• Green for complete/positive
• Yellow for waiting/caution
• Red for urgent/problem
• Blue for neutral/in-progress

Transition Rules

Document when to change states:

• What triggers movement to next state
• Who is responsible for updates
• Any required actions before advancing

Team Alignment

• Train team on state meanings
• Review states periodically
• Adjust based on feedback
• Keep documentation updated

Workflow Reporting

Large Firm & Enterprise

Workflow reporting is available on Large Firm and Enterprise plans.

View workflow analytics:

• Portals per state
• Average time in each state
• State transition patterns
• Bottleneck identification

Related Topics

• Creating Portals - Portal setup
• Portal Templates - Default states for templates
• Feature Comparison - Tier features