Sastrify makes managing SaaS procurement and renewals easy and efficient. With the Workflows feature, you can automate purchase or renewal processes, define procurement stages, and assign approvers for smooth cross-department collaboration.

The Form Builder also lets you customize forms to collect any additional information you need during procurement.

Definition of terminology: A procurement workflow refers to the series of steps involved in purchasing or renewing IT products and services, with each stage involving an assigned approver.

IN THIS ARTICLE

• Create new workflows
  • Step 1: Define the purpose of the workflow
  • Step 2: Specify the intake form and questions to be included
  • Add a form component
  • Edit a form component
  • Step 3: Set the approval sequence and assign approvers.
• Where will the workflow & the intake form be used?
• Frequently Asked Questions

Create new workflows

1. Navigate to Settings > Workflows Setup.

2. Click New Workflow to create a new workflow.

3. You’ll be taken to a setup page with three steps:

   • Type—define the purpose of the workflow.

   • Intake Form—specify the form and questions to be included.

   • Stages—set the approval sequence and assign approvers.

The following sections will guide you through each step in detail.

Step 1: Define the purpose of the workflow

1. Select the workflow type: New Purchase or Renewal.
2. Click Next to continue.

Step 2: Specify the intake form and questions to be included

1. Enter a name for your workflow.
2. Choose an intake form option:
   • Use the pre-defined default form as is (click Preview Form to view it), or
   • Create a custom form by adding your own questions on top of the default form. 
     If you choose to customize, you’ll be redirected to the Sastrify Form Builder.
3. Click Next to proceed.

Now that this is clear, let's move on to the next section on how to work with Sastrify Form Builder. 

Add a form component

The builder offers a variety of components—including short text, paragraph, single-select, multi-select, email, content, URL, and date picker—so you can seamlessly customize forms to match your specific requirements.

To add a form component:

1. Drag it from the left column to the blank area on the right side of the Form Builder.
2. Set general attributes like label, placeholder, description, and tooltip. 
3. Use the Preview section to see real-time changes as you adjust settings.
4. Click "Save" to finalize the component creation.

For a brief overview of each component and how it works, refer to this article.

Edit a form component

To edit a form component, hover over it, and a set of settings will appear (each component has its own settings). These settings allow you to:

• Edit the component by changing its label, adding a description, adding a tooltip, or marking it as required.

• Move the component to a different location or reorder it.

• Copy and paste to create another version of the component and place it in a different location.

• Remove the component from the form.

The preset components are meant to serve as fillers and examples for Sastrify admins. You are free to remove them, start over, and define your own form as you see fit.

The Form Builder offers maximum flexibility, allowing you to replicate your internal processes in Sastrify and tailor them to your specific needs. Since no two procurement processes are the same, this level of customization ensures a seamless fit for your workflows.

Pro Tip: When you add a component, we recommend that you edit it by using Description and Tooltip to add additional information that can be helpful to the input process. Please see the example below:

Step 3: Set the approval sequence and assign approvers.

1. On this page, you'll see a visual builder for setting the approval sequence or flow. 
   By default, it shows a pre-defined flow with a start, an end, and 3 approval stages in between.
2. Click any of the + buttons to add a new step.
   • Click the + at the bottom of a step to add a sequential step.
   • Click the + on the right side of a step to add a parallel step.
3. Click on any step to name it, add a description, and assign an approver. You can assign multiple approvers to a single approval step, and any of them can approve it to advance the workflow to the next stage.
   
4. You can save the workflow as a draft.
5. Click Activate to finalize and activate the workflow. Activation can only be performed when an approver has been assigned to each of the step. 

At one given time, you can only have 1 workflow active for each type (new purchase and renewal), while drafts can be created for as many as possible

To edit a workflow, follow these steps:

1. Select the workflow.
2. Click the 3-dot icon for that specific task and select "Edit".
3. Make the necessary changes. 
4. Confirm your changes by clicking "Activate".

Where will the workflow & the intake form be used?

The workflow you set up here will be used to support a feature called Procurement Initiatives, which you can use to kick off a new purchase or renew an existing tool.

In Step 2, the intake form option you select will affect the length and structure of the form when starting a procurement initiative:

• Choosing Sastrify's default intake form means you'll use a predefined, uneditable form during the process.

• Opting for customization won't change the default form but will add a second step called "Share more details", where you can include additional questions to better match your internal procurement process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I enable multiple workflows for the same procurement initiative type?

A: No, you cannot. Although you can create and draft as many workflows as you like, you can only activate 1 workflow for each type.

Q: I cannot find the assignee in the drop-down menu. What should I do?

A: Before a user can collaborate in Sastrify or be assigned to a task, you need to make sure that this person is already invited to Sastrify and is an active user. To invite a colleague, go to Settings > Users & Company Data > Sastrify Users. Then click on the "Invite users" button. Fill in the details and send the invitation. After the person has accepted the invitation and the login has been created, you can go back and try to assign a task to this person.

Q: Which of the 3 user roles—Admin, Contributor, and Viewer can create a workflow? 

A: Only users with the Admin role can create a workflow. Refer to this article to understand different user roles and permissions.

Q: Can I assign more than one person to an approval step?

A: Yes, you can assign multiple approvers to a single approval step, and any of them can approve it to advance the workflow to the next stage. Multiple approvers can be assigned directly from the workflow creation. 

Q: Why can't I activate a workflow after creating all the steps and stages? 

A: The "Activate" button will be enabled after all the step details are completed. At the very least, a step needs a name and an approver. Incomplete steps are marked by a red exclamation icon. Click on any step to name it, add a description, and assign an approver.

Q: In a parallel approval setup, do all steps at the same level need to be approved before moving to the next stage?
A: Yes, all parallel steps must be approved before the workflow can proceed.

Q: As part of our company's process, we would like to include files as part of the form because the person requesting the initiative needs to be able to download them for their review. Can I use the Custom Form Builder to do this?

A: You absolutely can! One component you will need to use is Content. It allows you to add the link to the files (i.e., to your company's shared folder). For a more detailed guide to the Content component and other components, please see this article.