Flows

What are Flows?

Flows are a powerful and incredibly versatile feature that enables you to break down repetitive "people-processing" tasks into Stages. For each stage, you'll define a choice of preset Actions that can be processed for each person when they become due. Flow stages can be processed manually by a module User or be set to run automatically. Designated Managers receive timely reminders of Flow progress and notifications when tasks are due or overdue. Flows are the perfect alternative to unwieldy spreadsheets, ensuring no one falls through the cracks of admin processes in a busy office.

Flows are a feature of all the 'people' modules - Address Book (contacts), Children (children and young people), Giving (givers) and Bookings (customers). Flows can be module-specific or exist across multiple modules. For example, the same "Safeguarding Checks" Flow can be shared across the Address Book and Children modules. When viewed from within the Address Book, module users can process contacts but for the same Flow viewed from within the Children module, module users will see children and young people shown. Note that some actions, like Key dates, are not supported in all modules.

For multi-site customers, Flows exist across all sites but the site being viewed determines the people they will see listed in the Flow. For example, a user viewing a Flow as Site A will only see people belonging to Site A but viewing as 'All Sites' will see all people for that module.

To help you get started, navigate to the Flows section of the Address Book module. There, we've provided a selection of Example Flows that you can install on your account or read on to create your own.

In the remainder of this article, we'll work within the Address Book, but the same principles apply to creating and managing Flows in the Children, Giving, and Bookings modules.

Adding a Flow

Navigate to the Flows section of the appropriate module and click Add flow.

On the Add flow pop-up, give the Flow a suitable Name. The Send reminders setting lets you choose which days of the week managers and assigned users will receive their Flow reminder notifications - perhaps on preferred working days or not at weekends. Next, set the modules in which the Flow is to be Visible in. Note that Managers are module-specific, meaning you can assign different managers in each module where the Flow is visible. Finally, use the Visible to setting to optionally restrict Flow visibility to just yourself or selected user groups - see our related support article for further information about restricting the visibility of certain features. Click to Save the Flow.

You are now taken to the new Flow View, which summarises the settings just added. Note the option to Add manager. Designated Managers receive timely reminder notifications when actions become due for those in the Flow. Reminders are only sent on the specified Send reminder days (see previous image) at approximately 6:30 am local time. Multiple managers can be assigned.

On the Add manager pop-up, select the User responsible for overseeing the Flow. Only a User with at least Use permissions for the module where the Flow is visible can interact with it, so ensure Flow Managers have the necessary module permissions.

Next, notice that a Flow View has two tabs: People, which shows the list of people in each stage, which will be explored later in this article, and Stages, which we will explain in the next section.

Adding stages and actions

Introduction

Flows are a series of Stages within which preset Actions are defined. The actions in each stage can be processed manually or run automatically when those in the Flow stage become due.

Building a Flow is a great opportunity to consider your existing processes. When planning Flow stages, it will be helpful to think of the process from beginning to end, the time intervals between each distinct stage and the dependent actions that need to happen at each stage. For example, if your early-days newcomer integration processes involve sending some initial welcome information by email, then making a welcome phone call a little while later, then sending a friendly SMS and finally making another welcome call, that process will require four stages. You'll find it helpful to avoid the 'monster flow' that attempts too many stages in a single Flow. You will prevent bottlenecks in your processes by breaking more complex processes into multiple Flows. While a person can only be in a Flow once at any time, they can be in multiple Flows, which allows you to manage multiple processes simultaneously if you wish.

You will find it helpful to add all the stages first and then the stage-specific actions. Some actions may be relational, such as making a telephone call, but others may relate to actions that update a person's data in ChurchSuite as they are processed—such as adding a Key Date representing the date of a phone call or adding a Note against the person for any necessary follow-up.

Adding stages

Let's begin by adding the first stage. Working on the Stages tab of the Flow View, click Add stage.

On the Add stage pop-up, enter a suitable Name. Select when actions for people added to this stage will become Due for processing, noting that this can be based on an interval relative to when people are first added to the Flow or relative to when they are processed from a previous stage. As we'll see later, when processing people through a flow, Users have the option to override and change a person's next Due date if they wish to postpone stage actions to a later date. In this regard, the Due interval set here represents the 'preferred interval' before people processed into this stage become due.

When people become due in a stage, they are manually processed into the next stage by a module User but you can Automate a stage and set the Time when actions for due or overdue people are processed.

You may have designated Users who typically perform certain tasks or responsibilities as part of their role. In the same way, you can optionally assign a Flow stage to a specific User or leave the stage unassigned. Assigned users will receive email reminder notifications when those in their designated stage become due or overdue. They'll continue to receive reminder notifications until either 1) the person is processed into the next stage, 2) the person is assigned (delegated) to a different user or 3) the Due date is changed/postponed. User reminder notifications follow the same sending schedule as manager notifications, so 'due' and 'overdue' emails will only be sent on the Flow's Send reminder days. Finally, note that where a Flow is set visible in multiple modules, the Assigned user for a Flow stage is module-specific so you can assign a different user to the same stage in each module. Finally, add Instructions for Flow users explaining how to complete the stage and then click Save.

The Stages tab updates and each new stage is added to the end of the list of Stages. You can Edit a stage should you wish to make changes. You can also change the stage Order. People will remain in a reordered stage with the same due dates they had before reordering. Remember that Flows may be visible in other modules, so changes made to Stages and ordering will also apply there. Stages that are no longer needed can be deleted but you can only Delete an empty stage, which means you must first "Process or "Remove" people from that stage (including those in that stage in other modules) before the deletion can be made.

Continue adding further stages as necessary. When you are finished, you are ready to begin adding stage actions.

Adding actions

Still working on the Stages tab, and for each Stage in turn, you can now add Actions, which your Flow users can optionally choose to process for each person. Each stage will always need at least one Move-to-stage action to ensure people can be processed into other stages; without this navigation action, they would get stuck in the stage. With this in mind, you should begin by first adding all the Move to stage navigation actions to each stage and then adding the other stage-specific actions afterwards. Click Add action.

On the Add action pop-up, select the Move to stage action from the drop-down list, which will then surface the option to choose the Stage that Flow people should be processed into from the current stage. You can add multiple "Move to stage" actions to a stage if users will have a choice of the next stage to process people into. While Flows have a linear stage order, you can add navigation actions that move people back to a previous stage, forward or skip stages if you wish. Finally, the Add action pop-up allows you to set the action's Default state, selected or unselected. Typically, your most commonly-processed actions should default to a selected state. An unselected default state is helpful for infrequent actions or where a user will be expected to choose from several actions. We'll see the default action states in more detail later in this article.

For automated stages, to run the action during the automation process, choose Selected/Automated; otherwise, choose Unselected and the action will not be run automatically.

Finally, click Save to add the action. The Stage tab is updated to show the newly added action. Continue adding navigation actions to each stage in the Flow. Note the Actions menu to Edit or Delete an action if needed. As shown in the example below, for any stage where your Flow processes will come to an end - perhaps in the last stage of the Flow - you can add a Move to stage action with the Stage value Completed, which will enable your Flow users to process people out of the Flow entirely once everything is completed.

Automated flow stages are shown with the automation icon and the word "Automated" to the right of the stage name.

Having first added navigation actions, let's look at the other available actions. The actions you choose will depend on the stage Instructions you have added, i.e. what needs to happen at each stage. Working methodically from the first stage of the Flow, add further actions to a stage by clicking Add action. The example below shows the full Action list. Not all actions are available in all modules. In most cases, selecting an action from the list will reveal a further field relating to that action. For example, selecting the Add tag action will enable you to choose the specific tag to be added, while selecting Send email will allow you to choose the Preset email you wish to be sent at that stage.

Continue adding Actions to each Stage as required. Where multiple actions are added to a Stage, the actions can be re-ordered by dragging and dropping, perhaps moving the most commonly processed ones to the top of the list.

After adding actions to each stage, you're ready to test that the Flow works as expected when in use, perhaps by first adding yourself to the Flow and processing yourself through each stage to review the user experience. For example, you may discover a pertinent action is missing from a stage or that the order or default state of actions needs fine-tuning. As you use Flows, you may want to adjust the due date interval between Flow stages, perhaps where the anticipated timings are proving unrealistic if people's busyness needs factoring into your processes. The next sections of this article explain how to add people to Flows and process them.

Adding and removing people from a Flow

In this section, we explore how to add people to the Flow (and remove them, if necessary). The next section looks at how to process people through a Flow as tasks become due. We've made it easy to add people to Flows throughout the platform, wherever your users work with people. Let's look at some examples of where you'll see the Add to flow action available:

1. On a Flow "View"

At the top of each active Flow is an Add to flow action (You can't add people to archived Flows).

2. On a person's profile

You can add people to a Flow from their profile page using the Add to flow action on the Flows widget of their Engagement tab:

3. On a tag "View"

When working within the Tags section of a module, note the Add to flow action at the top of a tag View:

4. On an event "View"

When viewing a list of Sign-Ups, Invites or Check-Ins on an event View in the Calendar module, notice the Add to flow action at the top of each list:

You'll then be able to filter which of those Sign-Ups, Invites or Check-Ins you wish to add to the flow:

Only people linked to a contact/child will be added to the flow - unlinked people won't be added.

5. On 'People' reports

When viewing many people-based reports, there is an Add to flow action on the report:

6. As batch actions

When selecting multiple people in a list, like the Contacts section of the Address Book, note the Add to flow batch action:

Adding people to Flows

When Users access the Add to flow actions outlined above, the pop-up process is usually the same, with options to choose the Flow and Stage to which the selected people will be added. In certain contexts, the pop-up includes a People field that can be used to optionally add further people to the same process.

An information message lets you know if someone you try to add is already in the selected Flow - a person can only be in a Flow once.

Removing people from Flows

If necessary, you can remove people from a Flow using the Remove Action. Removing people from flows - rather than processing a Move to stage: Completed action will delete the removed person's flow tracking data rather than completing their tracking for the flow.

There is also a batch action to Remove multiple selected people from a stage.

Processing people through Flows

Introduction

As we begin this section, it may be helpful to remember that Flows are a feature of your admin-facing ChurchSuite modules. Processing people and managing Flows can only be done by authorised module Users. Flows are not accessible via the member-facing My ChurchSuite; your My ChurchSuite members will be unaware of which Flows they may be in.

Since Flows are only accessible to module Users, Flow stage reminder notifications and Manager digest emails are sent to the user's email address, not their linked contact email address. Sent Flow reminders and Digest emails are therefore recorded in the User's communication log.

When viewing the Flows section of the Address Book, Children, Giving or Bookings module, module users will see an overview of the process status of people in each Flow: pending (grey), due (green) and overdue (red) actions. Clicking on a coloured status pill will open the Flow filtered for that status or click on a Flow Name to open the Flow unfiltered.

From the Flow "View", the People tab shows the same status summary in the blue section on the left. Clicking on a stage name from the summary list will bring that stage into focus or click on the coloured status pills to see a filtered list of people in that stage with just that status - pending (grey), due (green) or overdue (red). Note also the Status filter at the top of the list of people - defaulting to 'Any Status' - and the Search bar, which can be used to locate people within a long list who may be at any stage - the Search auto-filters as you type.

Each person's Status and Due date are shown. Any 'Pending' status people - representing new people added via a web-embedded form - must be Set as active before they can be further processed. As each person's stage actions become due, click Process, which will open a pop-up through which you can review the actions to be processed and process them.

Processing people

The Process pop-up is divided into two tabs. The Details tab gives users access to basic contact details and note history. Users can also add Notes, which are ideal for recording appropriate phone conversation details or any follow-up that may be needed. By default, Notes are added with the same visibility restriction as the Flow itself, so if your Flow's visibility is restricted to the "Welcome Team" user group, any notes added here will also be restricted to the "Welcome Team" user group too - the note Visible to can be optionally changed before the note is saved.

The Actions tab (the default tab) presents the User with the Due date, the Assigned user (which can be changed without running actions, perhaps to postpone the task or delegate tasks to another user), their Instructions and a list of Actions. Only selected actions are processed when Run Actions is clicked.

As illustrated in the example below, a person will only be processed into another stage if a "Move to stage" action is selected - selecting this action also allows surfaces additional fields, allowing the user to choose a due date for the selected stage or to override the assigned user for the next stage. In the same way, other actions may also surface additional fields when selected. For example, a selected "Add key date" action will surface additional fields for the user to enter the date of the key date and an optional key date description. In the example below, the "Send email" action includes the option to further Personalise the preset email before sending it when the actions are run. Flows are incredibly powerful and versatile!

Helpfully, current Flow activity is clearly shown when viewing a person's profile page. Clicking through to a person's Engagement tab lists any Flows the person is in, the flow stage, the due date and the processing status. Clicking on a Flow name redirects the user to that Flow and opens the Process pop-up for that person.

Assigned users - intended functionality

People are added to a Flow stage with the Assigned user specified in the Flow's stage settings as the default. In the example below, Trevor James has been added to the Welcome Call stage of the Flow, which is assigned to user Paul in the Flow's settings. Trevor will remain assigned to Paul while in this stage and then will be assigned to the user specified in the next stage's settings when processed to next stage. If the next stage has no stage assigned user, Trevor will have no user assigned in the next stage.

It is possible to override the stage assigned user manually (or to assign a user when the flow stage has no default assigned user), either when you Process a person through a flow using the Move to stage action, or by using the Edit action within a flow stage.

A manual change of Assigned user always takes priority over assignments specified in the Flow's stage settings. This feature has many uses. For example, you may have a welcome Flow where newcomers are added to the Flow with no user Assigned but are then manually Assigned to a particular pastor or welcome caller. Each newcomer will remain assigned to that user throughout the Flow unless a different user is assigned at a later stage.

If a person's manually added Assigned user is removed, without an alternative user being assigned, that person will resume being assigned to the Flow's default Assigned users. In this way, you could manually assign a user to a person for some stages of a Flow and later remove that assigned user so that the person reverts to being assigned to the user specified in the Flow's settings when they are next processed.

To manually assign a user when processing a person through a flow, select a user in the Assigned area of the Move to stage action. The hint button also makes suggestions as to the users you may want to assign the contact to:

In the example above, there's no manually set user but the current stage has a default assigned user. The next stage, "Reminder Email", has no default user but you may wish to Keep the current stage assigned user assigned in the next stage.

Or, if your user has been manually assigned, you may wish to Update to match the manually assigned user to the default assigned user for the next stage:

Additionally, if a user has been assigned manually, and the next stage has no stage assigned user, you may wish to match the next stage and Remove the manually assigned user:

To manage the Assigned user (and Due date) within a flow stage without processing the person, simply click Edit:

You can then search for and add a user if none is assigned or use the X to remove an assigned user, then Save:

If the flow stage has an assigned user, when removing a manually assigned user, the person will be automatically assigned the user specified for the stage:

Using the Edit action, you can change both the assigned user and the due date for a flow member.

Additionally, you can view the tracking history of those currently in a Flow using the View history action.

This will surface the flow actions that have been processed for that contact and the User who processed them:

Batch processing multiple people through Flows

In addition to processing individuals, you can easily process multiple people in a single process. Working on the People tab, use the checkboxes to select the people to be processed and select Process from the drop-down Actions menu.

The Process pop-up opens, confirming the number of people selected. The default Actions are pre-ticked but you can change them as needed. Click Process to process the actions chosen for all the selected people.

Users can also optionally change/update the Due date and Assigned user for multiple people in a single process. Working on the People tab, use the checkboxes to select the people whose date/user is to be edited and select Edit from the drop-down Actions menu.

The Edit pop-up opens, confirming the number of people selected. Select if you wish to change to the Due date, the Assigned user or both, and make your changes. Click Save to save the changes for all the selected people.

Flow automation

When adding a stage to a flow, you can optionally choose to Automate the stage.

When a flow stage is automated, any due or overdue people in the stage will be automatically processed at the time specified in the stage settings (shown above), running any actions set to Selected/Automated, in the order they are listed.

Viewing a person's history in a flow...

...shows if the actions in a flow have been processed successfully or if they have failed; if they failed, a reason for the failure is surfaced.

When a flow is automated, and has flow reminders enabled, flow reminder notifications will only be sent for stages that are not automated - reminders are not sent for automated stages.

Example of an automated flow

Let's look at a simple example of how you might use flow automation in a basic Newcomer Welcome flow.

We've chosen to automate the first stage, "Welcome to Church Email". We've set that the person is added to a flow when they complete the My Details form in Connect on a Sunday morning and they become due 1 day after being added. At 8am on the date the person becomes due, the flow automation is run, sending the "Welcome" email, adding the "First Connected" key date, adding the "Newcomer" tag and moving the person to the next stage.

The next stage, "Nearly Sunday SMS", is also automated, meaning that 5 days after the person was added to the flow, the flow automation process happens at 7:00pm, sending the "It's nearly Sunday"" SMS and moving the person to the next stage.

The final stage, "Follow-up Call", is not automated, meaning that the flow manager will receive a flow reminder notification when a person in the stage becomes due, reminding them that they will need to manually process people through the flow.

Flow reporting

Accessible via the View completed action on the Flow View, you can view a Flow Completed report that gives helpful insights into the tracking data of those previously processed through a Flow.

The Flow Completed report can be filtered to a specific set of Dates and by any active Flow:

Clicking on the Days in Flow pill counter opens a pop-up showing the tracking history, the actions processed, when and by which User.

Note that the report only includes people who have been fully processed through the Flow. People who have been removed from the Flow are not included in the results - their Flow-tracking data is deleted when they are removed.

Finally, Flows can be used as Options in Smart Tag conditions, which are ideal for identifying people who match a set of conditions, including whether they are currently in (or not in) any flow or a specified flow.

Archiving and deleting Flows

Care should be taken before deleting a Flow, as this is a permanent and irreversible action with destructive consequences. Always consider first archiving a Flow that is no longer needed - archived Flows can be set as active again. Remember, the Flow may be visible in other modules, so archiving or deleting the Flow may impact the workflows of other module users still using the Flow in another module.

When archiving a Flow, any people still in the Flow (in any module the Flow is visible in) remain but they can still be processed or removed. However, Flow reminders are no longer sent and you can no longer assign people to a Flow that has been archived.

Deleting a Flow that is also visible in other modules will only delete the Flow from the module being viewed. If the Flow is visible in different modules, it will persist unchanged. Deleting a Flow will remove all people from the Flow for that module. Also, consider that flows may be referenced in Smart Tag conditions and a module's settings for other features relating to Connect and Embed.

To archive or delete a Flow, click Archive or Delete from the Flow View:

...Or select Archive or Delete from the Actions in the Flows section of a module.