You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.
You can help ensure that people enter data consistently and follow the same steps every time they work with a customer by creating a business process flow. For example, you might want to create a business process flow to have everyone handle customer service requests the same way, or to require that people get approval for an invoice before submitting an order. Business process flows use the same underlying technology as other processes, but the capabilities that they provide are very different from other features that use processes. To learn how to create or edit a business process flow, go to Create a business process flow.
Watch a short video about business process flows.
Business process flows provide a guide for people to get work done. They provide a streamlined user experience that leads people through the processes their organization has defined for interactions that need to be advanced to a conclusion of some kind. This user experience can be tailored so that people with different security roles can have an experience that best suits the work they do.
Use business process flows to define a set of steps for people to follow to take them to a desired outcome. These steps provide a visual indicator that tells people where they are in the business process. Business process flows reduce the need for training because new users don’t have to focus on which table they should be using. They can let the process guide them. You can configure business process flows to support common sales methodologies that can help your sales groups achieve better results. For service groups, business process flows can help new staff get up-to-speed more quickly and avoid mistakes that could result in unsatisfied customers.
With business process flows, you define a set of stages and steps that are then displayed in a control at the top of the form.
Each stage contains a group of steps. Each step represents a column where data can be entered. You can advance to the next stage by using the Next Stage button. In the unified interface, you can work with a business process flow stage inside the stage flyout or you can pin it to the side pane. Business process flows doesn't support expanding the stage flyout to the side pane on mobile devices.
You can make a step required so that people must enter data for a corresponding column before they can proceed to the next stage. This is commonly called ”stage-gating”. If you are adding a business-required or system-required column to a business process flow stage, we recommend that you add this column to your form as well.
Business process flows appear relatively simple compared to other types of processes because they don't provide any conditional business logic or automation beyond providing the streamlined experience for data entry and controlling entry into stages. However, when you combine them with other processes and customizations, they can play an important role in saving people time, reducing training costs, and increasing user adoption.
Note
If any stage, including the current stage, has required columns (except hidden columns), you must fill in the columns on those stages before you save the form or move to a new stage. Disabled columns will still block stage navigation if they are empty and required.
When you or your user enters data using business process flows, the data changes are also applied to form columns so that any automation provided by business rules or form scripts can be applied immediately. Steps can be added that set values for columns that are not present in the form and these columns will be added to the Xrm.Page object model used for form scripts. Any workflows that are initiated by changes to columns included in a business process flow will be applied when the data in the form is saved. If the automation is applied by a real-time workflow, the changes will be immediately visible to the user when the data in the form is refreshed after the row is saved.
Although the business process flow control in the form does not provide any direct client-side programmability, changes applied by business rules or form scripts are automatically applied to business process flow controls. If you hide a column in a form, that column will also be hidden in the business process flow control. If you set a value by using business rules or form scripts, that value will be set within the business process flow.
Concurrent business process flows let customizers configure multiple business processes and associate them with the same starting row. Users can switch between multiple business processes running concurrently, and resume their work at the stage in the process that they were on.
The following business process flows are included. To understand how business process flows work, review these system business process flows:
Lead to Opportunity Sales Process
Opportunity Sales Process
Phone to Case Process
