Stages as workflow steps

Open a stage's step

Settings, Practice, Stages lists the firm's stage sets. Open a set, then a stage, or choose Open its step from the stage's menu. The page has four lists and a card of switches beside them. Each rule is added with the list's own button, changed or removed from its menu, and put in order by dragging it or with Move up and Move down. Every change is saved at once and recorded in the audit trail.

Exit criteria

Exit criteria are what a matter must have before it moves on from the stage. Choose Add criterion and its kind:

• A field filled in: one of the matter's own fields, or one of the firm's own fields. While the matter sits in the stage, the field is marked required on the matter's forms.
• A task done: a task made from a task template the firm keeps.
• A document filed: a document of a category filed on the matter, and signed where you ask for it.
• A deadline set: a deadline from a given rule, or from any rule of a trigger, confirmed on the matter.
• A sign-off given: a sign-off one of the stage's entry actions asks for (see below).
• Undertakings discharged: every undertaking given on the matter.
• Client money cleared: the matter's client account settled to nothing.
• The client's answers in: a questionnaire sent at the stage, answered through the portal.

A matter that has not met them is not moved on by Advance; the matter shows what is missing, each with the way to where it is met. See Moving matters through stages.

Entry actions

Entry actions run once as a matter enters the stage:

• Make a task from a task template, put to a part on the matter (responsible lawyer, supervising partner, fee earner, secretary and so on) or a named person, due a number of days after entry.
• Start a workflow from a workflow template.
• Draft a document from a document template, filed on the matter as a draft.
• Raise deadlines from a deadline trigger, counted from the day the matter enters the stage, the day it opened or its accrual date.
• Tell people by their part on the matter, with the firm's message.
• Ask for a sign-off: name it (for example "Partner review of the claim"), give it a short key, and say whom it is asked of. It waits in that person's Approvals inbox and on the matter.
• Mark a fee milestone reached, where the matter's fixed fee names one by that name.
• Tell the client: an update in the portal, an email, or both. A client with no portal access and no email is skipped, and the matter's lawyer is told.
• Ask the client: send a questionnaire through the portal. Without portal access the send is skipped and the lawyer is told to collect it another way.

Each action runs once for each time a matter enters the stage, so a matter moving back and forth never doubles its tasks. Runs its actions again when a matter comes back makes a return to the stage run them again. An action that fails is shown on the matter with its reason and Run again; it is never silently skipped.

Actions you add run on matters entering from then on. To run them on the matters already in the stage, choose Apply to matters in this stage now: it lists each matter and what would run on it, and runs them in the background once you confirm. Applying twice does nothing more.

Branching

Branching decides which stage comes next. Each rule names the stage it sends a matter to and when: a field holds a value, the matter is of given types, a party plays a given part, or the client gave a given answer in a questionnaire (for example, a cash purchase skips the mortgage stage). Rules are read in order and the first that holds wins; where none holds, the matter goes to the next stage in order. A person may still send the matter to another stage, with a reason.

Time triggers

Time triggers fire once a matter has sat a number of days in the stage, or a number of days before one of its dates. A trigger tells people by their part and, where you name a task template, makes a task. Each fires once for each entry into the stage. The stage's Stall after days and the Time in stage tab still flag a matter that has sat too long.

How it runs

The card beside the lists holds the stage's switches:

• Moves on by itself once every criterion is met: where a document is signed, a sign-off given, the client's answers come in or a task is done and nothing else is missing, the matter moves on to its next stage without anyone pressing Advance. The responsible lawyer is told.
• Runs its actions again when a matter comes back, as above.
• Tabs hidden in this stage: the matter tabs the stage hides from the matter's own navigation. Hiding a tab never withholds what a person may read elsewhere.

Remove a stage that holds matters

On the stage set's page, a stage with matters in it shows Open its matters. Choosing Delete stage on it asks where its matters go and why. The stage is taken out of use at once, so nothing new enters it; its matters move to the stage you named in the background, each move recorded on the matter's stage history with your reason, and the stage is deleted once it is empty. A matter its next stage refuses (a conveyancing stage that is not yet ready for it, say) stays where it is: the stage stays on the set's page, out of use, with its count and Open its matters. Move those matters by hand and delete the stage again. Each matter's responsible lawyer is told once, in one notification listing their matters still in the stage; a matter with no responsible lawyer is listed to whoever deleted the stage.