This article walks through creating and configuring a workflow in Datarails: setting up the workflow, defining steps, giving each step its own due dates, assigning fileboxes and members, and activating it.

Workflow Management overview

The Workflow Management screen lists your workflows with:

• Workflow name
• Latest available cycle
• Workflow type and timeframe
• Start date and completion percentage

Workflows can be active or inactive. From this screen you can also edit, manage, or clone a workflow.

Create a new workflow

1. Click New and enter a workflow name.
2. Select the workflow type: Financial Reporting, Budget, Forecast, or Other.
3. Select the timeframe, for example Monthly, Weekly, Quarterly, or Yearly.
4. Choose how cycles start:
   • Recurring creates a new cycle automatically at the start of each period.
   • One time lets you set a start date. Without a start date, steps have no specific timeline; you can add one at any time.
5. Click Create to open the workflow screen.

Add and configure steps

A step is one stage of the process, such as collecting budgets or signing them off. On the workflow screen:

1. Click the + icon.
2. Choose a step type and click Continue.
3. Enter a step name and description.

You can add steps before, after, or in parallel with existing ones, and set dependencies between them. You can edit a step's settings at any time.

Require task review

Select Require task review to add a reviewer. The reviewer must approve each task before it is marked complete.

Set timeline

Turn on Set timeline to give the step due dates. The timeline fields appear only when this is on.

Preparer due date (the person doing the work)

• Starts [N] days after [Workflow start / a previous step] sets when the task is sent.
• Has [N] day(s) to complete sets how long the preparer has to finish.

Reviewer due date (appears only when Require task review is selected)

• Has [N] day(s) to approve (after preparer submits) sets how long the reviewer has to approve.
• The reviewer's time starts when the preparer submits the task, not when the workflow starts.
• A value of 0 means the review is due the moment the preparer submits.
• If you clear Require task review, the Reviewer due date row is hidden and its value is reset to 0. Selecting it again starts from 0.

How due dates are counted

Due dates count calendar days from the start date, and the start date itself is day 0:

due date = start date + N days

• A step that starts on Sep 30 with 3 days to complete is due on Oct 3.
• A value of 0 means the same day: start Sep 30 with 0 days is due Sep 30.
• Weekends and holidays are not skipped, so a due date can fall on a weekend.
• The reviewer's days are counted the same way from the day the preparer submits: submitted Oct 14 with 2 days to approve, the reviewer is due on Oct 16.

Example: a step starts on Nov 2, 2026. The preparer has 3 days to complete (Nov 2 + 3 = Nov 5) and the reviewer has 2 days to approve (Nov 5 + 2 = Nov 7). The step then reads Nov 2, 2026 - Nov 7, 2026 on the workflow screen.

The step's date range runs from the preparer's first day to the preparer's due date plus the reviewer's days, which assumes the preparer submits on their due date. If they submit earlier, the reviewer's actual due date is earlier. Dates appear in the format Mon D, YYYY, for example Nov 5, 2026.

Existing workflows: steps that already require review default to 0 days to approve, so their displayed end dates do not change. Changing the reviewer days on a step re-dates the tasks already generated from it, including open tasks in an active cycle.

Checklist steps

Checklist steps are text-based tasks that do not depend on a filebox. They have the same review and timeline settings as other steps.

Assign fileboxes and members

A filebox is a place where a file lives. To give a step its tasks:

1. On a step, click Add fileboxes.
2. Use the Type filter (Inputs, Lookups, Reports, Model) and select the files.
3. Click Set members and choose the Preparer and, if the step requires review, the Reviewer for each file. You can leave members unassigned for now.
4. Click Done.

If a filebox has an assignee, its action is Send task. If an assignee does not have access, Datarails prompts you to grant permission.

Activate the workflow

New workflows are inactive, so you can finish editing before any task is sent. When you are ready, switch Workflow is Inactive on and confirm Activate workflow. Send task is available once the workflow is active.

The Tasks page

Open Tasks to see everyone's work. The Member column shows the Preparer on the top row and the Reviewer below. The Due date column does the same: the preparer's date first, then the reviewer's.

• A dash in the reviewer row means the step has no review.
• If review is required but no reviewer has been named, the workflow creator is the default reviewer.

Updated October 04, 2026 14:22