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Managing Operational Processes with Workflows

LeadCenter Workflows are the recommended way to manage repeatable client service and operational processes.

Common Operational Workflows

Create a dedicated workflow for each repeatable process your firm performs. Examples include:

• RMD Distribution
• Client Withdrawal
• Change of Address
• New Client Onboarding
• Account Transfer
• Beneficiary Change
• Account Opening
• Annual Client Review
• Insurance Policy Service Request
• Client Termination or Offboarding

Keeping each operation in its own workflow makes the process easier to launch, assign, monitor, and improve.

Recommended Structure

Each operational process should include:

• A workflow: Defines the complete operational process.
• A trigger: Determines how the process starts.
• Steps: Organize the process into clear phases.
• Create task actions: Tell team members what actions they must complete.
• Workflow service team roles: Assign tasks to the correct role for each client instead of to a fixed person.
• A task list: Keeps the operation's tasks organized and easily accessible from the Tasks page.

How to Set Up an Operational Workflow

1. Define the Process

Before creating the workflow, document the process from beginning to end. Identify:

• What starts the process
• The information or documents required
• The steps that must be completed
• Who is responsible for each step
• Which steps depend on another task being completed
• What marks the operation as complete

2. Create One Workflow for the Operation

1. Go to Workflows in the main sidebar. This opens the Workflow templates page.
2. Click Actions, then Create workflow.
3. Enter a clear, specific Name.
4. Optionally add a Description explaining when the process should be used.
5. Set the Set target date field. This is required and defaults to today. It represents the date the process should be completed, and workflow steps can be set to fall due before, on, or after it.
6. Optionally set an Owner as the workflow's default owner.
7. Set Category to Operations.
8. Click Save.

Recommended naming examples:

• Operations – RMD Distribution
• Operations – Client Withdrawal
• Operations – Change of Address
• Operations – New Client Onboarding
• Operations – Account Transfer

Choose How the Workflow Starts

Every workflow begins with a trigger, which you add in the builder before the rest of the process. Five triggers are available:

• Manual trigger – start the workflow by hand from a contact's actions menu, notes, or appointments.
• Contact created – start automatically when a contact is created.
• Contact updated – start automatically when a contact is updated.
• Appointment created – start automatically when an appointment is created.
• Form submission created – start automatically when a form is submitted.

With Manual trigger, whoever launches the workflow can also change the owner at launch time, so the default Owner you set above acts as a starting point rather than a fixed assignment.

Once the trigger is in place, add the steps, actions, and decision points required for the process.

3. Add Tasks to the Workflow

Add a Create task action whenever a team member must complete work. For each task, configure:

• Title – a clear, action-based task title
• Due – an offset expressed as After [number] days, weeks, weekdays, or months at [time]. The offset counts from the date the task is created during a workflow run, not from the date you built the template. Use weekdays for operational deadlines that should skip weekends.
• Tasklist – the list the task should appear in
• Task assignment method – Owner or Workflow service team role
• Additional assignees – other users who should also be assigned and notified
• Status – the starting status, either Not Started or In Progress
• Priority – High, Medium, Low, or None
• Notes – instructions and required information

Task titles should explain the required action. For example, use Submit RMD request to custodian instead of RMD task.

The Tasklist you choose here is a default. Whoever launches a workflow run from this template can change it at launch time.

4. Choose How the Workflow Should Continue

Each create task action offers three behaviors, shown as three selectable cards:

• Create task & continue – use this when the next workflow step can begin without waiting for the task to be completed.
• Create task & await completion – use this when the workflow must pause until the assigned task is completed. This is the default.
• Create task, wait for completion, and select next step – use this when the person completing the task must choose the appropriate next path.

Choosing the third behavior reveals a Step selection at runtime setting with two options:

• User can select any subsequent step
• User can select from one of the following steps, where you pick the permitted destinations

5. Configure Workflow Service Teams

Workflow service teams let tasks be assigned by role instead of assigning every workflow task to a specific person. Configure them from the Workflow templates page under Actions → Workflow service teams.

Each tenant starts with these roles, which you can rename, remove, or add to using Manage user roles:

• Account planner
• Paraplanner
• Wealth manager
• Servicing advisor
• Writing advisor
• Operations specialist

Use Add team to create a team, then assign a person to each role. Assign the team to a contact using the contact's Workflow service team field.

In the workflow builder, set Task assignment method to Workflow service team role and pick the role under Select role. When the workflow runs, LeadCenter assigns the task to whoever fills that role on the contact's team. This makes workflows reusable across multiple advisors and service teams without hard-coding a different user into every workflow.

Assignment resolves in this order, so a task always reaches someone even when a team is incomplete:

1. An explicit assignment on the workflow action
2. The person filling that role on the contact's workflow service team
3. The person filling that role on the Default settings team
4. The contact's owner

Fill in the Default settings team as a safety net. It is what catches contacts with no team assigned, and teams that have nobody in a particular role.

6. Create a Matching Task List

Create a task list for each major operational workflow, using the same or a similar name as the workflow. Examples:

• RMD Distributions
• Client Withdrawals
• Address Changes
• New Client Onboarding
• Account Transfers

To create a task list:

1. Go to Tasks.
2. Click Actions.
3. Select Create task list.
4. Enter the Task list name.
5. Leave the visibility selector on Visible to all users so the operations team can see the work. Choose Visible to me only if the list is for your own use.
6. Click Save.

When configuring each create task action in the workflow, select the matching list under Tasklist. Workflow-created tasks then appear in that list instead of remaining in Inbox, which is where tasks with no list are collected.

Team members can open the list from the Tasks sidebar to see all active work for that type of operation. They can also use the Group by workflow view to review tasks grouped by workflow and workflow step.

7. Publish, Then Test

Workflow templates have three statuses:

• Draft – not yet available to run
• Published – available to launch manually, and able to start automatically if it uses one of the automatic triggers
• Paused – temporarily taken out of service

Because a published workflow can carry a separate draft, you can keep editing safely after publishing. The workflow list shows (has draft) next to a published workflow with unpublished changes, and those changes only take effect when you publish again.

Use that versioning to roll out an operational workflow carefully:

1. Publish the workflow.
2. Launch it on a test contact before telling your team about it.
3. Confirm that every task is created in the correct order.
4. Verify task owners and workflow service team role assignments.
5. Confirm that tasks appear in the correct task list.
6. Review due dates, instructions, and notifications.
7. Complete tasks that pause the workflow and confirm that it resumes correctly.
8. Fix any problems as a draft, then publish again.
9. Announce the workflow to your team once it behaves correctly.

If you need to take a workflow out of service later, set it to Paused rather than deleting it.

Example: RMD Distribution Workflow

An RMD Distribution workflow would use Manual trigger, so a team member launches it on the client's record when the distribution is needed. It could include the following steps:

1. Verify RMD information
   Confirm the eligible accounts, required amount, and distribution deadline.
2. Contact the client
   Confirm the distribution amount, destination, withholding instructions, and delivery method.
3. Obtain authorization
   Send and collect any required forms or electronic approvals.
4. Submit the distribution request
   Send the completed request to the custodian or carrier.
5. Confirm completion
   Verify that the distribution was processed successfully.
6. Document the outcome
   Record the completion date, amount, notes, and supporting documents.

Tasks can be assigned to different workflow service team roles, placed in the RMD Distributions task list, and set to Create task & await completion where one step must finish before the next begins. Because the distribution deadline is fixed, set the workflow's target date to the deadline and schedule the steps relative to it.

Monitoring Workflow Runs

To review active and completed runs, go to Workflows → Actions → Workflow runs. Check it regularly to spot runs that are paused on an overdue task.

Best Practices

• Create a separate workflow for each clearly defined operation.
• Use the Operations category to keep operational workflows organized.
• Use Manual trigger for processes that begin with a client request.
• Set the workflow's target date to the real deadline so step due dates stay meaningful.
• Set up your workflow service team roles before you build workflows.
• Use service team roles instead of fixed owners wherever possible.
• Fill in the Default settings team as a fallback.
• Create clear, action-based task titles.
• Include complete instructions in each task's Notes field.
• Set due dates on steps when tasks are grouped inside them, and on tasks when they are not.
• Use matching task lists so operational work is easy to find.
• Use Create task & await completion when one step must finish before another begins.
• Review workflow runs regularly to identify delays or incomplete tasks.
• Make changes as a draft on a published workflow, then publish again.
• Update the workflow whenever your firm's operating procedure changes.

Related Articles

• Introduction to LeadCenter Workflows
• Workflow Service Teams – Role-Based Task Assignment
• Workflow Branches and Exit Steps
• Task Management Overview
• Task Templates