Document workflow

A document workflow is a defined path that a document follows within an organization: the successive stages, the people responsible for each stage, and the rules governing how the document is routed next. It specifies who is to review the document, who is to approve it, within what timeframe, and what is to happen after it is approved or rejected. Once this path is established, the system processes every document of the same type in exactly the same way, regardless of who submitted it.

The core of the concept is the workflow associated with the document, not the physical location where the file is stored. The same document—such as an invoice—may pass through several people and departments, and the workflow determines what that path looks like.

What does a document workflow consist of?

It is based on stages, successive steps such as registration, substantive review, approval, execution, and archiving. Roles or individuals are assigned to each stage: for example, a supervisor, the finance department, or a director. Rules determine which path the document will take next—for example, based on the invoice amount, the type of contract, or the department involved. At any given time, the document also has a status—such as “under review,” “pending approval,” or “approved”—which indicates its current stage.

The workflow also includes deadlines and notifications. The system reminds the person who is supposed to make a decision, and if that person delays, it can forward the matter or notify a supervisor. All actions are logged, so it’s possible to see later who made which decision and when.

Types of document flows

The route of a document can have different structures:

sequential – the document is delivered to subsequent people one after the other, and each stage must end before the next,
parallel – several people or departments give their opinion on the document at the same time, which shortens the implementation time,
conditional – the further path depends on the data in the document, e.g. an invoice above a certain amount requires additional approval,
ad hoc – the route is determined on an ongoing basis by the participants, e.g. when the person conducting the case indicates to whom the document is to be sent next.

In practice, these variants are often combined in one flow: some of the steps run in sequence, some in parallel, and the further direction is decided by the rules.

Examples of document workflows

In the cost invoice workflow, after an invoice is registered, it is forwarded to the person responsible for reviewing its content, then to a supervisor, and—for larger amounts—also to the CFO. Once approved, it is forwarded to accounting.

In the contract process, a draft is prepared based on a template, reviewed simultaneously by the legal and finance departments, approved by an authorized person, and then signed and archived.

In the request process—such as for vacation or a purchase—the document is reviewed by the supervisor and the department responsible for processing it, and after a decision is made, the result is sent to the requester.