Rule Based Workflow Group

The Rule Based Workflow Group gives your organization more control over approval routing.

It uses conditions to decide who should approve a form at submission time.

This group is useful when routing depends on values such as:

• department
• fund
• amount
• account
• requestor

Example use cases include:

• routing high value requests to finance
• routing forms by department
• routing forms by fund
• routing requests from a specific user

What makes this workflow group different

Aclarian supports several workflow group types.

The Rule Based Workflow Group is different because it evaluates configured conditions and selects approvers based on matching rules.

Workflow Group Type	How approvers are determined
Department Head	Routes to the assigned department head based on the department selected on the form
Entity Manager	Routes to the manager assigned to a specific entity or fund and department combination
Threshold Value	Routes to a defined approver if the dollar amount meets or exceeds a set threshold
Specific User	Always routes to a named user regardless of form data
Rule Based	Evaluates configured conditions and routes to the approver tied to the matching rule

Key concepts

Group

• A group is the workflow step you add to a workflow.

• It acts as one step in the approval chain.

Rule

• A rule is a routing instruction inside the group.

• Each rule has:

• • its own conditions
  • its own approver list
  • its own required approval count

Rules are evaluated independently.

More than one rule can match the same form.

Multiple groups

A workflow can contain more than one Rule Based Workflow Group.

Each group is treated as its own workflow step.

Supported condition fields

Each rule can include one or more conditions.

Supported condition fields include:

• Department
• Fund
• Threshold Value
• Specific User
• Account

Available operators

The operator compares the form value to the rule value.

Operator	Meaning
Is Equal To	The form value exactly matches the configured value
Is Not Equal To	The form value does not match the configured value
Is Greater Than	The form value is greater than the configured value
Is Less Than	The form value is less than the configured value
Between	The form value falls within a set numeric range

Rule logic

When a rule has more than one condition, you must choose the logic.

AND logic

Use AND when all conditions must be true.

Example:

• Department is Public Works
• Threshold Value is greater than 5000

Both conditions must match.

OR logic

Use OR when any one condition can trigger the rule.

Example:

• Fund is Fund A
• Fund is Fund C

Either condition can match.

Approvers per rule

Each rule has its own approvers.

When a rule matches, those approvers are added to the approval queue.

You can configure:

• one or more approvers
• required number of approvals
• email notification for each approver

If more than one rule matches, the system combines approvers from all matching rules into one approval sequence.

The system uses the rule order defined in the group.

Supported forms

The Rule Based Workflow Group is currently available for these forms:

Form	Module
Purchase Requisition	Purchasing
Change Order	Purchasing
Check Request	Payments
Invoice Approval Form w/PO	Payments
Multiple Payment	Payments
Quick Pay	Payments

If a form is not listed, this workflow group is not available for that form.

How it works

When a form is submitted, the system evaluates the Rule Based Workflow Group as follows:

• The system reads all rules in the group.
• The system checks each rule against the submitted form data.
• If a rule matches, its approvers are added to the approval queue.
• If multiple rules match, all matching approvers are combined into one sequence.
• If no rules match, no approvers are added from that group.
• The form continues through the rest of the workflow.

Approval queue behavior

The Rule Based Workflow Group acts as one workflow step.

This means:

• all matched approvals in the group must be completed before the form moves forward
• required approval counts are enforced per rule
• other workflow group types are not replaced or changed

Configure a Rule Based Workflow Group

Step 1: Open Workflow Management

• Log in and open the Workflow Management module.

Step 2: Create a new workflow group

• Select the Workflow Group form.
• Choose Rule Based Approval as the group type.
• Enter a clear group name.
• Click Add New Group.

Step 3: Add rule conditions

• Open the first rule.
• Click Add Condition.
• Select the field.
• Select the operator.
• Enter the value.
• Add more conditions if needed.
• Choose AND or OR logic.

Step 4: Assign approvers

• Select the approver from the dropdown.
• Select Send Email Notification if needed.
• Click Add Approver.
• Set the required number of approvals.

Step 5: Add more rules if needed

• Click Add New Rule to create another rule.

• Repeat the same setup for each rule.

• There is no limit to the number of rules in a group.

Step 6: Save the group

• Click Save after all rules and approvers are configured.

Step 7: Add the group to a workflow

• Open the workflow for the target form.

• Add the Rule Based Workflow Group as a workflow step.

• The group appears as one named step in the approval chain.

Example scenarios

Scenario 1: Department and amount

Use this setup when Public Works requests over 5000 must go to the Department Head and CFO.

Rule setup

• Condition 1: Department is equal to Public Works
• Condition 2: Threshold Value is greater than 5000
• Logic: AND
• Approvers: Department Head, CFO
• Required approvals: 2

Result

Only Public Works requests over 5000 follow this route.

Scenario 2: Different approval by amount

Use this setup when low value check requests go to one approver and high value requests go to another.

Rule 1

• Condition: Threshold Value is less than 5000
• Approver: Accounts Payable Supervisor
• Required approvals: 1

Rule 2

• Condition: Threshold Value is greater than 5000
• Approver: Finance Director
• Required approvals: 1

Result

The system routes each request based on amount.

Scenario 3: Fund based routing with OR logic

Use this setup when invoices using Fund A or Fund C need extra review.

Rule setup

• Condition 1: Fund is equal to Fund A
• Condition 2: Fund is equal to Fund C
• Logic: OR
• Approver: Fund Manager
• Required approvals: 1

Result

Any invoice with either fund is routed to the Fund Manager.

Scenario 4: Multiple matching rules

Use this setup when a form can match more than one rule at the same time.

Rule 1

• Condition: Department is equal to Public Works
• Approver: Public Works Director

Rule 2

• Condition: Threshold Value is greater than 50000
• Approver: CFO

Result

Both rules match for a high value Public Works request.

Both approvers are added to the approval sequence.

FAQ

What is the difference between a group and a rule

• A group is one workflow step.
• A rule is one routing condition inside that step.
• A group can contain many rules.

If more than one rule matches, all matching approvers are collected within that same workflow step.

When should I use multiple rules in one group

• Use multiple rules in one group when approvers should review at the same stage.
• This works best when conditions are parallel.

When should I use multiple groups

• Use multiple groups when approvals must happen in sequence.

• This works best when one approval stage must finish before the next stage begins.

Will this replace other workflow group types

• No, the Rule Based Workflow Group is additive.

• It works alongside Department Head, Entity Manager, Threshold Value, and Specific User workflow steps.

Do workflow changes affect forms already in process

• No, changes only apply to forms submitted after the updated group is saved.

Quick Reference

Available condition fields

Field	Supported forms
Department	All supported forms
Fund	All supported forms
Threshold Value	All supported forms
Specific User	All supported forms
Account	All supported forms

Logic reference

Logic	When to use
AND	All conditions must be true at the same time
OR	Any one condition being true is enough

Best practices

• use clear group names
• keep rules focused
• review AND and OR logic carefully
• assign approvers to every rule
• set the required approval count
• save the group before adding it to a workflow
• place the group in the correct workflow step order
• test routing with sample submissions