Recipe: Build a Basic Workflow Configuration in Workflow Designer

Instructions

To build a basic workflow, follow the steps below in order:

Create a New Workflow

1. Click on Workflow Designer on the top navigation bar and create a new internal workflow.
2. Name your workflow, and then click Save in the top right corner.

Select Your Paper Source

“My Company’s Paper” means the workflow starts from a contract template your organization created, uploaded, and configured in Workflow Designer. In this case, the contract is based on your company’s standard template.

When you upload a template in Workflow Designer, comments and tracked changes are automatically removed from the template. This eliminates the need to return to Word to manually accept or reject changes before using the template.

A message banner displays if the template has been modified during upload. You can then choose to proceed with the automatically cleaned version or revert and manage the changes in Word yourself.

“The Counterparty’s Paper” means the other party provides the primary contract document. Their document is uploaded manually during the Create stage and becomes the base agreement.

You must select at least one option, but you can also select both. The key difference is whose document serves as the starting point: your company’s template (your paper) or the counterparty’s version (their paper). This choice determines which document is tracked, edited, and finalized in the workflow.

To learn more about paper sources, refer to Paper Source Overview.

Add Properties to Your Template (If Applicable)

If you select My Company’s Paper, you’ll upload your template and then move to the document tagging screen. Tagging is the process of adding properties to specific parts of the template that Ironclad will populate with information from the Launch Form, such as the agreement date or the parties’ names. You’ll also tag signature fields to indicate where you and your counterparties need to sign.

Properties are the data points collected from a contract. Some properties are included in every workflow configuration by default. For example, Counterparty Name is always required and can’t be removed, while Counterparty Signer Name and Counterparty Signer Email are included in new configurations but can be removed if not needed. Additional properties, such as Contract Value, can be added, but you should always reuse existing properties where possible to maintain clean data and reporting.

To tag a property:

1. Highlight the text you want to tag, and then click Add Property. A list of default properties displays.
   
2. If the property already exists in your configuration, search for it and select it from the properties list.
   
3. If you need to create a new property:
   1. Type the property’s name and click Create new property.
   2. Select the property type. A property’s type determines which form question can be associated with that property and which formula operations you can take on the property.
   3. Add a description, and then save the property.
      

Customize Your Launch Form

The Launch Form is how your contract requester starts a workflow. It gathers essential information and customizes the workflow and contract accordingly. Properties that you tagged in the template are automatically added to the Launch Form.

You can build and customize your Launch Form in Workflow Designer by clicking the Create tab located at the top of your workflow configuration. You can add and reorder questions, arrange sections, hide or lock fields, and more.

To learn more about customizing your launch form, refer to Customize Launch Forms in Workflow Designer and Form Types in Workflow Designer.

Configure the Review Step

In the Review tab, you can:

• Configure Approvers
• Manage Download and Share Document Permissions
• Customize Default Email Templates for Shared Documents

Approvers are responsible for reviewing and approving contracts. You can customize the approval process to fit your company’s needs:

• Use sequential approver groups to require approvals in a specific order.
• Use parallel approver groups to notify multiple approvers at once and allow them to approve in any order.
• For advanced setups, you can also build conditional role assignments, which define when a user should be notified during the workflow based on specific conditions.

Configure the Sign Step

In the Sign tab, you have multiple options for configuring signers. You can set anywhere from zero to unlimited internal or external signers, include signers based on contract properties or conditions, and allow business users to select a signer from any member or group in your company. You can also create multiple-choice questions that assign a signer automatically based on the business user’s selection at launch.

To learn more about configuring signers, refer to the following:

• Configure Signatures
• Sign Tab Settings in Workflow Designer
• Add File Attachments to Signature Packets

Configure the Archive Step

The Archive step is the final stage of a workflow after all signatures are collected. At this point, the properties and final documents are stored in the Repository, making the record accessible on the Dashboard.

By default, the workflow owner is the Archiver, but you can reassign this role in Workflow Designer or allow submitters to choose it in the Launch Form. Workflows can either require Legal to review and approve properties before archiving, or be automatically archived once complete. If needed, workflows can return to the Sign step, or archived records can be updated by editing properties or uploading new versions.

To learn more about configuring the Archive step, refer to the following:

• Archive Step Overview
• Manage Archive Record Properties
• Manage File Names and Paths

Test and Publish Workflow

Be mindful of properties associated with your workflow - as soon as you hit publish, any new contract properties, record types, or additional properties that you created will also automatically be pushed to the Repository.

1. Verify all errors and warnings have been resolved.
2. Click Preview to test launch form inputs.
3. Click Publish when ready.

Result

Now, whenever someone at your company needs to start a workflow, they simply select a workflow configuration from the Dashboard. They will then follow the process you created, ensuring contracts are handled consistently and efficiently.