Salesforce Features
Time-Based Workflow
Ensure Your Business Processes Stay on Track
- Streamline business processes with additional workflow capabilities
- Improve productivity with new workflow triggers
With Spring ’07, new workflow functionality allows you to automate and manage your business processes with greater efficiency. In the new release, the Apex platform can trigger workflow based on time—either a time that has passed or a time that is approaching. Time-dependent actions can be based on any date/date time field on a record. In addition, you can use the new time-based workflow functionality along with field update functionality from the Winter ’07 release to automate and manage your business processes with new levels of efficiency.
This feature is
available in Enterprise and Unlimited Editions.
This feature is enabled by default.
Training, Documentation, & Best Practices
- Release Notes (PDF)
- Getting Started with Time-Based Workflow Rules (Flash)
- FAQ on Time-Based Workflow (PDF)
Feature Details
- Critical Reminders: Define workflow rules that send reminders when critical dates, such as a close date for a large opportunity or a promised resolution date to meet a customer’s service level agreement (SLA), are approaching.
- Time-Based Field Updates: Use workflow field updates in combination with new time-based workflow rules to change record ownership automatically, to update fields, and to notify the new owner if the record has not been updated for a defined period of time or if a crucial date is approaching.
- Workflow Queue Monitoring: A new workflow queue tool allows you to monitor and manage time-dependent actions, get visibility into all pending actions, and view and cancel pending actions.
14 Comments
February 24
Don't think so much on integration to outlook, think on integration to the next genration, all the tools giving by Google, email and calender just for a start.
February 26
I agree with Bent.
The reason for innovation is the next generation. Although understanding that Outlook has not yet reached its maximum innovation potential and is a viable candidate for this upgrade, email and the web are still the best places to change for the better.
February 27
I too would like to see integration with Google email and calandar
March 9
From reading the Release Notes, it seems that there is no way to send an email alert from a time based rule on an activity. This is nuts. For a task-based workflow to be an act of war, it needs to have escalation, and that needs email alerts. Is there a technical reason why this is so? If that is the case, we'll just go ahead and build them into Microsoft Sharepoint, where all this functionality exists.
March 12
DAYs ONLY?
Time-based triggers are only in the granularity of days - not hours or minutes. If I get a lead in and the rep it's assigned to is not able to get to it, or does not follow up in a timely manner (e.g. within 30 minutes), I want the lead to be reassigned to a different rep. 1 day is too long...
March 13
What a shame the workflow is only available for enterprise and unlimited edition. This is a feature a small company needs as much as a huge corporation!
March 15
Please reconsider applying this to the Professional Version. I could use this feature and we will not upgrade.
March 16
Agree with Alessandro Fonseca "What a shame the workflow is only available for enterprise and unlimited edition. This is a feature a small company needs as much as a huge corporation!" Give the professional users a break. In the travel industry we need this feature for departure reminders and have to do double entries in our outlook to accomplish this.
March 20
Thank you John for your comment. This is the first version of time-based workflow which supports only Days. We are hoping to enhance this in the coming releases to support hours.
March 30
Are these business days? or just regular days?... It would be really helpful if we were able to distinguish the types.
April 3
Currently, we are supporting only regular days. We will support business days in upcoming releases.
April 19
I agree that workflow alerts are just important to a small business as well as a large business and should be included in the professional edition.
April 25
Hello All,
I have just posted an FAQ document on Time-based Workflow. Look for the document in the "Training, Documentation, & Best Practices" section above.
Included in the FAQ is documentation on the limits the number of time triggers you can process per day. Please refer to the document for detailed information.
Thanks,
Raja
May 25
How come we can't do a time trigger from x amount of days after last activity??? This seems incredibly important but somehow its not supported. Any reason???