Set up an action taskflow: let your client confirm an action by email

An action taskflow lets your client confirm by email that an action has been completed. After the confirmation, AdminPulse can automatically change the status of the linked task or subtask. If the status changes, no more than one employee receives a notification in AdminPulse.

For example, your client can confirm that all required documents for the VAT task or personal income tax task have been submitted.

In this article, you will learn how an action taskflow works, how to set it up, what your client sees and when AdminPulse sends a notification.

How does an action taskflow work?

An action taskflow links an action button in an email to a task or subtask in AdminPulse. When your client uses the button to confirm that the action has been completed, AdminPulse updates the linked task or subtask according to your settings.

If this changes the status, no more than one employee receives a notification in AdminPulse.

💡 After the confirmation, AdminPulse sends no automatic email to you or your client.

Set up an action taskflow

To use the action button, first create the action taskflow. Then add the button to an email template and link that email template to the relevant subtask in your task template.

Create the action taskflow

Follow these steps to create an action taskflow.

1. Go to Settings > Taskflow configuration and open the Action taskflow tab.
2. Click +Add at the top.
3. Fill in the following fields:
   • Name: enter an internal name for the action taskflow. Your client will not see this name.
   • Action name: enter the title your client sees at the top of the confirmation page. Enter a title for every language your office uses. AdminPulse displays the title in your client's language.
   • Main task: select the relevant main task.
   • Subtask: if applicable, select the relevant subtask.
   • New status: select the status the task or subtask should receive after the confirmation.
   • Mark as blocked or as not applicable: use one of these options to block the task or subtask, or mark it as not applicable.
   • Example: preview the confirmation page your client will see. Use the Language and Company fields to view the page in another language or for a different Own Company.

Add the action button to an email template

Add the action button to the email template that will be sent to your client.

1. Go to Settings > Email and interaction templates.
2. Click Add at the top to create a new email template or edit an existing one.
3. Place your cursor where you want the action button to appear and click Insert taskflow action button.

👉 The Insert taskflow action button option only appears for email templates where Template context is set to Task management. If you do not see the option, check the value of Template context at the top of the email template.

4. Fill in the following fields in the Add taskflow action window:
   • Taskflow: select the action taskflow you created earlier.
   • Button text: enter the text that should appear on the action button. AdminPulse fills in this field with the action taskflow Name, but you can change the text.
   • Button color: select the color of the action button.

5. Click Save. The action button appears in your email template.

6. Click Save to save the email template.

👉 How the action button appears in the email depends on the recipient's email application. In Gmail and the new version of Outlook, the button is usually displayed correctly. In older versions of Outlook, it may appear as a regular link. AdminPulse has no control over this.

Link the email template to a task template

Link the email template to the relevant subtask so your client receives the email with the action button.

Go to Settings > Task templates, open the relevant subtask and add the email template.

👉 If you delete an action taskflow from Settings > Taskflow configuration, buttons that refer to it will no longer work. AdminPulse displays the following warning in the email template: This template contains buttons that refer to deleted taskflow actions. These buttons will no longer work.

Which texts can you edit?

The internal name, the title on the confirmation page and the text on the action button are three different texts. You edit them in different places.

• Name is the internal name of the action taskflow. Edit it under Settings > Taskflow configuration > Action taskflow. Your client will not see this name.
• Action name is the title at the top of the confirmation page. Edit it for each language under Settings > Taskflow configuration > Action taskflow. The updated title also appears when your client uses an action button in an email that you already sent. It may take a short while before the new title is visible everywhere.
• Button text is the text on the action button in the email. You set it when you add the button to the email template.
  To change the text later, remove the button from the email template and add it again. Changing the Name or Action name does not change the button text.

👉 You cannot edit the explanation above the button on the confirmation page, the Confirm button or the message Thank you. You can now close this window.

💡 To check what your client will see before sending an email, open the action taskflow under Settings > Taskflow configuration > Action taskflow and view Example. Use the Language and Company fields to preview the confirmation page in another language or for a different Own Company.

What happens when your client confirms?

The confirmation determines what your client sees, what happens to the linked task or subtask and whether AdminPulse sends a notification.

The confirmation page and unique link

When your client clicks the action button, a page opens where they can confirm that the action has been completed. The message Thank you. You can now close this window. appears after they confirm.

Each email contains a unique link that your client can use once. If your client clicks the action button a second time, the message This link has already been confirmed. appears.

The status of the task or subtask

After the confirmation, AdminPulse applies the settings from the action taskflow. The task or subtask receives the selected status. If you also selected Mark as blocked or as not applicable, AdminPulse applies that setting too.

The notification in AdminPulse

When the status of the task or subtask changes, no more than one employee receives a notification in AdminPulse. If the task or subtask has a deadline, it is also included in the notification.

Who receives the notification depends on which task changes status:

• If the status of a subtask changes: the employee assigned to the subtask receives the notification. If no employee is assigned, the employee assigned to the main task receives it.
• If the status of a main task changes: the employee assigned to the main task receives the notification. AdminPulse does not consider employees assigned to its subtasks.
• If no employee is found in this order: AdminPulse does not send a notification.

The notification type Taskflow action confirmed by end user is enabled by default. If it is disabled for you, click the user icon in the top-right corner and click Configure next to Open notification settings.

👉 Not receiving a notification even though the notification type is enabled and an employee is assigned? AdminPulse only sends a notification when the status actually changes. Check the following situations:

• The task or subtask already has the status selected in the action taskflow: the status does not change, so no notification is sent.
• The subtask already has the status Done, while To do or In progress is selected as the new status. AdminPulse does not make the change. The status remains Done, no notification is sent and no entry is added to the history.

👉 AdminPulse does not send an email when the client confirms: neither you nor your client receives one. To send your client a message, select the relevant tasks in your task list and choose Batch operations > Send email.

Example: confirming that the documents have been submitted

In this example, an office requests documents for a VAT task through an automatic email. After the confirmation, AdminPulse changes the status of a subtask and the assigned employee receives a notification.

The client receives the email

The client automatically receives an email asking them to submit all required documents. Once they have done so, they can confirm this with the action button.

💡 The client receives this email because the Request documents subtask is configured as an automatic email in the task template. The linked email template contains the action button.

The client confirms the action

When the client clicks the action button, the confirmation page opens. After the client clicks Confirm, the message Thank you. You can now close this window. appears.

The status changes and the employee receives a notification

The Documents received subtask automatically changes to Done because this status was selected in the action taskflow.

The employee assigned to Documents received receives a notification in AdminPulse that the client confirmed the action. If the subtask has a deadline, it is also included in the notification.