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Laserfiche Solution Contributed by Lena Spencer, Information Services Specialist, Linn-Benton Community College Albany, Oregon is home to Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC), one of the largest of its kind in the state, serving over 22,000 students annually. This innovative community college has been using Laserfiche for more than ten years finding new ways to improve efficiency and streamline processes. Each year at Thanksgiving, the LBCC Culinary Department holds a pie baking fundraiser for all of the staff and faculty at the college. “Previously the process included the fundraiser being sent out in an email and the staff replied with their orders. After receiving the orders, they printed and cut out the orders and taped them on boxes. This process resulted in some missing and incorrect orders,” said Lena Spencer, Information Services Specialist, LBCC. Determined to support the Culinary Arts Department, Lena developed a Laserfiche Form to help the Culinary Department track the Thanksgiving Fundraiser Orders. The new form helps the department more easily track the orders that come in allowing for a more streamlined process. Additionally, “the creation of this form has led to increased knowledge of features within forms leading to form improvements for other departments.” Which Lena shared, “was one of the biggest benefits to sharing this form.” The Culinary Arts Thanksgiving Fundraiser Form Makes Orders More Efficient The form allows the Culinary Department to keep track of pie orders efficiently, minimizing errors. While the form is relatively simple, the customizations, use of index tables, and calculations make it a practical solution. The Process A three-step process was sufficient for this form. The process begins with a staff member populating the Culinary Arts Thanksgiving Order Form. Once the form is submitted, the customer receives an order notification with the total amount due. Then, the orders save to the Laserfiche Repository. The automated process was simple to implement, and the improved method of collecting information creates a more effective solution. Theme Customization The customization features in Laserfiche Forms are a great way to personalize the form. LBCC has customized several forms using the themes tool and personalizing the forms. In Laserfiche Forms, there is a tab for themes, clicking on that tab will bring up a variety of options for customizing the form’s theme. For example, adjusting the wallpaper can be done by selecting Themes> Backgrounds> Wallpaper in the Forms Designer and specifying a fill pattern. There are a variety of other features that can be customized as well, such as such as the font, colors, images, and more. Indexing Options The index tables and calculation features were less familiar to LBCC until the creation of the Fundraiser Form. The index tables, allow the creation of specific fields, like dynamic drop-down lists, item prices, and quantities. The form used these tables to include a drop-down menu for pies, the customer sets an amount and then the price pre-populates. Another form that LBCC created contained drop-down fields with a class list for registration for Community Education. The index tables and having the ability to calculate the values automatically within the form were vital in making this form successful. When the field options open, the advanced features allow for formulas that calculate the values that are input. The formulas can be customized at a very granular level. This concept was instrumental in uncovering many new ways that LBCC could utilize their forms. Lena shared her findings with the Business Office at LBCC, after the creation of the Fundraiser Form. The Business Office was having a similar issue needing calculations for indexed information. Now that they know how to add calculations into their forms, the Financial Hold Appeal Form was adjusted to include the calculations, allowing students to go online and submit a late payment agreement. The students can specify how much needs to be paid to get the balance to zero. The form calculates the payments as they are scheduled. Linn-Benton is also using these features for the Campus Store Deposit Forms. The new feature on the form allows all of the college campuses to eliminate the paper process. The form now enables each campus to submit deposits online allowing quicker access to the deposit information and totals. The satellite campuses can deposit money in the banks directly instead of having to drive into the main campus. The Campus Store Form uses the advanced tab option to calculate the total amount that the form shows as deposited. Lastly, the Community Education Department is coming on-board with a new process, allowing students to register and pay for non-credit classes using these Laserfiche tools. The Laserfiche Forms features that were learned helped to propel forms creativity throughout the college. The implementation of the Culinary Arts Fundraising Form helped to produce a more efficient process for LBCC, preventing any pie order mix-ups this Thanksgiving.

Welcome to this month’s issue of the Consultant’s Corner, focused on using Laserfiche as a reporting tool. Cities Digital’s Consultant, Kyle Knebel, System Architect and Trainer addresses a variety of questions surrounding how Laserfiche can be an effective tool for generating reports. In today’s fast-paced digital environment, operational efficiency is key to business success. Laserfiche Reporting gives organizations the ability to be proactive, identifying inefficiencies and planning for the future. Laserfiche’s extensive reporting capabilities are helping organizations drive business innovation through the use of reporting tools, performance analytics, and customizable dashboards. Understanding Laserfiche’s reporting tools and how organizations can benefit is a great place to begin our conversation with Kyle. Can you explain the most beneficial reporting features available with Laserfiche? Laserfiche is full of reporting features and capabilities. Kyle lists some of the most beneficial features available to Laserfiche users. Repository Searches Permissions Reports *Example of a “User Effective Access Rights Report”, which was run against documents in a folder: Metadata reports Workflow/Business Process Reporting Forms reporting Records Management / File Plans Audit Trail reporting What advantages does reporting in Laserfiche provide to organizations? There are many ways that leveraging Laserfiche Reporting can improve the operations of an organization. Kyle explains that “Reporting can provide Laserfiche System Administrators, users, management staff, as well as executives, with information about the repository, its history, system health, and overall business process metrics happening in the Laserfiche system.” What modules are needed to use reporting in Laserfiche? Laserfiche offers reporting capabilities in nearly all of its modules, equipping organizations for success at many levels. Kyle briefly details Laserfiche modules and some of the reporting options available within each of them. Laserfiche Web Client 10.2 and Laserfiche Windows Client 10.3 can provide metadata and permissions reporting. Laserfiche Forms Essentials or Professional allows for the creation of custom reports regarding Forms Business Processes. Laserfiche Audit Trail allows managers to generate reports about document history, user activity, and system configuration changes. Laserfiche Records Management Edition allows records managers to generate File Plan reports, records ready for cutoff or disposition, and vital records review. Laserfiche Workflow and Workflow Web allow for reporting on individual or aggregate workflow performance, as well as instance history. How granular are the reporting features within Laserfiche? Laserfiche reporting appeals to users at all levels because of the extensive versatility offered with its components. Kyle shares that, “Laserfiche reporting, no matter the product, allows for a wide range of selectable metrics. Almost all reporting tools provide a means for filtering the results by various criteria like date, user, application, metadata, and more.” Is it possible to generate reports automatically in Laserfiche? Please provide some examples. The simple answer is, yes. In general, automation is a priority for many Laserfiche users and finding ways to use the reporting tools Laserfiche offers more effectively increases efficiency. Kyle outlines a few examples of how Laserfiche automates reports. 1. Laserfiche Forms - According to Kyle, “Laserfiche Forms is one product where it is possible to configure a report that runs automatically. It’s a new feature called ‘Schedule a Report' that is now available in Forms 10.3. Snapshots are generated from a custom report, which can be set to run on a schedule and can even be automatically emailed.” Laserfiche Web Client - He says, “The Laserfiche Web Client quick access list allows records managers to ‘automatically’ generate reports of records eligible for cutoff or for disposition, and vital records that are ready for review. The reports are pre-configured, the records manager just has to click a button.” Workflow Designer - “Workflow Designer allows for the creation and saving of reports,” Kyle suggests, “although it has no facility to automatically run them. It is called a Workflow Statistics report. They can be generated from the Windows Workflow Designer under the file menu at Workflow>Create Workflow Statistics Report. The same report is found when you select Search, then you can define the criteria and Save it as a custom search.” Web: Designer: Laserfiche reporting gives users the ability to recognize operational inefficiencies and improve business processes. What types of reports could be used to identify bottlenecks and hidden opportunities? When it comes to identifying reports specifically aimed at detecting inefficiencies, Kyle explains. “Page reports and Entry reports within Laserfiche Audit trail are commonly used reports, especially when viewed as a chart. These reports can highlight where users or groups are producing high levels of intake, or where low document/page intake levels are found. The report could show that at certain times of the day there are different levels of activity, possibly highlighting operational or training issues.” If an organization is running a report regularly, is it possible to create a template of that report and even share it with others? Laserfiche has options for users to configure reports that can be saved and shared. Kyle says, “For those using Laserfiche Audit Trail, configured reports can be saved and shared with other permitted users. These users don’t even have to be licensed Laserfiche users, but simply a member of a Windows Active Directory domain. For custom reports built in Laserfiche Forms, ‘the sky is the limit’ or so they say! Any custom report can be scheduled and a copy can be emailed to any recipient, or list of recipients if desired.” How are reports displayed and do you need to have a Laserfiche license to view a report? Reports are displayed typically in tables, graphs or spreadsheets. Kyle states that “Some reporting, like permissions and metadata reporting in the Laserfiche Windows/Web Client, do require a Laserfiche License.” He says, “ However, many of these reports can be emailed to recipients who do not have a Laserfiche license. Reports within Forms are configured by a licensed user but can be emailed to anyone. Laserfiche Audit Trail can be configured to provide access to specified users on the company domain, without needing a Laserfiche license.” In your experience, what are the most common reports that customers are using? Kyle provided a list of some of the most common reports that Laserfiche Customers are using they include: Audit Trail: session reports (who has logged into Laserfiche over the last week, month, year) Audit Trail: document’s created/pages scanned reports (productivity reports by user or department or date) Audit Trail: metadata updated to a specific value Forms: Operational reports (Key Performance Indicators) Forms: business Process reporting (delays in processing, phase/stage reporting) Records Management: 5 key reports (Ready for Cutoff, Closed or Frozen, Ready for Disposition, Event, Vital Record review) Workflow: Instance reporting (Terminated today/Terminated this week) What are the recommended best practices for generating reports in Laserfiche? Kyle offers three best practice recommendations for generating reports in Laserfiche. Think about the future – “ Incorporate future reporting needs into business process design and make reports part of your go-live requirement.” Start early – “Develop meaningful reporting early in a project’s lifespan.” Evaluate the audience – “Create reports for different consumers, like End Users, Managers, or Executive level staff.” Laserfiche reporting offers organizations the ability to create data-driven business solutions based on factual charts and visualizations. Using Laserfiche reporting can positively impact organizational efficiency and promote future innovations. If you need help generating reports with Laserfiche, contact the Cities Digital Consulting Team.

Laserfiche Forms offers a convenient way to monitor process instances. A forms process instance refers to each time a business process runs on a form and all its related submissions. Monitoring process instances are especially helpful when it comes to troubleshooting, allowing users to quickly identify hangups within an individual Forms Business process. The monitor tab allows users with the appropriate permissions the ability to view the action history and variables of specific instances. Double-clicking a single process instance within this view gives the user more information about each step and makes diagnosing issues within an instance a much simpler task. Here are a few steps for troubleshooting a forms process instance. 1. In Laserfiche Forms navigate to the Monitor Page. A list will display all of the process instances. Filter options are conveniently located on the left side of the monitor page, select an option (i.e. contains suspended tasks), select a date range, and click apply to view the results. 2. The results view table has configurable and sort-able columns making instances easy to identify. 3. Clicking on an instances link allows the user to see more details. The example below shows an instance as suspended because it could not start a workflow. Begin troubleshooting the issue by first, verifying the workflow server is running. Then ensure the workflow service task is configured correctly. If both of these items are correct, then retry the instance. 4. Aside from the detailed history of the instance, clicking the variables tab will display a list of all of the variables in the process and their values. Reviewing these variables allows the user to see exactly what information that the instance is working with, helping to uncover any issues. 5. If the information gathered from the history and variable details are insufficient for determining the cause of the error. Return to the list of instances, select the checkbox next to the instance, and click the view error log button to collect more detailed information. Additionally, users can use the other buttons options to perform tasks on the instance if needed. The other buttons include retry instance, stop the instance, edit, or view the operational status of the instance. When users can confidently identify an issue with a forms process instance, troubleshooting and resolutions can be found more efficiently. Following the steps outlined above can aid in keeping users informed and forms processes instances monitored helping to reduce complications in the future. If additional assistance is needed with troubleshooting any Laserfiche Forms Process Instances please contact Cities Digital Support Team.

Laserfiche Solution Contributed By Shad Campbell, IT Applications Manager, Deschutes County, OR Deschutes County is located in Central Oregon, nestled between the Cascade Mountain Range to the west and the high desert plateau to the east, with a population of over 180,000 and growing. The need for a more efficient digital process for rights of way began with the County’s Road Department. In the past, a majority of the right of way process was paper-based. As a result, there were many inefficiencies ranging from pinpointing the exact location where work needed to take place to challenges tracking permit details onsite. Deschutes County used Laserfiche Forms to create an electronic Utility/Work in Public Right of Ways Permit Application which has led to more convenient and efficient operations in the field for the Road Department. “Before the new process was implemented, employees either had to call into the office to have another staff member lookup permit information or carry a binder filled with printed permits onsite that had to be paged through to determine a street location,” said Shad Campbell, IT Applications Manager. The electronic application form helps the county provide residents with a quicker response, a more efficient way of submitting applications, and greater accuracy for providing locations for the requested work. In addition, the Road Department staff is now able to more efficiently assess the work that is being done in the right of way. An Electronic Right of Way Permit Application Makes the Permitting Process More Efficient The Right of Way Permit Application is now available on the County’s Website. The applicant can simply click on the Laserfiche Form Link to fill out the online application when they want to dig in the right of way. The applicant opens the link to the Form and accepts the provisions outlined by the county before proceeding with the application. This section of the application can conveniently be hidden once accepted; allowing the applicant to fill out the rest of the form. The permit application contains four sections including provisions, applicant information, contractor information, and project information. The applicant and contractor sections contain standard fields such as name, address, phone number, and email address. The unique piece of this application form is included within the project information section. This is where applicants are asked to identify information about the project. Fields are configured to pull information from a database dynamically populating road names in a drop-down list. Once a road is selected, an integrated JavaScript based mapping API called Leaflet was added into the form’s JavaScript library which allowed the addition of some basic mapping components. When the applicant clicks the button to use the map to specify Lat/Long a map is displayed pointing them to the street that was selected from the drop-down list. When the applicant is viewing the map, they can click directly on the location where they will be digging in the right of way. Once the applicant places the pin and saves the coordinates, the latitude, and longitude information from the map are directly inserted into the fields on the form. A forms business process begins upon successful submission of the application. The initial steps of the business process after the application has been populated and submitted are for the applicant to receive a confirmation notification informing them that the permit application was received and is being evaluated. The permit application then goes through a review process where it is either approved or rejected. If it is rejected, the applicant will receive notification of the rejection. If the permit application is approved, however, it triggers a workflow to copy the information into the County’s ArcGIS program. The business process completes by placing the form in the Laserfiche repository and sending a notification of acceptance to the applicant with all of the necessary permit information. When the workflow component is initiated, information is collected from the Laserfiche Forms content. Next, a custom query runs to retrieve the next record in ArcGIS, and that data is inserted as a new record into the ArcGIS database. After the database is updated with the new information, the permit will display online on the ArcGIS map visible to staff at Deschutes County. The map instantly shows that a new dot was created when the new permit application was approved through the forms process. The implementation of this permitting solution and integration with ArcGIS has greatly increased efficiency for both Road Department Staff of Deschutes County and residents requesting right of way permits. The County is now visualizing data and saving trips to the file drawer.

Would you like to increase your Laserfiche Snapshot efficiency? Laserfiche Snapshot is a great tool for virtual printing image and text documents from electronic files, acting as an archiving tool for versions of these files. Adjusting the Snapshot settings can help to maximize efficiency when using this tool. Here are four ways to configure the Snapshot settings, that you may not know about. 1. Configure a default profile - Configure the default profile by setting the metadata, templates, and fields keeping a standard process for documents that are printed. If there is information that is always applied in the same way users can configure it as the default saving time when printing. Once Snapshot has been configured simply save the default profile in the advanced tab. 2. Create common profiles - Users can save a variety of profiles for the different types of documents that are being printed. This allows a variation in the document properties such as folder paths, templates and naming conventions that can be pre-configured. For example, an organization has several PDF files of Statements that they want to Snapshot into Laserfiche. All of these PDF files can be printed using Snapshot individually or in a batch. If the profile is set up for the Agenda documents there will be minimal manual data entry that will need to take place. 3. Use Tokens - Token values are a beneficial tool for populating templates, limiting data entry, and keeping document naming conventions in place. Items such as a document name and date fields are popular uses for tokens. Access the available tokens from a drop down list will display available tokens. Static data may also be entered if necessary. 4. Snapshot in batches - Have a large group of documents that need to be sent to Laserfiche as image files? Laserfiche Snapshot can simultaneously print multiple files that are selected in a file management application, such as Windows Explorer (to print from Windows Explorer, Snapshot must be the default printer). Scanning in batches allows you to select a saved profile and import multiple documents at once. Simply assign necessary document properties as the documents are printed, if Snapshot profiles are created this process should be quick. Getting electronic documents into Laserfiche as image files are critical for maintaining records of documents that are not editable. Utilizing the discussed tips for is printing electronic files into Laserfiche will hopefully save you time and increase your productivity. If you need any assistance with configuring your Snapshot printer please contact the Cities Digital Support Team.

Business process automation, in theory, has substantial technological benefits to organizations that implement automated processes. These implementations, however, may not always operate as efficiently as planned. This does not mean that organizations should not automate processes, but it does call out the need to carefully design which processes are selected for automation. Choosing the right processes increases the value and success of automation. The key to successful automation with Laserfiche includes careful evaluation of the organization’s business processes. Did you know that streamlining business processes with automation can result in increased efficiency and cost-savings? It has been estimated that business process automation can save organizations between 40 and 60 percent in administrative/operational costs. The ability to cut the time it takes to perform routine processes can be reduced from days to minutes. The following can act as a guide to help determine processes that an organization may benefit from automating. Evaluate the organizational business processes holistically by asking some important questions to determine what process to automate. 1. Can the process be repeated? Determining the repeat-ability of a process is the first and often most crucial factor for automating a process. Processes that are standardized and repeated consistently are prime candidates for automation. A few examples of this kind of processes that would be good to automate include – weekly time-sheet tracking and submission process, invoices and purchase orders, or a new-hire on-boarding. 2. Would the automation decrease process duplication? Are multiple departments or staff members within your organization inputting the same information into several different programs? If staff or customers are experiencing redundancy or duplicating efforts within a department or field, automation could be a time and cost-saving measure. Centralizing information can reduce costs, improve consistency, and create better accountability for everyone. 3. What impacts will process automation have on staff productivity? Common elements of daily business processes that impact productivity include things like manual data entry, turn-around-time, and accuracy. If staff have a reduction in manual tasks, data can be collected and populated from other sources, documents can move around much quicker in a digital environment; allowing staff more time to take on other projects. 4. How is communication affected through automation within the organization? Centralizing information through an automated process allows users consistency making it easier to share information with clients or colleagues anywhere. When information can be found in one system, instead of having to track information down from multiple locations or within several applications, communication is much more efficient. Laserfiche users that have implemented automated business processes find they can easily share information within the organization, with clients securely, and with staff on the go. 5. Can automating the process prevent knowledge drain? Many organizations experience knowledge drain when individuals that have many responsibilities leave an organization. The staff that remains may not know all the details of the job that was performed by this person and therefore the knowledge that they have goes with them. This can be problematic when it comes to organizational processes, automation is an effective way to prevent knowledge drain because there are documented steps for successful implementations and processes are not being done by one individual. 6. Will Automation reduce or minimize costs? There are several ways that the cost can be reduced using automation, this can easily be calculated to see how each process may benefit the organization through automation. The first step is to calculate the number of hours that are spent by individuals performing the process. It is also important to contemplate costs associated with the of the length of time it would take to implement the process, also considering any potential errors that could arise. An example might be, a staff member spends an average of 20 hours a week working on new client on-boarding. They begin with manually entering data from the new client paperwork. Then they carry documents around the office for approvals and signatures or via mail waiting for responses. This would be a very cost-effective process to automate. This process automated might look like this, a new client fills out an electronic form online, the information from the form is then pulled from the form into a database and an account created in the CRM and file is created Laserfiche for all the documentation. The client and advisor could receive email notifications and requests for signatures where needed and the entire process taking only minutes instead of days or hours. 7. What are the pain points of the process? Identify any current challenges that exist with the process. While these may be things that can be solved through automation it is important to evaluate the pain points thoroughly. Determining the cause of inefficiencies and working on process improvements before implementing. Organizational Benefits Here are some examples of how organizations are benefiting from automating processes and using Laserfiche. Linn Benton Community College transformed their Transcript Evaluation Process process decreasing the process time from 6-8 weeks to just one. Read the full article here. The City of Springfield Oregon centralized their journal entry processing and integrated with PeopleSoft making auditing quick and efficient. Read the full article here. The Bryan Independent School District has taken their Employee On-boarding orientation process from 90 minutes to just seven and experience huge cost saving since implementing Laserfiche. Read the full article here. Automating business processes is a popular trend and a growing requirement for a majority of industries. Deciding which processes to automate can be challenging and time-consuming, but with careful consideration can be very rewarding for organizations. Hopefully, this post has added some thought-provoking ideas to processes that may be considered for automation. A few key takeaways to remember to ensure the process to be automated is standardized. If the process is constantly changing and those changes are manageable, allow for flexibility in the developed process. Consider the future, don’t automate a poor process. A well-constructed process will serve a much greater purpose than one that is just functioning.

Welcome to this month’s issue of the Consultant’s Corner, which centers around organizational needs for inventory management and how Laserfiche can be a viable solution for businesses. Cities Digital’s Consultant, Rob McCluskey, System Architect addresses a variety of questions surrounding how Laserfiche can be an effective tool in managing inventory. Good inventory management helps make businesses successful and is a key element to the operational efficiency of an organization. The ability to provide premium customer service, balance supply and demand, improve efficiency, and increase profitability are just some of the benefits that can be achieved with quality inventory management. Determining the role that Laserfiche plays in inventory management is a suitable place to begin our conversation with Rob. As an organization looking for inventory management options, how can Laserfiche be used as a complete Inventory Management Solution? Laserfiche offers the versatility for organizations to use as a complete inventory management solution. Rob explains that “organizations can leverage Forms’ out-of-the-box features in conjunction with relational database tables to build a complete inventory management solution. The catch here is on the SQL side, in most instances, a single, non-relational SQL table (often static, although occasionally updated via Workflow to refresh data from a CRM, etc.) is sufficient for preparing dynamic template fields or lookup fields in Forms. For more complicated data management needs such as an inventory management system, a compelling case can be made to implement a set of relational SQL tables, using primary key/foreign key pairs, to ensure data consistency and integrity.” What types of industries can benefit from managing inventory in Laserfiche? While many organizations can benefit from managing their inventory in Laserfiche, Rob says, “the industries best suited to leveraging Laserfiche for use as an inventory management system would be those whose business is not primarily inventory-based. For example, shipping and retail organizations have dedicated inventory management systems, so it is doubtful that they would derive much value from implementing one in Laserfiche. These organizations would probably be better served by integrating their existing inventory management system with Laserfiche.” He shares, “the strongest case to be made for using Laserfiche for inventory management would be for organizations or departments that are already using Laserfiche but have a need for an inventory management system.” How can Laserfiche keep track of items like ordering inventory, storage and for sale inventory that is constantly changing? According to Rob, the use of “Laserfiche Forms, in conjunction with a set of well-defined relational SQL tables, can be used to keep track of inventory across all stages of its life-cycle. Using relational tables (i.e, primary key/foreign key pairs) is essential for ensuring consistency and accuracy.” Would you recommend using any specific types of forms to aid in managing inventory? “Yes!” Rob says, “let’s consider an internal inventory management solution, used to track IT hardware.” He recommends, “a form for adding new inventory items to the system, one for changing or retiring items, and one for assigning items to members of the organization. In addition to, a form for looking up inventory according to whatever criteria works best for the organization—for example, the organization could use one form with 2 tabs to look up inventory by ID and category. The results of this lookup would return pertinent data about the members of the category or about the specific item queried by ID, including assignment history. This set of forms could be modified to allow for look-ups across various stages of the inventory life-cycle as discussed earlier and could be accompanied by a set of forms (such as order forms or invoice forms) that would pass information to Workflow to trigger an inventory item’s transition from one life-cycle stage to another.” How does Workflow contribute to an inventory management solution? An essential component, Rob explains. “Workflow is critical to any process as described above since Forms cannot itself write to databases, Workflow is required to do the heavy lifting. In processes that track inventory across its lifecycle, Workflow could be leveraged to kick off subsequent Forms processes at each stage. Without Workflow, a robust inventory management system is not possible within Laserfiche.” If an organization has Quick Fields, in what ways might that benefit them when it comes to managing inventory? In a scenario where an organization has Quick Fields, Rob shares some benefits that the organization might experience when it comes to managing inventory. He says “the organization could, for example, use Quick Fields to scan paper order forms into the system, parse OCRed text or bar code information from the scanned documents, and use that information to both initiate the next stage of the order process and update the inventory database. Laserfiche could automate much of the process after the initial scan using a combination of Workflow, Forms, and user interaction with the Laserfiche Client.” Can you explain some of the reporting options that organizations have after implementing an inventory management solution? The reporting capabilities are extensive. According to Rob, “reporting options are available from all modules. Organizations can use the Forms dashboards and report features to track an order or inventory change as it passes from one stakeholder to the next. They could use Workflow to query the inventory solution’s SQL tables and prepare an HTML, CSV, Word, etc., a report containing detailed information for relevant inventory items or lifecycle stages. Finally, custom searches can be configured to allow users to pull order forms, invoices, etc., for a given inventory item or lifecycle stage. The sky is pretty much the limit in terms of reporting on a system like this.” What types of inventory valuation methods can be used with Laserfiche? The SQL tables are important, Rob says “essentially, if the SQL tables are designed such that the appropriate costs and values are associated with relevant inventory items, Workflow and/or Forms can be used to accommodate first-in-first-out, last-in-first-out, highest in, first out, or pretty much any other inventory valuation method the organization uses.” Are there any limitations to inventory management with Laserfiche? Organizations could be limited with Laserfiche, Rob says “if the management needs are not able to be accommodated using various Laserfiche module (Forms, Workflow, Quick Fields, etc.) and SQL. If the system needs to interface with another software application, for example, custom integrations might be required to attain the desired functionality. Other than that, the Laserfiche modules plus SQL are a pretty powerful combination—complicated calculations and detailed reporting can be achieved for most inventory management needs with just those applications.” Can you give some examples of how customers have implemented an inventory management solution using Laserfiche? Seeing how organizations are implementing solutions through examples is beneficial. Rob shared that recently, he “worked with a customer that needed to track items within their IT department. The client wanted a system that allowed them to add their backlog of inventory, as well as new inventory items moving forward. The solution that was built for them used 5 or 6 related SQL tables, along with a SQL view and a stored procedure to accommodate Forms’ fussiness when querying against NULL values in a SQL table. There were forms for adding, changing, retiring, and assigning items, as well as a “read-only” (i.e, not able to be submitted) form that allowed the user to lookup inventory items collectively by category or individually via ID. The category lookup was meant to facilitate the ID lookup, so if the user did not know the ID, they could look up all active inventory items in a given category, grab the ID for the relevant item, then perform an ID lookup for even more detailed information about that particular item, including its assignment history. There were a handful of workflows for updating and database tables for the various forms.”

Welcome to this month’s issue of the Consultant’s Corner, which centers around helping organizations promote their brand through customized forms, exploring the multitude of customization options available through Laserfiche. Cities Digital’s Consultant, Rob McCluskey, System Architect addresses a variety of questions surrounding the details of Forms Customization. A form that looks good, is functional and accurately represents an organization is critical when it comes to creating customized forms. Laserfiche Forms Designer is a versatile utility loaded with features, determining how organizations are customizing forms a good place to begin the conversation with Rob. What are the top features of the Forms Designer and how are organizations using the features to customize Laserfiche Forms? The top three features of the Laserfiche Forms Designer organizations are using for making customizations to Laserfiche Forms are Custom Themes, Custom CSS, and Custom JavaScript, which Rob details. Custom Themes - The easiest and most commonly used method to customize the appearance of a form is “to create a custom theme”, Rob explains that “organizations utilize logos, swatches, and design language.” Sample form with Custom Theme. Custom CSS – Cascading Style Sheets, which for those unfamiliar with the acronym is a plain text file format used for formatting content within forms, is another way organizations are customizing. Rob tells us that, “since the default approach to layout in Forms is to keep forms responsive, looking good and functioning correctly on both mobile devices and workstations, the Designer does not accommodate horizontal layout options out-of-the-box. Organizations that know in advance that their users and submitters will only be working on a computer can make an informed decision to leverage CSS to layout fields side-by-side, etc. However, it’s always important to consider maintainability and how such decisions could end up causing friction with business process developments in the future.” Custom JavaScript – Lastly, Rob explains, “one of the most common functional customizations uses JavaScript to perform calculations across multiple tables. For example, many organizations use expense reimbursement forms that typically require employees to list their expenses by type or account. JavaScript can be used to sum each expense into a subtotal depending on the type, then push this information into a read-only summary table, which streamlines the review process and preserves the data as originally submitted. Part of this functionality involves another common customization, which is setting fields to read-only using JavaScript. Forms see read-only fields populated by JavaScript as unsecured, so it will empty them out when saving the form to the repository. To work around this, JavaScript can be used to set such fields to read-only after certain events—this allows the values to persist when the form is saved.” Sample form with custom buttons and even a signature field. What are the recommended best practices for creating custom Laserfiche Forms? When implementing customizations for various components it is important to consider best practices. Rob shares that the, “recommended best practices for creating custom forms are to do as much customization as possible using Themes and limit other customizations to critical items. Organizations sometimes run into issues when they get fixated on a particular aesthetic or layout that, while it may make sense in a particular context, does not usually translate well onto mobile devices and creates issues when upgrading the system at a later date.” Once a custom form is created, is there a recommended process for making modifications to the form? According to Rob, “it’s not much of an issue for smaller forms or forms using JavaScript to manipulate a small number of fields/values. Additionally, it’s always a good idea to create a checklist when doing lots of rework or migrating a process to a new server or version. An administrator should identify all fields customized by CSS/JavaScript before doing the modifications, so they can easily confirm functionality after the fact.” In the interest of keeping form documentation consistent, is it possible to create a template for Forms and what recommendations do you have for this process? Considering all of the information that forms contain duplicating efforts for each individual form could get tedious. Rob assures us that there is a way to configure generic “template” processes that can be quickly tailored to more specific needs, helping to minimize duplication of work. He says, “many organizations need to collect payment for different purposes—for example, a city might need to collect payments for building permits and parking tickets. A generic “Template – Payments” Forms process can be created that contains fields common to both processes. Once this process is created, it can be copied, renamed (perhaps “BLDG – Permit Payments” or “PD – Parking Ticket Payments”), and configured with additional fields specific to the needs of each payment collection type. The only recommendation for creating template processes is to be sure not to publish them and/or grant access to non-admin users.” Can you explain how dynamic information can be incorporated into forms, for example pulling information in from a data-set to populate a portion of the form? Rob describes through some examples how dynamic information can be incorporated into a form. “Consider the ‘PD – Parking Ticket Payments’ process mentioned above. Perhaps this Forms server also contains a process called ‘PD – Parking Ticket Issuance’ that officers use to generate parking tickets. Data from a submitted ‘PD – Parking Ticket Issuance’ form could be used to populate an official Word or PDF document that is saved to the repository as a read-only PDF and emailed to the offender for their records. This data could also be pushed into a ‘Parking Tickets’ database table for use with the ‘PD – Parking Ticket Payments’ form. The offender could access the ‘PD – Parking Ticket Payments’ form via a URL in the email they received with the attached parking ticket. They could enter their driver’s license number, date of birth, and any other relevant data, after which Forms would perform a lookup against the ‘Parking Tickets’ database table to display any pertinent information to the offender, as well as provide the payment amount for their ticket. Another use might be connecting a database table containing licensed contractor information to the ‘BLDG – Permit Payments’ form, so licensed contractors could select their license number from a drop-down list, which would automatically populate the form with their contact information.” What options are available for creating custom calculations within a form? As an organization’s use of forms expands so does the need to have additional functionality available within the forms. For creating custom calculations Rob explains, “users can apply formulas to the single line, number, date, currency, table, and collection fields under the field’s ‘Advanced’ tab, within the ‘Calculation’ section. These formulas are based on the OpenFormula standard used by Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, so many users will probably be familiar with the syntax for using them. These formulas are adequate for simple calculations (eg, summing a column of subtotals in a table into a single total field or returning the largest value from a set of fields) but can become difficult to read and maintain for more complex calculations. Whenever more complex calculations are needed, the tendency is to use JavaScript to handle them as code with comments in a larger text area is easier to read and maintain.” Are there any caveats to customizing forms that people should be aware of? “There are no hard and fast rules,” Rob says, “but users should always be thinking about maintainability and future-proofing. While custom CSS and JavaScript can be used to great effect, they can also become difficult to maintain if not well documented. And of course, backward compatibility is not something that can be guaranteed.” Are there limitations to the size or type of graphics that can be incorporated into a form? When it comes to graphics, he shares, “the only real limitation is usability—the larger an image file is, the longer the form will take to load, so in general, it’s best to keep graphical elements as small as possible.” If an organization has several custom forms what considerations do they need to make if contemplating an upgrade? Following recommendations for an upgrade is important to ensure the least amount of complications. Rob adds, “the considerations for contemplating an upgrade are the same as those for making modifications to a form or process—a checklist should be prepared in advance to easily identify what processes and fields are using custom CSS/JavaScript (and maybe even calculations as it’s always possible the formulas could be updated to require a different number of arguments, etc.). Once this list is prepared, the organization should upgrade their test or staging environment first, if at all possible or applicable, as this will give them a chance to identify any breaking points before upgrading their production environment.” Whether you are looking into Laserfiche Forms, considering the options or already using Forms in some capacity, there are so many different ways to add customization. The Forms Designer offers tools to help promote your brand and tailor your forms to meet the needs of the organization. The Cities Digital Consulting Team is always ready to help you design your forms, optimize efficiency and innovate solutions. Contact us for help with your next project.

Most organizations have the desire to align company information technology components with its business goals in order to improve efficiency. Integration allows organizations to leverage their existing processes, people, technology, and information to stay ahead of the competition. Have you ever considered integrating Laserfiche with any other software applications? This article describes some of the benefits of how integrating applications can help to bridge the gap between multiple business functions creating a more streamlined digital environment. A software integration can be explained as a process of combining two sub-systems into one and ensuring that the sub-systems can function as one system. Connecting these sub-systems into one another without losing valuable information can allow companies to edge out the competition. The ability to remain competitive is essential to business success, a company can purchase boxed solutions, or have a custom solution developed to meet their exact needs. System integration can save time and money. Since Laserfiche tends to be a significant application within many organizations, continue reading to find out what benefits organizations can experience from implementing an integration. Challenges of Using Multiple Applications Choosing several components instead of having an entire system developed may be an affordable way to begin a business. When more tools are constantly being needed to handle additional processes, acquiring new and separate components may be cheaper, but it can also be detrimental to your organization. There are several challenges that may arise from using multiple applications instead of one. Ineffective Data Management – storing data in various places is not only risky it also makes it impossible for an organization to analyze the data properly. Collecting and managing data manually from several systems yields incomplete results. Losing Customers – if an organization is facing issues with the data flow, then client demands are not able to be met. These impacts can be felt throughout the entire organization, from a client needing to see a document that may take hours to track down, payments having to flow through multiple systems or forms that get filled out and then have to be moved or re-keyed into another application. Lack of Productivity – staff are stuck entering data into each of the applications the company uses, instead of beginning new tasks. The entire process wastes hours of work and directly decreases productivity. Inaccurate Reporting – many organizations rely on timely information to make informed decisions. When information is not consistent across applications important decisions may be made with outdated and inaccurate information. Benefits of Integration Integration in some capacity is critical for companies to succeed. It ensures a reduction in errors, seamless data connectivity, a centralized solution, and improving the internal workflow of each company. Integrating software applications with your Laserfiche Document Management Solution will allow companies to achieve: Improved Accessibility - The number of applications that organizations are using seems to be increasing all the time and users are constantly switching between these applications to gather information. Through integration, users have the ability to collect the information that they need all from one application. Consider working within a CRM for example, some integrations like Salesforce and Junxure offer the ability to have Laserfiche embedded directly in the CRM interface. Allowing users to see all of the information for a client within that specific client record, thus eliminating the need to open a separate application. The benefits of more convenient access to documents stored in Laserfiche from one location, instead of having documents spread across multiple applications. Increased Productivity and Efficiency - Considering all of the applications that are used today, all of the back and forth between applications can consume a lot of time for users. Once an integration is installed users can work from one application, gaining full functionality of Laserfiche within that application. Functions such as importing, exporting, and scanning are easily available, add on the ability to route documents with workflow and a complete solution is achievable giving organizations the ability to streamline processes increasing automation. Additionally, keeping track of information for clients or customers and having it available real-time is a major time saving and value-added benefit for many organizations. The tedious task of duplicating data entry into multiple systems is a thing of the past. These processes can be created with Laserfiche Workflow activities in some instances pushing and pulling data from forms, databases and more. Better Communication - In this constantly evolving technological world, where communication is a major component of organizations and is key to creating and maintaining positive relationships with clients. Integration can help to improve communication among clients and staff, by creating transparency and increased availability. Documents are readily available for consumers because they are easily accessible and centralized for staff. Through the implementation of certain automation, information is being retrieved more efficiently, documents are moving through processes more quickly, decreasing the amount of redundancy by centralizing information. Companies are implementing mobile options for digital signatures making information available even on the go. Consumers do not have to wait days to get documents to sign by mail or- in person, they can have information sent directly to them. Centralized System - Eliminate redundancy and store all of your documentation in Laserfiche. Centralizing files increases document security and improves compliance. Documents are easily available and retrievable providing benefits to both the company and clients directly. A centralized solution also increases consistency making reporting and automation a breeze. In addition, departments and staff aren't faced with having to learn an entirely new interface, thus making it an easier and more efficient system. Cost Savings - Integrating applications, can reduce costs in many areas of a company’s business. The greatest increase can be seen from making more informed decisions from automating tasks, allowing staff more time to develop new skills and foster relationships with existing clients and vendors which will allow business to grow. What Types of Integrations Does Cities Digital Offer? Cities Digital offers many boxed integration solutions, that can help to streamline business processes immediately. As well as, custom software development options to help those organizations with unique circumstances that require a more tailored service. If an integration is needed, but readily available another option that Laserfiche Clients can pursue. The Laserfiche Connector provides a streamlined experience for organizations. It captures information from an existing line of business applications and uses that information to search for documents, assign metadata to entries, screenshot and save pages, scan and import documents, start workflows and Workflow business processes, open websites and applications, and write data to other applications. A complete list of Cities Digital’s offerings can be found here. Integrating Laserfiche with other applications is a great way to keep your business competitive, freeing up time and resources to help your organization grow. For more information on integrations and to find out if there is a solution that can help improve your organization’s efficiency please contact the Sales Team at Cities Digital.

Welcome to this month’s issue of the Consultant’s Corner, which centers around helping organizations increase efficiency, improve ROI, and implement a successful solution through business process automation. Cities Digital’s Consultant, Rob McCluskey, System Architect addresses a variety of questions surrounding the topic of Workflow and business process automation. The idea of automating business processes may seem intimidating at first, but it is achievable. It helps to know where to start and how to modify or improve existing processes that are just not working. When discussing business processes the most logical place to start is at the beginning before automation is even in place. This idea leads to the first question Rob addressed when evaluating business processes. How do you determine which processes are most beneficial to automate using workflow? He explains, that “almost every organization can benefit from basic auto-file workflows, to route various document types to the appropriate area in the repository and rename them according to a standardized naming convention. These are almost always the first workflows configured for new implementations.” What about more complex auto-filing? Rob says, “past basic auto-filing, it is largely up to the organization how they want to leverage workflow to automate their business operations. Workflow is very powerful and can even be used to automate or improve business processes that don’t interact with a Laserfiche repository directly.” Rob also gives some examples of processes commonly automated at Cities Digital, which include: “Human Resources employee files management: typically, these processes use Workflow to query against an HR employee database on a regular schedule, to update an external database table tied to a Laserfiche template. They usually include an auto file workflow that routes active employee documents into HR’s working folder structure and routes inactive/terminated employee documents into retention, with shortcuts in the working folder structure (i.e., transparent records management). Transparent records management: many organizations have records compliance laws they need to abide and Laserfiche provides the Records Management module to this end. In conjunction with Workflow, the repository can be configured and managed in a way that the records manager can organize records according to compliance law/best practices while still making those records available to other employees in the areas they are used to working in, via shortcuts. This process is referred to as ‘transparent records management.’ Various data management processes: Workflow, in conjunction with Forms and a database, can be used to manage various datasets. The idea is that data collected on a form can be pushed to Workflow, where it can be manipulated and used to populate database tables, which can then be used to provide lookups on another form. I recently implemented an inventory management process for a client—one form allows users to lookup inventory information either by ID or category, and another allows users to add new items to the inventory, assign items to employees, and retire them at the appropriate time.” What are the recommended best practices when designing a workflow? Now that there is a clear understanding of Workflows wide variety of complexity. It is important to remember to keep it simple and to utilize the tools that Laserfiche Workflow provides through the Workflow Designer Toolbox. According to Rob, “the best practice when designing complex workflows is to avoid designing complex workflows. Meaning complex business processes are often best translated into multiple smaller, specific workflows rather than large, monolithic ones. If complex business processes are designed in a modular fashion, Workflow’s Parallel, Conditional Parallel, and Invoke Workflow activities can be used to set up a ‘master’ and ‘workers’ workflow configuration, where the ‘master’ workflow invokes the ‘worker’ workflows (each is the same workflow, named differently—for example, ‘Worker 1’, ‘Worker 2’, etc.) to run at the same time. This can greatly improve processing times. Additionally, the ‘Assign Token Values’ activity is incredibly helpful for managing and parsing complex data.” What is the most effective way to use workflow to gather information from a database outside of Laserfiche? In one of Rob’s examples, he explained being able to utilize Forms in conjunction with Workflow to manage databases. Often organizations are looking for a way to pull information from an outside database to populate templates or fill in Forms. Rob states, “the most effective way to use Workflow to gather information from a database is to use its built-in ‘Custom Query’, ‘Insert Data’, ‘Query Data’, and ‘Update Data’ activities. These activities can also be used to connect to Excel and CSV documents if ODBC drivers are installed on the Workflow server.” Given this example, an organization is beginning a new hire on-boarding process. The new hire fills out the Laserfiche Forms New Hire documents, and the documents are then stored in Laserfiche. How can Workflow be used to pull information from Forms and then push some of that information into a database to use for payroll and benefits in a New Hire On-boarding Process? Rob explains, that “the workflow would use the ‘Retrieve Business Process Variables’ activity to pull in values from the Forms process. The workflow’s properties can also be set to indicate that it is started by Forms. Next, the ‘Insert Data’ activity would be used to add the values to the relevant database table, to use for payroll and benefits.” Many organizations have an approval process, how do you determine which routing decisions to use when designing an effective workflow? Rob says, “whenever the Consulting Team works with clients on new workflows, we begin with a requirements gathering meeting. During this meeting, we determine process flow as specifically as possible and then work together with the client to refine it as necessary.” In your opinion, what are the most underutilized workflow activities with the greatest potential to benefit users? Rob explains, “Workflow activities come in two general flavors: those for repository manipulation and those for everything else. ‘Everything else’ includes database manipulation activities, activities for starting Forms processes and retrieving values from them, token generation and manipulation, interacting with web services, parsing JSON and XML, interacting with Microsoft Exchange Server, etc. Most workflows I see interact with the repository but increasingly, as the capabilities of the Laserfiche platform grow, I see workflows that interact with other areas of an organization’s IT system.” What tips could you provide to maintain Workflows operating at maximum efficiency? According to Rob, “the best way to maintain workflows operating at maximum efficiency is to plan and implement them properly and stay abreast of best practices and new approaches to configuring workflows. This can be accomplished by visiting Laserfiche’s Answers site, reading release notes and knowledge-base papers, subscribing to Laserfiche e-newsletters, subscribing to the client’s VAR e-newsletters, and attending training sessions (including Empower).” As a module with so much potential, can you describe some innovative ways workflow used? “Definitely,” Rob says, “, the most innovative uses of Workflow have it interacting with Forms and databases to automate as much work in the repository as possible. Specifically, I have seen workflows that make requests to web services to generate reports (like lists of stock quotes that are emailed relevant stakeholders), parse XML saved in the repository to update a database and manage calendar scheduling in Outlook via a Forms process.” There are many stages to a workflow implementation, whether it is determining which processes to automate, learning how to modify existing workflows to achieve more optimal performance or simply getting new ideas on ways to increase efficiency. The Cities Digital Consulting Team is always ready to help you streamline your business processes, improve efficiency and innovate solutions. Contact us for help with your next project.

The Cities Digital Support Team wants to make sure that customers are aware that as of June 1, 2018, TLS 1.0 reaches its end of life. TLS is an acronym for Transport Layer Security Protocol. The TLS protocol provides communication security over a computer network. It is a security measure between computer applications providing customers with privacy and application data integrity. Click on THIS link to get a more in-depth description of TLS. The TLS 1.0 protocol is the oldest layer of the protocols suite, it handles communication generated by older devices, most of which have gone out of life-cycle within the last few years. It is recommended that you review your system and check which security protocols are being used. If the TLS 1.0 protocol is in use it is recommended that you check with your infrastructure or network team to ensure that your server and the entire system is configured so that TLS 1.0 is disabled and change the configuration to use TLS 1.1. Here is a link to PCI Booking's write up, who acts upon the PCI Council’s Statement of record regarding protocol matters. This Laserfiche Answers article discusses what versions of TLS/SSL Laserfiche Products use and which are automatically disabled. It is important to note that in order for communication to occur, configured protocols must be on the same protocol. If any questions arise the Cities Digital Support Team is available to assist.

Are you taking advantage of all the tools Laserfiche has to offer? As new features and functionality are available, staying current with changes can become a challenge. Laserfiche is an expansive solution with many tools for users to increase efficiency. The under-utilization of these tools occurs simply because many users are not aware that the tools exist. This blog discusses four useful Laserfiche tools you may not be aware of. Import Agent Email Archive Laserfiche Import Agent is a tool for automatically retrieving files stored in a Windows folder and importing them into a Laserfiche repository. The Windows folder can be local to the Import Agent machine or stored on a network drive. During the import process, Import Agent can process the files (e.g., perform OCR), add metadata (e.g., populate fields, add tags), and perform additional tasks. Import Agent 10.3 now includes an Email Archive utility which works with On-premise Exchange and Cloud-based Office 365 email servers. Laserfiche Email Archive allows you to automatically archive emails to Laserfiche. Emails can be archived to multiple repositories based on various conditions. Additionally, Email Archive can extract and assign metadata to the emails saved in Laserfiche. It can also extract and save attachments and maintain the email’s distribution list file. The following is an example of how a company might use the email archive tool: Company ABC needs to keep a record of all correspondence between its customer service team and vendors. With Email Archive, emails are automatically captured and stored in Laserfiche without requiring any action on the employee’s part. The emails are stored in different repositories depending on the vendor, and metadata is applied to each message, allowing them to be easily searched in the future. Workflow Mail Merge Word Documents as PDF Did you know that you can create a mail merge document with Workflow and save it as a PDF in Laserfiche? Laserfiche Workflow offers the Update Word Document Activity which allows users to perform updates to .doc or .docx files. The activity allows users to make modifications to an existing document. Workflow can create modifications to simple field merge or table field merge modification options. A simple field merge allows the setup of specific fields to change within a document, this feature is not limited to just one field. Alternatively, a table mail merge can be used to populate a Word table with data from a data source. The data source can come from SQL, Excel, Oracle, or any other place where you store data. Once the workflow is created, a mail merge is performed by Workflow based on the workflows configuration. An example of how organizations are using this tool is in the case of invoices. There is a data source that contains the item number, description, quantity, price, and total price. The information from the database needs to be transferred to a Word document. The Word document already contains a template of the headers, “Item No.,” Description,” Qty,” “Unit Price,” Total Price”. The Update Word Document activity can populate that template with the data in the data source into the corresponding headers. Laserfiche Workflow will perform the mail merge and can save the document as a PDF into Laserfiche. Laserfiche Forms Reporting The reporting and analytic capabilities in Laserfiche Forms are an extremely beneficial tool. Laserfiche Forms supports dashboards and reports that can be used to identify issues, glance at data, and filter time periods. Organizations are collecting large amounts of data from Forms and may not be taking full advantage of all of the reporting features it offers. Laserfiche Forms provides users with preset operational reports, but also with the ability to create customized reports specific to the needs of the organization or individual. Along with creating custom reports, users have the option to set viewing permissions on the form and create snapshots of custom reports. The reports can then be sent to others for review. One example of how Cities Digital uses custom reports is to track event registration approvals. The information that is populated into the registration form is gathered from the form to generate a report that includes a list of attendee’s, email addresses, phone numbers and more. Once the information is collected, an email is sent out with a snapshot of the report. There are so many different forms out there and ways to use and gather information into a report, the possibilities are endless. Here is a helpful link on Using Reports in Laserfiche Forms: Get some more information on the Laserfiche Support Site. Business Process Activities in Workflow Workflow business processes are enhanced workflows that perform an organization-specific process, offer extensive reporting, and can be manually started in Laserfiche Client and Web Access. Many organizations are using Laserfiche Workflow for automating various tasks for daily operation. Business processes are created in Workflow and can automatically route entries, sync with databases, send e-mails, apply metadata, and much more. They can be manually started in the Client or the Laserfiche web client and will display information about their progress, who interacted with entries in the process, and what needs to happen next. The Business Process Workflow activities allow another level of interaction for the end user and can be beneficial to daily operations. Business Process activities are designed to perform actions specific to business processes. Additionally, these activities allow users to create customized business process reports to quickly and easily see information that is most important to the business process, such as: current instance name, status updates, participants, step instructions, and the duration of each step in your business process. What are the business process workflow activities? These activities, in addition to the Business Process Options dialog box, allow users to configure what information will be reported on and at what points during the business process that reporting will occur. The Business Process Step activity lets a user define what sections of the business process should be reported on. Using this activity users can also group together collections of activities that will be reported on as a single unit. Grouping activities that are not individually important, but are important as a whole, allows reporting what is relevant to the business process. This activity can be configured to report on participants, instructions/resolutions, and due dates. The Update Business Process activity updates the business process's status and/or instance name. This activity can be used to update the business process to reflect a certain turn of events or a particular outcome of the Business Process Step in the reporting. Updating the status or instance name allows users to easily search entries related to a specific business process in the Laserfiche client applications. Learn more about searching by a business process in the Laserfiche Client. The Update Participant activity used inside a Business Process Step activity will update the participant(s) configured in the Business Process Step activity. This allows users to assign step responsibility without knowing the exact person who will participate; then, use this activity to retrospectively update the Business Process Step with the correct user. The Update Step Instructions activity, used inside a Business Process Step activity, will update the instructions on the step. This allows the user to change this reporting information based on conditions or deadlines that have been met in the course of the step. The Update Step Due Date activity used inside a Business Process Step activity will update the due date for the step. This allows the user to change the due date based on conditions or deadlines that have been met in the course of the step. The Associate Entries activity allows the business process details shown in the Laserfiche client applications to be added or removed from entries in the repository. Users can also use this activity to replace currently associated entries with other entries; meaning that, business process information will be transferred from one entry to the other. Implement these tools in your Laserfiche solution and see the benefits of increased efficiency through automatic email archiving, advanced workflow processes, and improved reporting capabilities allowing for more comprehensive analysis of business processes. If you have questions, please contact the Cities Digital Support or Consulting teams for recommendations on how to utilize these Laserfiche tools.