Understanding how and where workflows can be applied in the system will help you plan the best way to structure them for your process. You can apply a workflow in one of three ways—manually within a project, automatically from a lead capture form, or even from another workflow!
 

The workflow you create under Templates >> Workflow is just that — a template. It needs to be applied to a project to start running and completing the actions you set up.

To manually apply a workflow:

Manually starting a workflow is great for testing things out or when you'd like to run a specific workflow on a particular project.
 

This is where you can really start planning out different workflow ideas! The lead capture form can automatically apply and start a workflow on the new project it creates.

In the Settings tab of the lead capture form, you have the option to assign a default workflow. This workflow will run every time the Lead Capture is submitted.

A default workflow is perfect for those who only offer one service or those who want all of their leads to go through the same first steps before applying a specific workflow manually further along in the process.

Let’s say I’m a photographer and I want a different workflow to start based off of the service my lead is interested in — wedding, portraits, or newborn. With the workflow element in the lead capture, you can match up a different workflow with each answer!

Adding a workflow element to your lead capture creates a dropdown box:

When you click on your workflow element dropdown in the form editor, you'll be able to assign a workflow to each possible response.

TIP: A lead capture form can only apply one workflow on submission, so you cannot combine a workflow element and a default workflow. The workflow element will always take priority. Do not add two workflow elements to your form.
 

You can start a new workflow within another workflow using the Start a Workflow action. Note that the new workflow you start must be different, it cannot be the same workflow.

This option is great when you have a complex process with multiple phases, since it allows you to string multiple workflows together. A series of shorter workflows can be easier to maintain than one long workflow for a complex process.
 

No. A workflow must be specifically applied to a project using one of the methods outlined above to run on a project. Workflow templates on their own are dormant and do not become active until applied to a project.

For example, if you have a workflow with an action to send an email after the invoice is paid in full, Dubsado will not send that email to every client who pays their invoice. The workflow action will only run on the project(s) to which you've applied the workflow.